Microsoft provides many ways to run SQL Server in Azure, but which do you choose? In this article, Robert Sheldon explains the Azure SQL options.… Read more
The 2002 movie Minority Report is about a police unit called PreCrime, which can predict when people will commit a crime so they can be arrested before it happens. Things go awry when a team member played by Tom Cruise is himself “pre-accused.” To make predictions, they use technology and the special abilities of the … Read more
The SQL Server identity column is used to populate a column with incrementing numbers on insert. In this article, Greg Larsen explains how it works.… Read more
Oracle added several enhancements to the sequence object in version 12c, including an “identity” column feature. Jonathan Lewis explains how to work with these new features. … Read more
Communities of practice bring people together to share ideas and learn from each other about a common interest. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains and gives some advice on starting them.… Read more
I am trying so hard not to roll my eyes right now. I re-read the sentence. “Cherish criticism instead of getting offended by it!” says the feedback in bright, breezy tones with a liberal dollop of self-righteousness. Try as I might, I cannot keep the patronising tone out of my head. I give up, and … Read more
SQL Server perfmon counters provide a wealth of information about performance. In this article, Fabiano Amorim shows how current wisdom about one counter, SQL Compilations/sec, can sometimes be misleading.… Read more
No one is good at something right when they start. When starting something new, it’s normal to feel terrified or have “imposter syndrome.” You’ll constantly be rubbing shoulders with people that are more experienced, more talented, or seemingly more confident. It takes a long, long time to get good at something. Of course, there are … Read more
Changing the UI in games makes the games more fun to play. Lance Talbert demonstrates how to use post-processing effects in Unity to change the game.… Read more
Oracle sequences supply unique numbers that can be used when populating tables. In this article, Jonathan Lewis explains the typical uses of Oracle sequences.… Read more
It was always important to me to keep up with the latest versions of SQL Server, but especially so when I was a database administrator or consultant. I wasn’t always able to work with the new versions right away in production, but at least I had an idea about features, capabilities, and benefits. Fifteen years … Read more
DBAs can control many aspects of SQL Server’s behavior with trace flags. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains how to enable SQL Server trace flags.… Read more
Monitoring SQL Server for performance is a critical part of a DBA’s job. In this article, Edward Pollack explains some of the SQL Server performance monitor data and how to collect it.… Read more
I recently presented a session about DevOps for DBAs, explaining what it is and why DBAs should care. One of the comments I received was “I thought I knew what DevOps was. Thanks to your session, now I know better.” Here’s one definition of DevOps: The union of people, process, and products to enable continuous … Read more
The SQL Server transaction log must be managed to keep a database running and performing well. In this article, Greg Larsen explains how to manage the transaction log size.… Read more
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