A Microsoft SQL Server community of 1,739,031 DBAs, developers and SQL Server users

CONNECT ANY DATABASE is one of three new permissions in SQL Server 2014 that can be granted to server logins. What is this new permission good for and why would we ever want this?  Read more...

Here are seven practical tips for any 'accidental DBA' or developer, faced with having to deploy an upgrade to a database live to production, in a development environment that is in the early stages of getting the database code “house in order".  Read more...

This article describes an easy way to handle calculation based on fiscal year and quarter  Read more...

In this article, we’ll be focusing on the different ways you can build with a Cloud Service, and what exactly happens in terms of virtual machines when you deploy your application.  Read more...

Recursive CTEs can be confusing and scary, so examining some non-standard examples may cast light upon these shadowy demons.  Read more...

Checking program code into source control is a daily ritual for most developers, but versioning database code is less well-understood. Grant Fritchey argues that getting your databases under source control is not only vital for the stability of development and deployment, but it will make your life easier when something does go wrong.  Read more...

During a transaction, data is written to the log cache so that it’s ready to be written to the log file on commit, or can be rolled back if necessary. When the log cache is being flushed to disk, the SQL Server session will wait on the WriteLog wait type. If this happens all the time, it may suggest disk bottlenecks where the transaction log is stored.  Read more...

SQL Server 2012 introduced columnstore indexes, which can immensely improve the performance of OLAP queries. How were they updated and improved in SQL Server 2014?  Read more...

Many DBAs back up their user databases, but not their system databases. Whatever the reason for the lack of a backup, John Grover explains how to save yourself (mostly) should you ever find yourself with no viable master database and no good backup.  Read more...

Red Gate’s running a half-day training workshop at their UK head office in Cambridge on Aug 8. It’ll show you how to link your database source control repository to your build system as the starting point for continuous integration.   Read more...

Have you ever wanted to find out if someone is logged into a computer or maybe who is logged into...  Read more...

My previous two posts about SSRS reports being deployed to a SharePoint site along with their subscription didn't stop me...  Read more...