#0381 SQL Server Table design Is it better to use NEWID or NEWSEQUENTIA ...

Database schema designinvolves defining the clusteredkeys (generally the primary key) on a table, and one of the maindecisions to be taken iswhether to use a clustered key based on aUNIQUEIDENTIFIER/ROWGUID or an INTEGER?

Generally, an INTEGER is adefaultchoice for the clustered key column. Compared to an INTEGER, a GUID takes up a lot of space (36 characters!). Hence the decision to use UNIQUEIDENTIFIER/ROWGUID depends a lot upon the desired application:

Whether the amount of data to be stored in the table isever going to exceed the limits of an integer key value? The code which is going to consume the data (it helps if the underlying storage uses keys in the same format as the code, as in the case of the .NET Enterprise Framework) Nature of integration/DR implemented (e.g. External Id keys used in theintegrated system, replication, etc)

If the requirements do require that UNIQUEIDENTIFIER is to be used, the next question is:

What is better to use as the default value for a GUID? NEWID or NEWSEQUENTIALID?

NEWSEQUENTIALID() and NEWID() both generate GUIDs, however NEWSEQUENTIALID() has certain advantages:

NEWID()generates a lot of random activity, whereas NEWSEQUENTIALID() does not. Hence, NEWSEQUENTIALID() is faster Because NEWSEQUENTIALID() is sequential, it helps to fill the data pages faster

In order words,

NEWID() generates more fragmentation when compared to NEWSEQUENTIALID()

NEWID() generates more fragments

To testthis, I ran the following test:

Create two tables one with NEWID() as the default value for the key and onewith NEWSEQUENTIALID() Ensure that MAXDOP is set to 0 so that I can insert data into the tables in parallel (to simulateinputs into a table from multiple threads) Repeat this process multiple times Once the insert is complete, check the average fragmentation on the tables

Allow me torunthrough the test step-by-step.

The script below creates two tables:

USE tempdb; GO SET NOCOUNT ON; GO --Safety Check IF OBJECT_ID('dbo.SequentialIdCheck','U') IS NOT NULL BEGIN DROP TABLE dbo.SequentialIdCheck; END GO IF OBJECT_ID('dbo.NonSequentialIdCheck','U') IS NOT NULL BEGIN DROP TABLE dbo.NonSequentialIdCheck; END GO --Create the tables (SequentialId Check) CREATE TABLE dbo.SequentialIdCheck (RowId UNIQUEIDENTIFIER NOT NULL CONSTRAINT df_SequentialRowId DEFAULT NEWSEQUENTIALID(), ObjectId INT NOT NULL, RowValue NVARCHAR(200) NULL, CONSTRAINT pk_SequentialIdCheck PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (RowId) ); GO --Create the tables (Non SequentialId Check) CREATE TABLE dbo.NonSequentialIdCheck (RowId UNIQUEIDENTIFIER NOT NULL CONSTRAINT df_NonSequentialRowId DEFAULT NEWID(), ObjectId INT NOT NULL, RowValue NVARCHAR(200) NULL, CONSTRAINT pk_NonSequentialIdCheck PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED (RowId) ); GO

Now,I will ensure that max degree of parallelism is turned ON.

sp_configure 'show advanced options',1 RECONFIGURE GO sp_configure 'max degree of parallelism',0 RECONFIGURE GO

Next, I will insert some test data. I will repeat the insert multiple times to simulate an extremely large data-setover multiple inserts.

USE tempdb; GO --Insert some test data --Run the insert 5 times INSERT INTO dbo.SequentialIdCheck (ObjectId, RowValue) SELECT sao1.[object_id] AS [ObjectId], sao1.[name] AS [RowValue] FROM sys.all_objects AS sao1 CROSS JOIN sys.all_objects AS sao2; INSERT INTO dbo.NonSequentialIdCheck (ObjectId, RowValue) SELECT sao1.[object_id] AS [ObjectId], sao1.[name] AS [RowValue] FROM sys.all_objects AS sao1 CROSS JOIN sys.all_objects AS sao2; GO 5 Beginning execution loop Batch execution completed 5 times.

Finally,I check the average fragmentation on the tables by checking the fragmentation of the clustered index.

USE tempdb; GO --Check the fragmentation SELECT OBJECT_NAME(ps.[object_id]) AS ObjectName, ps.[index_type_desc], ps.[avg_fragmentation_in_percent], ps.[fragment_count], ps.[page_count], ps.[database_id], ps.[object_id] FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID('tempdb'), OBJECT_ID('dbo.SequentialIdCheck'), DEFAULT, DEFAULT, DEFAULT ) AS ps; GO SELECT OBJECT_NAME(ps.[object_id]) AS ObjectName, ps.[index_type_desc], ps.[avg_fragmentation_in_percent], ps.[fragment_count], ps.[page_count], ps.[database_id], ps.[object_id] FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID('tempdb'), OBJECT_ID('dbo.NonSequentialIdCheck'), DEFAULT, DEFAULT, DEFAULT ) AS ps; GO

NEWID() results in higher fragmentation and higher pages consumed on disk.

As can be seen clearly from the screenshot above, we see that thetable with the NEWID() default key value has a higher fragmentation value when compared to the table with NEWSEQUENTIALID().

We also see that the table with NEWID() default keyvalue has taken a lot of pages resulting in more space being occupied on disk.

Theunderlying reason for this is that NEWSEQUENTIALID() generates GUIDs that are in sequence for the given batch, whereas the GUIDs generated by NEWID() are random. When used as a clustered key, having values in sequence helps fill the pages faster andreduce fragmentation.

Conclusion

In most cases, an INTEGER based key on a table is sufficient. However, when a GUID is required by design, it is important to keep in mindthat using NEWID() causesmore fragmentation inthe underlying data resulting in poor system performance.

If NEWSEQUENTIALID() is to be used, please do keep in mind thatthe keys need to be generated by the database engine making it tricky when using with Entity Frameworks where the key value is required by the code in order to instantiate an entity.

Further Reading Documentation for NEWSEQUENTIALID [ MSDN Link ] Documentation for NEWID [ MSDN Link ]

Until we meet next time,

Be courteous. Drive responsibly.