One of the challenges for DBAs and Developers was to compare execution plans effectively. In the latest SSMS released by MS we have an option of comparing execution plans in a better readable format. This short article will explain that.
Step 1: Download the latest SSMS from MS website or If you have installed SQL server 2016 then this feature will be available.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssms/download-sql-server-management-studio-ssms
Step 2: Install the downloaded package
Step 3: Execute a query and save the execution plan somewhere.
Step 4: Execute another query and wait till the plan is displayed.
Step 5: Right click on the displayed plan and choose the following option highlighted.
This will ask for the saved execution plan. Choose the saved plan.
Step 6: Click on open
The actions opens 2 windows which shows the difference between the 2 execution plans as depicted below. This is a very handy feature when we need to compare the execution plans for a SP or query pre and post change to gauge the effect in terms of performance.
I hope this article was useful. Have a good day ahead.
Bodhisatya
Applied SQL... 