SQL Server: Using SentryOne Plan Explorer
Query performance issues cost organisations millions in lost productivity—and most DBAs lack the tools to diagnose them quickly. This course teaches you to read execution plans like a pro and use SentryOne Plan Explorer to pinpoint exactly where queries are failing, turning you into the person who fixes what others can’t.
AIU.ac Verdict: Essential for SQL Server professionals who need to move beyond guesswork and own query optimisation. You’ll gain hands-on mastery of Plan Explorer’s advanced features in under 3 hours. The main limitation: assumes foundational SQL Server knowledge—beginners should start with core SQL concepts first.
What This Course Covers
You’ll start by understanding execution plans at a granular level—what they reveal, how to interpret wait statistics, and why traditional SSMS analysis falls short. Then you’ll move into SentryOne Plan Explorer’s killer features: plan comparison, historical analysis, and the visual query plan interface that makes bottlenecks impossible to miss. The course walks you through real-world scenarios: identifying missing indexes, spotting inefficient joins, catching parameter sniffing issues, and optimising for actual workload patterns rather than theory.
By the end, you’ll know how to capture plans in production safely, compare before-and-after performance metrics, and communicate findings to developers and stakeholders. Jonathan Kehayias (a recognised SQL Server expert) structures this around practical labs, so you’re not just watching—you’re diagnosing actual problematic queries and fixing them.
Who Is This Course For?
Ideal for:
- SQL Server DBAs: Need to troubleshoot slow queries and prove performance improvements to management. Plan Explorer cuts diagnosis time from hours to minutes.
- Database developers: Writing queries that run in dev but crawl in production. Learn to spot issues before they hit live systems and understand why optimisation matters.
- Performance engineers: Responsible for database health and SLA compliance. This tool and skillset directly reduce incident response time and prevent escalations.
May not suit:
- SQL Server beginners: You’ll need solid grasp of SELECT, JOINs, and basic indexing concepts first. This assumes you can already write queries—it teaches you to fix them.
- Non-SQL Server professionals: Plan Explorer is SQL Server–specific. If you work with PostgreSQL, MySQL, or Oracle, the concepts transfer but the tool won’t.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does SQL Server: Using SentryOne Plan Explorer take?
2 hours 43 minutes. Realistic for a focused technical skill—you can complete it in one sitting or spread across a few days with labs.
Do I need SentryOne Plan Explorer installed to take this course?
Yes. The course includes hands-on labs in Pluralsight’s sandbox environment, but you’ll want it installed locally for real-world use. SentryOne offers a free trial.
Will this help me pass SQL Server certifications?
Indirectly. It deepens your practical understanding of query optimisation and execution plans—core exam topics—but it’s not exam-prep focused. It’s better: it makes you actually competent.
What’s the difference between this and learning execution plans in SSMS?
SSMS shows you plans; Plan Explorer helps you understand them. It visualises complex data, compares multiple plans side-by-side, and flags issues SSMS misses. It’s the difference between seeing a problem and solving it.
Course by Jonathan Kehayias on Pluralsight. Duration: 2h 43m. Last verified by AIU.ac: March 2026.
