Question

You manage an Azure SQL Database. A critical reporting query intermittently uses a suboptimal execution plan after statistics updates, causing timeouts. You have identified in Query Store that one specific plan consistently performs well. You need the least intrusive way to ensure the query always uses the good plan without modifying application code or the query text. What should you do?

Accepted Answer

Force the well-performing plan for that query directly in Query Store.

Answer

Add a RECOMPILE query hint to the query in the application.

Answer

Disable automatic statistics updates for the database.

Answer

Create a plan guide that appends an OPTION (OPTIMIZE FOR UNKNOWN) hint.