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
Kerberos authentication is a topic that many database administrators avoid. It’s really not that difficult to understand, but it’s also easy to get wrong. In this article, Kathi Kellenberger talks about what you need to know about configuring Kerberos for SSRS and SQL Server databases but were too shy to ask.… Read more
PowerShell is the preferred scripting tool used by Windows and Active Directory administrators. It can also be used to administer SQL Server or even just export data. In this article, Greg Moore demonstrates how to use the PowerShell cmdlet Invoke-SQLCMD to export data from SQL Server.… Read more
With SQL Server 2017, Microsoft announced the exciting news that SQL Server would now run in Docker containers. Laerte Junior provides a guide to get started creating SQL Server instances in Docker.… Read more
SQL Server Management Objects (SMO) is a great tool for managing SQL Server. Darko Martinovic demonstrates how to use SMO within a C# solution to create tables, backup the database, and more.… Read more
With Amazon RDS, it’s easy to have a SQL Server running in minutes. There are some limitations, though. Seth Delconte explains a workaround to overcome one of the limitations: the inability to restore a second copy of a database to recover missing data.… Read more
With SQL Server now supported on Linux, traditional SQL Server DBAs will need to learn how to work with Linux, and Linux administrators will need to learn how to work with SQL Server. Fortunately, there are several tools available to assist. In this article Prashanth Jayaram describes how to work with the DMV tool which treats queries as files. … Read more
Changing a data type seems like a simple task unless the table is quite large and downtime must be kept to a minimum. Danny Kruge walks you through the process he created to change an INT to a BIGINT in a large table.… Read more
Database administrators have enormous responsibility whether they manage one or hundreds of servers. Monica Rathbun tells us how she survived as the Lone DBA for 56 database servers for over a decade. While many DBAs work on teams instead of alone, she has great advice for all.… Read more
