Is 'Always Encrypted' SQL Server 2016's most widely important new feature? It is significant that 'Always Encrypted' in SQL Server is in all editions of SQL Server. Because of the increasing importance of encryption to data governance, it allows encryption for the sensitive application data for everywhere beyond the application's client connection, including network, server, database and storage. Robert Sheldon explains what it is, why you should try it out, and how to set about it.… Read more
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) is an important part of the development process. If carried out as early as possible and as regularly as possible, it not only alerts the development team to aspects that don't yet meet the requirements of the users, but also gives governance a better idea of progress. If UAT is delayed, defects become expensive and troublesome to fix. Sophia Segal gives an experienced summary view of UAT… Read more
The feature formerly known as Hekaton, now In-Memory OLTP can provide very useful performance gains where you carefully select the tables to become memory-optimised. How do you set about the job of converting existing tables to become memory-optimised tables? the process isn't entirely straightforward but the benefits that an In-Memory OLTP table delivers is worth your effort. Alex Grinberg takes you through the basics.… Read more
Sometimes, you can be asked an awkward question about data that doesn't quite fit with the SQL way of thinking. Although window functions have made SQL more versatile, there are times when you have to reach for your favourite book of algorithms to code your way around an unusual reporting task… Read more
Many practical database problems can be tackled more simply and intuitively by graphs or networks, which in this sense are graphs in which attributes can be associated with the nodes and edges. It is a natural way to study relationships within the data. SQL databases aren't the easiest way of doing it, but it makes sense where the scale permits it. Because of the range of graphs and techniques, some Graph theory is unavoidable before you get stuck into the code, and who better to introduce graph databases than Joe Celko? … Read more
In the first and the second parts of this series, we learned what query parsing is, how hard and soft parsing work, what their impact on the query is, and then moved on to understand the concept of parent and child cursors. In this third article, we will look at the issue of duplicate SQL statements and how Bind Variables… Read more
Sometimes, it isn't the technicalities or details of database source control that people find difficult, but the general concepts and workflow. In this article, taken from Robert Sheldon's book 'SQL Server Source Control Basics' , he takes a step back from the details to explain the whole purpose of database source control and the most important operations within source control such as versioning, branching and merging.… Read more
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) encrypts the data within the physical files of the database, the 'data at rest'. Without the original encryption certificate and master key, the data cannot be read when the drive is accessed or the physical media is stolen. The data in unencrypted data files can be read by restoring the files to another server. TDE requires planning but can be implemented without changing the database. Robert Sheldon explains how to implement TDE.… Read more
SSIS was not originally designed with automated deployment in mind. However, any database that uses SSIS projects and their packages needs a way of scripting the deployment of them if the database is to be deployed rapidly, or via a build server. Nat Sundar shows a technique that can be extended to manage the scripted deployment of SSIS projects. … Read more
If you need to run SQL Server in an Azure Virtual Machine, your choice of Azure storage will have a great effect on its performance. If performance is important, you are likely to discover complications and barriers in the storage options when you come to provision the server. If you get it wrong, you could end up with an expensive service. Joshua explains the value of using a lab environment to allow you to make well-informed VM storage decisions when the time comes to provision your production system. … Read more
Once you have Query Store enabled on your databases, runtime statistics are generated for your queries; but what about the natively-compiled stored procedures and memory optimised tables that come with In-Memory OLTP? Do you get the full range of runtime statistics? This is an intriguing question that Enrico explores and answers.… Read more
SQL Server Encryption is an essential part of what is required for protecting data. Column-level encryption can be a very effective way of doing this. In the first in a series of articles on the theme of SQL Server Encryption, Robert Sheldon once more makes it all seem easy.… Read more
Whether you are working in a procedural language like PowerShell or in T-SQL, there is something slightly bothersome about having to deal with parameters that are lists, or worse with ranges amongst the values. In fact, once you have a way of dealing with them, they can be convenient, especially when bridging the gulf between application and the database. Phil Factor shows how to deal with them.… Read more
In many enterprises, where there are a number of separate systems engaged in processing data, there arises the daunting task of checking and reconciling data as it flows between systems. Discrepancies in data must be detected, tracked and corrected as quickly as possible: there is no room for error in doing this. A Reconciliation Hub can provide the answer, as Rahul Gupta explains.… Read more
When you force a query plan via the Query Store, you will need to track what happens: Sometimes the request to force a plan will fail, and you will want to know when and why. There are several ways of getting feedback, ranging from the built-in reports to using extended events. Enrico explains the details.… Read more
You can easily use PowerBI Desktop to show graphically how your database is growing, which tables are taking the most space, how various parts of SQL Server is consuming memory, its use of indexes and so on. Sure, you can create graphs in SSMS, but with PowerBI, you can create reports that you can then publish to others, and which allow drill-down. It is a great way to get familiar with PowerBI Desktop as well. Rob Sheldon shows how simple it is to do.… Read more
Database provisioning for development work isn't always easy. The better that development teams meet business demands for rapid delivery and high quality, the more complex become the requirements for the work of development and testing. More databases are required for testing and development, and they need to be more rapidly kept current. Data and loading needs to match more closely what is in production. Grant Fritchey explains.… Read more
When you combine PowerShell and SQLite, you can perform powerful magic. Phil Factor is in awe of SQLite and gives a brief demonstration of how easy it is to use. Just to encourage anyone who is unfamiliar with the database, he includes a giant-sized SQLite version of the old PUBS database that the first generation of RDBMS developers cut their teeth on. … Read more
Triggers are generally over-used in SQL Server. They are only rarely necessary, can cause performance issues, and are tricky to maintain If you use them, it is best to keep them simple, and have only one operation per trigger. Joe Celko describes a feature of SQL that 'gets complicated fast'.… Read more
In any commercial setting, Excel Spreadsheets remain the preferred way of collecting and analysing data, and it makes sense that it should be easy to get the data into PowerBI so it can be made more generally available for sharing and further analysis. As well as the data, we'd probably need the other analysis components such as the Power Pivot tables, Power View visualizations, Power Query queries. It is all possible, and Robert Sheldon demonstrates how.… Read more
