How to Boost Query Speed for Peak Performance in Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse

You can make queries faster in Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse by using new performance features that are essential for unlocking peak performance. Fast queries help your business make decisions quickly and keep users pleased. The newest updates assist you in achieving top speed, so you wait less for results. You will find easy steps and tools that help you get the best speed from your data warehouse.

Key Takeaways

• Use new features like result set caching to make repeated queries faster. This saves time and makes users happier.

• Check resource usage often with the Capacity Metrics App. This helps you find slow areas and make things work better.

• Look at query plans to spot problems. Studying these plans lets you change SQL to run faster.

• Use good indexing methods. The right indexes on fact tables can make queries much quicker.

• Update statistics often, especially when data changes. This helps the query optimizer pick the fastest way to run queries.

Unlocking Peak Performance Features

Latest Enhancements

To get the best speed in Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse, you need to know about the newest features. These new updates help your queries run faster and make your work easier. Here are some of the latest changes:

• Scalar user-defined functions (UDFs) are now in preview. You can use the same logic in T-SQL many times without making things slower.

• Result set caching (preview) saves SELECT query results. If you run the same query again, you get answers much faster.

• You can now rename and drop columns easily with ALTER TABLE and sp_rename.

• JSON aggregate functions are now ready for more ways to handle data.

• Copilot for SQL analytics endpoint (preview) helps you write and improve SQL queries by using natural language.

• Datamarts can now upgrade straight to a warehouse, making your data flow simpler.

• Warehouse snapshots (preview) let you see your data at any time, but you cannot change it.

• The Fabric Spark connector lets you get warehouse data from Spark runtime.

These updates help you load data faster, write queries more easily, and wait less. For example, you can now get data straight from OneLake Lakehouse folders. This means you skip extra steps and get results sooner. Result set caching saves time because you do not have to run the same query again and again. Large data types like VARCHAR(MAX) now work better, so filtering and batch jobs are smoother.

Capacity Metrics App

The Capacity Metrics App helps you see how your resources are used. You can:

1. Find out which compute unit (CU) users used the most in the last 14 days.

2. Look at usage by date and time to see when it is highest.

3. Check trends, like how many operations and users there are, to find ways to make things better.

With these tools, you can find slow spots and make smart choices to keep your queries fast. It is easier to get top speed when you watch and change how you use your resources with clear information.

Analyze and Monitor Queries

Query Plan Analysis

You can make queries faster by checking query plans. Query plan analysis shows each step your query takes, like joins or moving data. When you look at these steps, you can find slow parts. You can then change your SQL to make it run better. For example, if you see too much data moving or extra scans, you can rewrite your query or change your data model. This helps you fix slow spots and get closer to Unlocking Peak Performance.

Tip: Always check the query plan after you change your SQL. This lets you see if your changes made the query faster.

Using Statistics

Statistics are important for making queries faster. They give the query optimizer the facts it needs to pick the best way to run your query. Good statistics help the system guess costs and choose the fastest plan. This saves memory, CPU, and storage.

You should update statistics often, especially after you add new data. This keeps your queries running fast.

Monitoring Workloads

Watching workloads helps your data warehouse work well. Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse has many tools for this job:

You can use these tools to find slow queries, watch what users do, and spot problems. To keep your system fast, do these things:

1. Make your storage in OneLake work well.

2. Build good pipelines in Data Factory.

3. Tune Power BI queries and models.

4. Change Lakehouse and Warehouse settings as needed.

5. Use strong data governance.

By checking and watching queries, you can control performance and keep your data warehouse ready for anything.

Identify Bottlenecks

Long-Running Queries

Sometimes, some queries take much longer than others. These long-running queries can slow down your whole data warehouse. There are a few reasons why this happens:

• Some queries wait until all data is ready before showing results. This makes reports feel slow.

• The system often waits to finish everything before showing anything.

• Some operators need every row first, so they add extra wait time.

• If statistics are old or missing, the system might pick a slower plan. This makes queries take longer.

Tip: Use query monitoring tools to find the slowest queries. Fix these first to make everything faster.

Resource Usage

How you use resources affects how fast queries run. Watching resource usage helps you find ways to improve. Here are some steps you can follow:

1. Check CPU usage to see if queries use too much power.

2. Watch cache use to see how well data is stored and found.

3. Use built-in queries to track CPU time and data scanned. These numbers help you find slow spots.

If CPU or cache use is high, you may need to change your queries or add more resources. Watching these numbers helps your data warehouse stay fast.

Caching Issues

Caching makes queries faster by keeping data in memory. In Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse, you get both in-memory and disk caching. In-memory caching keeps important data ready to use. Disk caching saves bigger sets of data for longer. If caching does not work well, queries slow down because the system must get data from storage each time. You can use tools to check for caching problems. If you find issues, look at your caching plan to keep key data easy to get.

Optimize Query Performance

Indexing Strategies

You can make queries faster by using good indexing strategies. Indexes help the system find data quickly in big tables. Here are some steps you can try:

1. Add the right indexes to your fact tables. This helps the system scan less data and answer faster.

2. Use partitioning with indexes for large datasets. This keeps things fast as your data grows.

3. Write stored procedures with the MERGE statement for upserts. This keeps your data correct and up to date.

4. Make a RefreshControl table. This table helps you track and manage new data loads.

5. Set up a Fabric Data Pipeline. This pipeline controls both first and new data runs.

Microsoft says you should always check how index maintenance affects speed. Do not think that fixing indexes will always help. Watch index fragmentation and page density over time. See if these numbers change when query speed changes.

Use smart indexing, partitioning, and batching to help your solution grow. These steps keep queries fast, even with 100 GB of data.

Partitioning

Partitioning breaks your data into smaller pieces. This makes queries faster because the system only looks at what it needs. Here is how partitioning helps:

• Query speed gets better. The system scans only the needed partitions, so you wait less.

• You save money. The system uses less power and resources by looking at less data.

• It is easier to manage. Partitioning helps with loading new data and data governance.

To set up partitioning, pick a column like date or region. This column should fit your business and common queries. When you partition tables, the system skips data it does not need. This is important for Unlocking Peak Performance.

Query Hints

Query hints let you control how the system runs your queries. You can use hints to tell the system which join or group method to use. Here are some common query hints:

• Join hints:

  • MERGE JOIN, LOOP JOIN, HASH JOIN: Pick the best join for your data.

  • REPLICATE: Send a table to all nodes for faster joins.

  • REDISTRIBUTE: Spread data by join columns to balance the load.

• Query hints:

  • HASH GROUP: Use a hash way for GROUP BY.

  • ORDER GROUP: Use a sort way for GROUP BY.

  • FORCE ORDER: Keep the join order you write in your query.

  • USE HINT: Add extra hints for the query processor.

You can add hints to your SQL like this:

SELECT *
FROM Sales s
JOIN Customers c
  ON s.CustomerID = c.CustomerID
OPTION (HASH JOIN, FORCE ORDER)

Use query hints when you know your data well. Test your queries with and without hints to see which is faster.

Coding Best Practices

Good coding habits make queries run faster and use less power. Here are some best practices you can use:

1. Make your data model better. Remove columns you do not need and combine tables if you can.

2. Use aggregated tables. Summarize your data to speed up queries.

3. Load data in steps. Only refresh new or changed data to save time and power.

4. Make DirectQuery work well. Make sure your source database is ready for fast Power BI queries.

5. Avoid bi-directional relationships. Use single-direction relationships to keep things simple and fast.

You should also follow data modeling best practices. Use a star schema with one fact table and several dimension tables. This setup makes joins easier and queries faster. Reduce high-cardinality relationships and keep your data at the right detail level. Use data reduction to keep tables small and efficient.

Following these steps helps you reach Unlocking Peak Performance and keeps your data warehouse running well.

Track and Improve Queries

Labels and Query Hash

You can make queries better by using labels and Query Hash in Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse. Labels let you sort and group your queries. This helps you see patterns and trends. You can put similar queries together. Query Hash gives each query shape a special code. This code helps you find queries that look different but work the same.

Tip: Use labels for important business queries. This helps you watch their speed and how much they use resources.

When you use Query Hash, you can group queries with the same logic. You can check how these grouped queries perform. This helps you see which ones need to be fixed. You can also find out which queries run the most and use the most resources.

Here is how labels and Query Hash help you:

• Group queries that are alike for easy checking.

• Watch how performance changes over time.

• Find queries that need to be made better.

• Keep an eye on important business work.

Frequent Query Tuning

You should tune your queries often to keep your data warehouse fast. Start by using Query Insights. This tool shows which queries are slow or use a lot of resources. Focus on queries that run for a long time or run many times. These can slow things down.

Try these steps to tune your queries:

1. Use Query Insights to check speed and system health.

2. Look for slow and common queries to find problems.

3. Check CPU and cache use for any waste.

4. Use labels to sort and study performance trends.

5. Use Query Hash to group and fix similar queries.

6. Talk to others in the community for tips and help.

You can make queries faster by using result set caching, breaking big tables into parts, making indexes, and using materialized views. These steps help you use fewer resources and work better. Update your data warehouse often and ask users what they think. This helps you keep up with business needs and keeps queries fast.

Tuning and tracking often help you keep top speed and reach your business goals.

Advanced Techniques

Time Travel Analysis

Time travel analysis lets you see old versions of your data. You can check what changed and fix mistakes. Warehouse snapshots help you look at past data. You can run queries on these older versions. This helps you spot trends or get back lost data.

Many groups use special ways to make queries faster. Here is a table that lists some methods and what they do:

Using these ways can make a big difference. Some groups have made queries 60% faster. Others use less power and refresh data quicker. You can try to get these good results too.

Community Tips

You can learn a lot from the Microsoft Fabric community. Many people share tips to help you get better speed. Here are some of the best ideas:

1. Use the Fabric Metrics App to watch capacity and find memory problems.

2. Check Fabric Usage Analytics Monitoring to spot retry storms or long jobs.

3. Swap heavy MERGE statements with CTAS or INSERT/UPDATE for better speed.

4. Look at query plans to find slow joins, scans, or shuffles.

Pay attention to table types, CTAS, indexing, and distribution to make your queries strong.

You should also read Microsoft’s official guides for more ways to make your data warehouse better. If you follow these tips, your queries will stay fast and your data warehouse will work well.

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You can make queries faster in Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse by using smart steps. Try new features like result set caching and query hints. Check your system often to keep it working well. Many companies have made things much better:

Keep an eye on network latency, resource use, and how work is shared. Use tools like Query Insights and SHOWPLAN_XML to find ways to speed things up. Stay involved in the community to learn new ideas. When you follow these tips, your business can do its best every day.

FAQ

How do you check which queries run the slowest in Microsoft Fabric Data Warehouse?

You can use Query Insights. This tool shows you which queries take the most time. Look for the "long_running_queries" view. Focus on these queries first to improve your warehouse speed.

What is the best way to update statistics for faster queries?

You should update statistics after loading new data. Use the UPDATE STATISTICS command. This helps the query optimizer choose the fastest plan. Updated statistics keep your queries running smoothly.

When should you use partitioning in your tables?

Use partitioning when your tables grow large. Pick a column like date or region. Partitioning lets the system scan only what it needs. This makes your queries faster and saves resources.

How can you monitor resource usage in your data warehouse?

Open the Capacity Metrics App. Check CPU, memory, and cache usage. Watch for high numbers. If you see spikes, review your queries and workloads. This helps you keep your warehouse running at top speed.

What should you do if you see repeated slow queries?

First, check the query plan. Look for missing indexes or old statistics. Try using query hints or rewriting the SQL. Use Query Hash to group similar queries. Tune these queries to boost performance.