How to Detect SQL Injection Attacks using Extended Events and SQL Monitor

Phil Factor shows how to monitor for the errors indicative of a possible SQL Injection attack on one of your SQL Server databases, using a SQL Monitor custom metric that uses diagnostic data from Extended Events. Read more

The Changing Role of SQL Server Monitoring

Grant Fritchey explains how a modern monitoring tool must adapt, as our SQL Server databases grow in number and size, and migrate onto new cloud-based, containerized or virtual machine-based SQL Servers. Read more

Pseudonymizing a Database with Realistic Data for Development Work

How to use SQL Data Generator, and PowerShell to obfuscate personal data (names), while retaining the same distribution of data, so that the test database behaves like the original. Read more

SQL Prompt Code Analysis: Avoid using the ISNUMERIC Function (E1029)

Avoid using the IsNumeric() function, because it can often lead to data type conversion errors, when importing data. On SQL Server 2012 or later, use the Try_Convert() or Try_Cast() function instead. On earlier SQL Server versions, the only way to avoid it is by using LIKE expressions. Read more

Documenting your Database with SQL Change Automation

Phil Factor uses SQL Change Automation and PowerShell to verify that the source code for the current database version builds successfully and, if so, to generate web-based database documentation using SQL Doc. Read more

SQL Prompt Code Analysis: INSERT INTO a permanent table with ORDER BY (PE020)

Data in relational tables is never guaranteed to be returned in a particular order, so adding an ORDER BY to an INSERT INTO statement is meaningless and, pre-SQL Server 2012, could cause performance issues. If you really need to impose a particular order on rows in the table, use a Row_Number() window clause instead. Read more

Spoofing Realistic Credit Card Data for your Test Systems using Data Masker

Grant Fritchey shows how to use Data Masker to create fake credit card data that not only looks like the real thing, but also has the right distribution, so will act like it too, when we query it. Read more

Creating Multiple Masked Databases with SQL Provision

Chris Unwin explains how SQL Provision can create copies of multiple databases, each masked consistently, and deliver them as a group. This is useful when, for example, you are working with a Data Warehouse that contains several cross-database relationships. Read more

Practical PowerShell Processes with SQL Change Automation

Starting from the object-level source code for a database, Phil Factor shows how SCA can create a NuGet build package, use it to migrate target database to the same version, and publish web-based database documentation, a report of what changed on the target and the results of a static code analysis assessment. Read more

SQL Prompt code analysis: avoid non-standard column aliases (ST002 and DEP021)

If you declare a column alias using equals SQL Prompt will raise a violation of a style rule (ST002). It's best to follow the ANSI-SQL92 standard of assigning aliases using the AS keyword. If the alias is not a standard identifier, delimit it with double quotes. using single quotes has long been deprecated (DEP021). Read more

Redgate Test Data Manager

Redgate Flyway

Redgate Monitor

Overview

Protect

Automate

Monitor

Product articles