Every new release of SQL Server comes with new features that cause a ripple of excitement within the industry: well, amongst the marketing people anyway. What happens to all the exciting TLAs that are bandied about when a new version launches? It's mixed, it seems. Adam Machanic's classic post, The SQL Hall of Shame, has inspired Rob Sheldon to look back at some of the features that, though worthy, have may have failed to hit the mainstream.  Read more...

SQL Server 2016 introduced many new features and improvements for all its products, and Master Data Services (MDS) is no exception. In this post, Koen Verbeeck gives a comprehensive overview of all the new MDS features.  Read more...

Master Data Services (MDS) is Microsoft's platform for supporting Master Data Management (MDM). A system like MDS, if properly maintained, gives organisations a powerful alternative to increasingly having to centralize databases as a way of preventing data from getting out sync or become inconsistent, and a reliable way of managing the flow of data through corporate IT systems. It makes microservice architectures realistic. Hari Yadav shows you how to get up and running with MDS.  Read more...

This article describes a solution for Master Data Service (MDS) hosted on AlwaysOn Availability Group configuration. The article describes how to install and configure SQL 2016 Master Data Services on a SQL 2016 AlwaysOn Availability group (AG). The main purpose of this solution is to improve high availability and disaster recovery of MDS backend data hosted on a SQL Server database.  Read more...

In SQL Server Master Data Services all the entities are organized in a model. Once a model is ready to be released to subscribers, it should be frozen and marked as ready for subscribers. Until a model is marked as ready, a model is typically deemed as work in progress. In this article, Siddarth Mehta covers the standard process that's required to release a completed version of the model to subscribers.  Read more...

This white paper describes how to export master data from Microsoft SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS) using a subscription view, and how to import the master data into an external system using SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). The white paper provides a step-by-step sample for creating a subscription view and an SSIS package.  Read more...

MDS allows you to create a centralized hub for creating and managing enterprise master data. Arshad Ali discusses how to install and configure Master Data Services in SQL Server 2012, and a method to deploy sample models.  Read more...

Learn how to import data to Master Data Services (MDS) using Master Data Manager Portal UI to enter data manually or how to automate the import process by staging data into three different MDS staging tables.   Read more...

There are numerous databases housing the same information and it's getting quite difficult to keep everything in line. I've heard from a number of departments who want a more centralized approach to handling customer data, but I don't know where to begin. Can you steer me in the right direction?   Read more...

With Master Data Services, IT organizations can centrally manage critical data assets companywide.  Read more...

The article will provide an overview of Master Data Services and a sample SSIS Package.  Read more...