Improving performance on SQL query - sql

Question

I'm currently having performance problems with an expensive SQL query, and I'd like to improve it.
This is what the query looks like:
SELECT TOP 50 MovieID
FROM (SELECT [MovieID], COUNT(*) AS c
FROM [tblMovieTags]
WHERE [TagID] IN (SELECT TOP 7 [TagID]
FROM [tblMovieTags]
WHERE [MovieID]=12345
ORDER BY Relevance ASC)
GROUP BY [MovieID]
HAVING COUNT(*) > 1) a
INNER JOIN [tblMovies] m ON m.MovieID=a.MovieID
WHERE (Hidden=0) AND m.Active=1 AND m.Processed=1
ORDER BY c DESC, m.IMDB DESC
What I'm trying to find movies that have at least 2 matching tags for MovieID 12345.
Database basic scheme looks like:
Each movie has 4 to 5 tags. I want a list of movies similar to any movie based on the tags. A minimum of 2 tags must match.
This query is causing my server problems as I have hundreds of concurrent users at any given time.
I have already created indexes based on execution plan suggestions, and that has made it quicker, but it's still not enough.
Is there anything I could do to make this faster?

Answer 1

I Like to use temp tables, because they can speed up your queries (if used correctly) and make it easier to read. Try using the query below and see if it speeds it up any. There were a few fields (hidden,imdb) that weren't in your schema, so I left them out.
This query may, or may not, be exactly what you are looking for. The point of it is to show you how to use temp tables to increase the performance and improve readability. Some minor tweaks may be necessary.
SELECT TOP 7 [TagID],[MovieTagID],[MovieID]
INTO #MovieTags
FROM [tblMovieTags]
WHERE [MovieID]=12345
SELECT mt.MovieID, COUNT(mt.MovieTagID)
INTO #Movies
FROM #MovieTags mt
INNER JOIN tblMovies m ON m.MovieID=mt.MovieID AND m.Active=1 AND m.Process=1
GROUP BY [MovieID]
HAVING COUNT(mt.MovieTagID) > 1
SELECT TOP 50 * FROM #Movies
DROP TABLE #MovieTags
DROP TABLE #Movies
Edit
Parameterized Queries
You will also want to use parameterized queries, rather than concatenating your values in your SQL string. Check out this short, to the point, blog that explains why you should use parameterized queries. This, combined with the temp table method, should improve your performance significantly.

Answer 2

I want to see if there is some unnecessary processing happening from that query you wrote. Try the following query and let us know if it's faster slower etc And if it's even getting the same data.
I just threw this together so no guarantees on perfect syntax
SELECT TOP 7 [TagID]
INTO #MovieTags
FROM [tblMovieTags]
WHERE [MovieID]=12345
ORDER BY TagID
;cte_movies AS
(
SELECT
mt.MovieID
,mt.TagID
FROM
tblMovieTags mt
INNER JOIN #MovieTags t ON mt.TagId = t.TagId
INNER JOIN tblMovies m ON mt.MovieID = m.MovieID
WHERE
(Hidden=0) AND m.Active=1 AND m.Processed=1
),
cte_movietags AS
(
SELECT
MovieId
,COUNT(MovieId) AS TagCount
FROM
cte_movies
GROUP BY MovieId
)
SELECT
MovieId
FROM
cte_movietags
WHERE
TagCount > 1
ORDER BY
MovieId
GO
DROP TABLE #MovieTags