Microsoft added the In-Memory OLTP (aka memory optimized tables) feature to SQL Server 2014. Operations to this type of table do not need locks, therefore eliminating blocking and deadlocking. In this Article, Monica Rathbun demonstrates how to get started using memory optimized tables.… Read more
Understanding all the storage options available today is not easy. In this new series, Robert Sheldon will explain what you need to know to make sure that you get the right storage for your servers.… Read more
Accelerated Database Recovery is new with SQL Server 2019 and Azure SQL Database and used to decrease the time for rolling back large operations and database recovery. In this article, Forrest McDaniel explains how it works. … Read more
After fifteen years of heavy usage by developers and DBAs, it might seem like Microsoft’s free tool, SQL Server Management Studio, is about to go out of style. SSMS is no longer the cool new kid on the block: Microsoft has shown consistent effort to develop their new tool, Azure Data Studio (formerly known as … Read more
You can use SQL Audit to record changes to security, access to tables, and more to help you meet compliance requirements. In this article, Joshua Feierman explains how to set up the audit and collect the data in Azure Log Analytics when running SQL Server in an Azure VM.… Read more
Many organisations still run their companies on SQL Server 2008 or 2008 R2. There are many reasons to upgrade, but the most pressing reason is that extended support has run out. In this article, Brian Kelley explains what this means, tells you about some of the features you’ll gain if you upgrade, and provides some options. … Read more
Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman shows how to navigate Linux for SQL Server DBAs, using aliases, setting up environment variables, and examining processes.… Read more
SQL Server has many tools used to make it secure. In this article, Robert Sheldon demonstrates several of these features including SQL Server Configuration Manager and the Vulnerability Assessment tool.… Read more
Index maintenance can be a real headache for database administrators as tables grow larger and maintenance windows shrink. In this article, Greg Larsen demonstrates resumable index operations available with SQL Server 2017 and 2019. This feature helps DBAs work around those small maintenance windows by allowing certain index operations to be paused and restarted again later.… Read more
SQL Server supports partially contained databases. This gives you the option of adding database users with a password inside the database. This makes the database easier to move to another instance or participate in an Always On Availability Group. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains how to work with users in contained databases.… Read more
PowerShell is the preferred tool for many DBAs when automating SQL Server administration. In this article, Greg Moore demonstrates how to use a server list to control which tasks are performed on which servers.… Read more
In order to protect data and comply with regulations such as the GDPR and HIPAA, databases used by developers and testers must not contain private and sensitive data from production databases. To help DBAs protect data, Microsoft have released a new feature as part of SSMS called Static Data Masking. In this article, Greg Larsen demonstrates how to use this new feature.… Read more
Security is often considered the most important of a database administrator's responsibilities. SQL Server has many powerful features for security and protecting data, but planning and effort are required to properly implement them. In this article, the first of a series, Robert Sheldon reviews the many components available to secure and protect SQL Server databases. … Read more
DBAs running SQL Server on Linux will not only need to understand SQL Server security well, they will also need to understand how security works on Linux. In this article, Kellyn Pot'Vin-Gorman walks you through several examples, explaining the permissions and ownership of files and directories in Linux.… Read more
SQLPSX is a useful library you can add to PowerShell to automate many DBA tasks. In this article, Laerte Junior demonstrates several useful commands and shows you how to create a SQL Agent job using this library to run daily DBA checks.… Read more
As new versions of SQL Server have been released, the Query Optimizer has undergone many improvements. Adaptive Query Processing, new in 2017, represents a new direction. This set of features provides some flexibility for varying join types, multi-statement table valued functions, and memory grants. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains the three features that make up Adaptive Query Processing … Read more
The Extended Events (or XEvents) feature has been part of SQL Server since 2008, but many database professionals struggle to get started using it. In this article, Phil Factor demonstrates several useful Extended Event sessions that measure just one thing in each. He then provides the code necessary to parse the resulting XML into something you can use.… Read more
SQL Server DBAs are typically quite familiar with security and best practices in Windows but may not understand how security works in Linux. In this article, Kellyn Pot'Vin-Gorman demonstrates how to manage user accounts in Linux and why working while logged in as root is a bad idea.… Read more
As running SQL Server on Linux becomes more common, DBAs must learn and become comfortable with the Linux OS. In this article, Kellyn Pot'Vin-Gorman demonstrates how to create a SQL Server instance running in Linux via a Docker container.… Read more
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