I returned late last night from the Spring DevConnections event, delivering three sessions in the SQL Server Connections conference. I talked about Encryption, Filestream/Filetable, and Contained Databases. Always cool to see your name in print

It was a nice event, with decent crowds in the… Read more

One of the problems with databases in SQL Server is the dependency of the database on various parts of the host instance. In SQL Server 2012 there is an enhancement to the database format that allows for partial containment of your database, and will make the movement, migration, and management… Read more

SQL Server has a number of encryption features that allow you to better secure your data. This session will examine the basics of encryption and cover the various ways in which you can encode and decode your data to protect it from unauthorized access. Cell level encryption, Transparent Data Encryption,… Read more

More and more of our data does not fit neatly into a structured, relational model of rows and columns of data. In this session, you will learn about how SQL Server stores unstructured data, with a special emphasis on how to use Filestream, which integrates SQL Server with the NTFS… Read more

A few last minute prep items for DevConnections and I leave in a few hours for Las Vegas. My first trip since last November, and it’s been a welcome break from being on the road. I suspect that won’t last and I’ll be traveling to more spots in the future,… Read more

Interesting to see someone talking about all the research Google is spending money on, which aren’t directly related to their core business. The piece is a bit of a complaint, and it’s a valid one for shareholders.

Personally I like what Google is doing. They’re experimenting, they’re trying to… Read more

When you run something from the start menu or in a Windows command prompt, you type the program name to run the executable file. There are three ways in which you can execute something:

1. the executable is in your current directory/folder
2. you type the entire path to the executable.
3. the…

Read more

I haven’t played with Windows 8 yet, and only a little with Windows Phone 7, but I am a little concerned. This set of videos that show an older man, a CPA, a lifelong Windows user messing with Windows 8 and OSX are a bit telling to me.

The whole… Read more

Someone asked the question recently about allowing a user to run a process,but not execute the individual pieces of the process. I replied that ownership chains allow this, and then explained things. Here’s a short example of that.

Let’s suppose I have a process that removes data from a table… Read more

It’s that time of the month again, T-SQL Tuesday Tuesday. This month Argenis Fernandez, MCM, and big round SQL teddy-bear is hosting. His topic is Jack of All Trades, Master of None.

The second Tuesday of every month is when the blog party takes off. If you want to… Read more

For a guy that was looking to not travel much, it seems that I’ve got way more on my plate than I expected. Right now I have these trips scheduled. At most of them, I’m scheduled to deliver some type of talk.

• Mar 25-28 – SQL Server Connections in Las…

Read more

First, only support Women in Technology if you want to. It’s an idea that appeals to some, but not to everyone and if it’s not your cause, that’s fine. I don’t think less of you for not supporting the cause, but I would if you bash it. There’s no reason… Read more

Filestream is a cool feature, albeit one that’s cumbersome to use in SQL Server 2008 and R2. However the FileTable feature in SQL Server 2012 builds on Filestream and you must enable this feature for FileTable to work.

There is a good document in BOL about this. It basically has… Read more

I had an exchange with someone that had plagiarized some work recently. That’s nothing new, and I run into plagiarism constantly as an editor/publisher of information on the Internet.

As a quick aside, if you aren’t sure what plagiarism is, go to plagiarism.org, read Wikipedia, or ask someone. The short… Read more

I have written about creating a certificate and backing up a certificate, and the next step is the restoration of a certificate into a server instance. This post covers the basics of restoring a certificate.

There is no RESTORE CERTIFICATE command because the CREATE CERTIFICATE command accomplishes the same… Read more

An inspiring story. A hard one, and one that comes from someone with talent.

I like seeing stories like this, and I think they do give some inspiration to others. Here is someone that was dealt a hard hand in life, and turned it around, with perseverance and hard… Read more

I don’t know if electric cars are the answer, but I do think electricity will play a larger part of how we move things around in the future. Overall it’s more efficient, if we can figure out how to generate it well, and also provide it to vehicles in an… Read more

I bought a Brother 2060 about 5 years ago to serve as our primary printer at the ranch. It was a basic, compact, black and white laser that did a good job for us. It seems as though we’ve had it forever, and I’ve only replaced the toner once. We… Read more