Enforcing Unique Customer Emails When Duplicates Already Exist
How do you keep some duplicate records by not others? An interesting business rule enforced by cleanup and a filtered index.
2026-11-11
1,197 reads
Articles
How to secure temporary objects, metadata visibility, and audit assurance in SQL Server
This article, part of Fabiano Amorim’s complete guide to SQL Server security, explains and demonstrates where these three features commonly go wrong. Learn the the exact signs and queries to check for exposure – and the practical fixes that turn a theoretical risk into a closed gap.
2026-11-11
Table Partitioning in SQL Server: A Practical Guide to Managing Very Large Tables (VLDBs)
Introduction When we first start working with SQL Server, most tables are small enough and we do not think much about their size. But over time, a table can collect millions or even billions of rows. For example, an online shopping application may store every order ever placed, a banking system may retain years of […]
2026-11-09
3,109 reads
SQL DROP COLUMN Without Breaking Code
Adding a column is relatively easy, since the applications can just ignore it in most cases. But taking a column away can be a little bit more work, as you may have to trick the applications into believing the column is still there. I often see systems where deprecated columns have stayed around “forever” — because people are too afraid to remove them, or because they don’t have the access or capability to modify the source code of the affected applications.
2026-11-09
Packing and Decoding Device Status Codes with LEFT_SHIFT() and RIGHT_SHIFT() in SQL Server
Some systems store several small status values through a single packed integer. For example, a device integration may require tracking operating mode, alert level, and zone information as one status code rather than separate values in different columns. That creates a practical reporting problem. The packed value may be convenient for an integration format, but […]
2026-11-06
1,676 reads
SQL Server 2016 end of support: how to choose your upgrade path
SQL Server 2016 reached the end of extended support in July 2026, which means it no longer receives regular security updates unless you pay for Extended Security Updates (ESUs).
2026-11-06
Importing Excel files into SQL Server, Azure Edition
How to Use Azure Functions to insert Excel Files into an Azure SQL Database.
2026-11-04
1,998 reads
Migrate a VLDB with SQL Server Log Shipping
You just had a great weekend. You go grab your coffee and before you take a sip a manager grabs you and says, “we need your help.” We need to migrate a very large database to our new data center. We need to keep the data in sync and have a short period of downtime when we cutover.
2026-11-04
Troubleshooting Slow Queries That Already Have an Index
This article looks at some common query patterns that cause performance issues and provides some guidance on how to fix them.
2026-11-02
2,865 reads
What I learned after a weekend of AI troubleshooting gone wrong (8 key lessons)
Grant Fritchey walks through a real troubleshooting saga – using Wine, a shim DLL, a misconfigured registry entry, and a lot of trial and error – to get a BridgeCom Maverick radio’s Windows CPS running on Linux Mint.
2026-11-02
Blogs
PASS Data Community Summit 2026
By Steve Jones
Yesterday was the first day of sessions at the PASS Data Community Summit (after...
T-SQLTuesday 204: Are blogs still relevant?
This month’s blogging party is hosted by Jeff Ianucci – his challenge is to...
Are Blogs Still Relevant? I Think They Still Are.
As for me, I'll keep writing whenever time permits. I don't expect every post...
Forums
Pay for Performance
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Pay for Performance, which is...
Switching Schemas I
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Switching Schemas I
Enforcing Unique Customer Emails When Duplicates Already Exist
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Enforcing Unique Customer Emails When...
Question of the Day
Switching Schemas I
I run this query:
SELECT s.name AS schemaname , o.name AS objectname FROM sys.objects o INNER JOIN sys.schemas s ON s.schema_id = o.schema_id WHERE o.name = 'Beer'I get one row back for an object named dbo.beer. There is an ETL schema and both of these are nonpartitioned tables. I run this code:
ALTER TABLE dbo.beer switch TO etl.beerWhat happens? See possible answers