◆ Microsoft SQL Server

Troubleshoot slow SQL Server performance

This is real work, not a feature someone invented — it comes from real job ads and real questions people asked. Below are four ready AI prompts: get it done, make it easy for the next person to say yes to, work out the right move when you are stuck, and stop it coming back.

4prompts

The same task, four prompts

today's deadline · the next reviewer · the stuck moment · the pattern
AExecute — do the immediate taskGenerate a report detailing the average execution time, logical reads, and CPU time for the top…+
Generate a report detailing the average execution time, logical reads, and CPU time for the top 10 slowest queries on the 'SalesData' database over the last 24 hours, and email it to David by end of day.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
BImprove — make it easier to acceptBefore I send this performance report to the development team, highlight any queries that show…+
Before I send this performance report to the development team, highlight any queries that show a significant increase in execution time or resource consumption compared to their historical baseline, and suggest potential reasons like missing indexes or parameter sniffing.
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
CDecide — diagnose the stuck momentThe 'Customer Orders' report is crawling, taking several minutes instead of seconds, and the…+
Users are reporting that the 'Customer Orders' report, which usually takes seconds, is now taking minutes, and the business analyst is asking why.
The 'Customer Orders' report is crawling, taking several minutes instead of seconds, and the business analyst is asking for an explanation. I've checked the host, and it doesn't seem overloaded, but something is definitely off with this specific report. I'm not sure if it's a data volume issue, a new code deploy, or something else. What's the most likely diagnosis, and what's the first thing I should check to get a quick answer?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?
DBecome — change the patternI'm constantly reacting to 'slow performance' complaints without a clear starting point. I need…+
I spend too much time chasing down 'slow' reports or applications that were fine last week.
I'm constantly reacting to 'slow performance' complaints without a clear starting point. I need a better way to quickly identify if the issue is host-wide, database-specific, or just one bad query. What habit should I change to more effectively diagnose and address database performance issues before they escalate?
when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed. Helpful?

Questions people actually ask

honest answers, no sign-up

Every task here was seen in the real world. Someone doing the job named it, a real job ad asked for it, or a lot of people asked about it online.

If nothing real showed a task, it is not on the page. That is the whole rule.

They are the same job approached four ways, because what you need depends on where you are.

Get it done today. Make it easy for the next person to say yes to. Work out the right move when you are stuck. Learn the pattern so the job stops coming back.

For most of these jobs it can carry the heavy thinking - draft it, sort it, check it, rehearse it with you.

It cannot sit in your chair, take the blame when a number is wrong, or notice what nobody wrote down. Let it do the first 80%. Keep the last 20% that is truly yours.

No. Copy any prompt and paste it into the AI you already use. No account, no score, no wall in the way.

Any of them. The prompts describe the work rather than naming a product, so they are not tied to one assistant.

That is also why they keep working when you switch.

Change it freely. Every prompt is a starting line, not a rule.

Put in your real numbers, your real names and your real deadline. The more you make it yours, the better the answer comes back.

The tasks come from real job ads, published job data and the questions people ask in public forums.

The steps come from Microsoft SQL Server's own documentation, with practitioner sources for the traps the manual does not mention.

Push once. Ask it to sharpen the weakest part and to say what it assumed.

Most wrong answers come from a missing detail rather than a bad prompt - tell it the thing it could not know.