I’ve been brushing up on sparse columns and filtered indexes recently and two resources stood out for me as indispensable so I’d thought I’d share them.

Those of you studying for Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server will no doubt have found the Readiness Videos published on TechNet and Kimberley Tripp’s (Blog|Twitter) webcast in this series on Sparse columns provides an excellent resource showing different schema designs and specifically where sparse columns fit in.

MCM Readiness Video on Sparse columns by Kimberly Tripp

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/ff977043

The second resource is a session from this years PASS Summit (2010) by Don Vilen (Twitter) called Filtered Indexes, Sparse Columns: Together, Separately (AD203).

I thought this session was great and in combination with Kimberly’s webcast provides the perfect background for anyone wanting to learn this topic, especially for those studying for the MCM knowledge exam.

If you attended PASS you should have a login to stream Don’s session but if not you can buy the official DVD’s from http://www.sqlpass.org The DVDs are worthy investment considering how much material you get access to!

Regards,

Christian

Christian Bolton  - MCA, MCM, MVP
Technical Director
http://coeo.com - SQL Server Consulting & Managed Services

twitter: @christianbolton