Does a Clustered Index Give a Default Ordering?
I recently got a great question: if I order by a column where all rows in that column have the same value, will SQL Server then order the results by the clustered index key?
I recently got a great question: if I order by a column where all rows in that column have the same value, will SQL Server then order the results by the clustered index key?
A few folks have asked: will auto-tuning and adaptive query plans mean the end of performance tuning jobs for SQL Server? In this week’s episode, I talk about why I’m excited about those features rather than afraid of them.
Digging into this problem, I share the #1 mindset problem I had as a DBA, why this mindset is so common among database professionals, and a daily habit that can change your approach to new technology.
In this week’s episode, I’m not answering a reader’s question. Instead, I’m talking about my personal experience with anxiety.
This episode touches on on healthcare, religion, and squishy emotions – and there’s at least one curse word. I don’t talk tech in this episode. (Don’t worry, there’s more of that coming in future weeks.)
Webcasts are held on Thursdays at 9 AM Pacific / noon Eastern / 4 pm UTC.
Here’s the upcoming slate of topics:
I can’t wait to put together these presentations, and I hope to see you on Thursdays!
As a SQL Server DBA, do you need to be a master of PowerShell scripts?
In this 9 minute episode, I talk about how much you need to know about PowerShell, and examples of ways I personally use (and struggle with) PowerShell.
I like to use the keyboard whenever I can in SQL Server Management Studio. It’s not always easy to remember every shortcut though– especially when those shortcuts change!
Since around the SQL Server 2012 era, you’ve been able to switch Intellisense on or off on SSMS with the shortcut chord: CTRL + Q, CTRL + I. I remembered this as “Control Quacky Intellisense.”

To see this in action, you can play along with this sample script.
Copyright (c) 2025, Catalyze SQL, LLC; all rights reserved. Opinions expressed on this site are solely those of Kendra Little of Catalyze SQL, LLC. Content policy: Short excerpts of blog posts (3 sentences) may be republished, but longer excerpts and artwork cannot be shared without explicit permission.