When SQL Server 2014 was released, it included Hekaton, Microsoft’s much talked about memory-optimized engine that brings In-Memory OLTP into play. With memory-optimized tables 30 times faster than disk-based tables, higher performance is promised – but at what cost? Jonathan Watts looks at the features that have improved, and those that need careful consideration.  Read more...

Steve Jones talks about careers, and where you might take your career over time.  Read more...

In many occupations, workers invest in their own tools. However we rarely do that in technology.   Read more...

Learn how you can easily spread your backup across multiple files.  Read more...

Daniel Calbimonte has written a code comparison for MariaDB vs. SQL Server as it pertains to how to comment, how to create functions and procedures with parameters, how to store query results in a text file, how to show the top n rows in a query, how to use loops, and more.  Read more...

Watch this short video on creating a striped backup for your database.  Read more...

Learn how to create a striped backup in this short piece.  Read more...

In this next level of the Stairway to Integration Services, we look at the SSIS catalog environments and how they help you manage your package parameters.  Read more...

Every day, out in the various online forums devoted to SQL Server, and on Twitter, the same types of questions come up repeatedly: Why is this query running slowly? Why is SQL Server ignoring my index? Why does this query run quickly sometimes and slowly at others? My response is the same in each case: have you looked at the execution plan?  Read more...

Containers promise to make applications more portable and efficient. The technology, originally based on Linux's cgroups, provides a way of running several applications as modular, platform-agnostic packages in isolation on the same server. Docker's open-source approach to containers has dominated the market, and Microsoft is producing its own equivalent Windows system. What next? Will Containers replace VMS? Robert Sheldon investigates.  Read more...

The right tools for the job.  Read more...

The article show a simple way we managed to schedule index rebuild and reorg for an SQL instance with 106 databases used by one application using a Scheduled job.  Read more...

SQL Server Express Edition does not include SQL Server Agent in order to schedule the SQL Server database backups. Here's how to automate the backups for SQL Server Express Edition and make sure the old backup files are deleted.  Read more...

If your code uses temporary tables, variable tables or dynamic cursors, this metric can help identify whether you have contention on tempdb allocation. Tempdb is shared by all databases and is used for many operations in a SQL Server instance, so it is common for tempdb to cause performance problems.  Read more...

We still have problems with SQL Injection. Steve Jones has a few thoughts on why.  Read more...

Quick and easy way to monitor server activity and be notified from alerts.  Read more...

Constructing a test environment for your databases can be a difficult task at the best of times. Once you’ve actually acquired the hardware needed and architected the environment, you still have to arrange and securely transport the data. And with the rising demand for fast feedback and continuously integrated processes, having all of this automated and operating at speed is a challenge all of its own.  Read more...

Could you spare 3 minutes to do us a quick favor? Redgate’s running this short survey on how our readers develop and deploy databases. It’s just 12 multiple choice questions, so if you’ve got a couple of minutes to spare, we’d love to hear from you.  Read more...

Experience matters in setting your salary, but Steve Jones reminds us there are different types of experience, and there's more to life than money.  Read more...

The law seems to be failing to with the boons and pitfalls of technology.  Read more...