Database Slow? Best methods to speed up your database

We hate waiting as much as you do, which is why our team of engineers is passionate about helping our business clients speed up their database, improve productivity and reduce wait times. We’ve had tons of experience examining and understanding slow databases with numerous clients and we can help you speed up your system as well.

In our work with numerous clients, we’ve distilled down the most common reasons for database sluggishness:

Database Normalization

Database normalization is the removal of redundant data. When the composition of a database system is not correctly normalized, it can cause the system to run abnormally slow. The correct way to fix this issue is database normalization, the process of organizing your database with the intent of reducing data redundancy and improving data integrity.

For more information on database normalization, check out Microsoft’s detailed and comprehensive database blog: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/283878/description-of-the-database-normalization-basics

Indexing

Every table doesn’t necessarily need to be indexed but indexing speeds up searching for a unique record in a base table that is already indexed. This improves DB performance and also prevents duplicate entries by the application since every entry has a unique field.

Table joins in queries

During query operations of multiple tables, a join operation is used to combine information from multiple tables and present the information on the application with a uniform appearance. This is accomplished with “join” operations. If the join operations are performed inefficiently it can dramatically impact the speed of the DB. For example a Customer Order Table may combine or “join” information from a Customer Table and an Inventory Table and Pricing Table. Often the “join” operation inefficiently “searches” all three of these tables in a linear fashion multiple times to collect all the information to present to the user. Optimizing these joins can improve performance sometimes by 2X or 3X.

Archiving old information

When old information is stored in a database, it not only consumes disk space but also slows down searches. Archiving and storing old data such as old invoices and obsolete inventory items can improve your DB performance dramatically, making your database run cleaner and smoother.

Using an old/slow computer could be another reason your database is running slow. Upgrade your slow hardware to faster more efficient hardware without spending capital expenditure. Check out our blog: http://upgrademydatabase.com/why-do-a-cloud-database-migration/

 

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