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 is running 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
Today, more organisations are adopting DevOps over older, traditional practices. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains DevOps and compares it to Waterfall and Agile methodologies. … 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
The use of macOS by developers and IT professionals has gained popularity the past few years. Running a sandboxed SQL Server, however, has been difficult. That changed when Microsoft made SQL Server images on Docker available. In this article, Carlos Robles explains how to get started with Docker when running macOS. … Read more
SQL Server contains many built-in views and functions that can be used to understand what is going on “under the hood,” and security is no exception. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains the security related catalogue views, dynamic management views, and system functions.… Read more
Security is, or at least should be, the priority for any IT system. In this article, Cynthia Dzikiti discusses the security aspects of ERP systems and some of the techniques used to protect data.… Read more
GDPR enforcement began in May of 2018, but if you are doing business in the US, you may not think it applies to you. Grant Fritchey explains why you might be wrong about that and why you need to act now. … Read more
The sa account is the most powerful account in a SQL Server instance, and most DBAs disable it. There are several other built-in accounts that you may not think about that often. Robert Sheldon continues his SQL Server security series with an article about built-in accounts.… 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
In the years before joining Redgate, I was a SQL Server database consultant. I spent a lot of time doing SQL Server health checks, query tuning, and ETL (extract, transform, and load) development. Every customer was different and getting to the resources I needed to do the job at each shop varied as well. I … 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 this article, the second in the series, Robert Sheldon demonstrates how to manage the SQL Server security with granting permissions to users, logins, and groups.… 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
When most of us think of robotics used in enterprises, automating manufacturing processes comes to mind. Robotics Process Automation (RPA), however, deals with automating mundane office tasks. In this article, Arvind Kumar explains the benefits of RPA and presents a case study.… 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
SQL Server Audit is a powerful feature that can help you comply with regulations such as HIPAA and SOX, but it’s not easy to view the data collected. In this article, Robert Sheldon demonstrates how Power BI can be used to view and filter SQL Server Audit results.… Read more
It’s easy to use invoke-sqlcmd to send T-SQL statements to SQL Server from PowerShell. There is, however, a rich PowerShell library, sqlps, that can be used instead. In this article, Greg Moore shows how to use sqlps to treat a SQL Server instance as an object.… Read more
Regulations may require that you audit exactly who does what in your databases. Robert Sheldon explains how SQL Server can help you meet those requirements with its built-in auditing capabilities.… 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
Database administrators are typically responsible for the security and availability of financial data. In this article, Robert Sheldon discusses SOX, passed in 2002, that governs financial data of publicly traded companies in the US.… Read more
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Compliant Database DevOps
