A SQL Server upgrade left a log shipping secondary unable to accept transaction logs. Re-seeding it without touching the primary or its mirror is straightforward in principle — drop, restore full + diff + log with NORECOVERY, hand back to the job — but three undocumented traps will stop you along the way. Here's what they are and how to get past them.
2026-10-14
748 reads
Should SQL Server databases enforce foreign key constraints? A veteran DBA breaks down the real arguments
2026-10-14
Learn how to normalize values in Power BI to allow you to compare disparate different data.
2026-10-12
876 reads
Since the transition from DTS to SSIS, I have found myself looking for alternative ways to do simple tasks such as exporting data from SQL Server into text files. SSIS is a far more powerful tool than DTS, but I generally try to stay away from it for simple operations. With the combination of a few T-SQL commands this tip shows you a simple way to export data to text files.
2026-10-12
Share your view on the database landscape and you could win USD$500.
2026-10-12 (first published: 2026-09-28)
See how security in SSAS tabular models might not work as you expect, and how you could easily fail an audit.
2026-10-09
894 reads
Discover how a Microsoft-signed system procedure bypasses SQL Server's disabled xp_cmdshell setting - plus detection and mitigation steps for defenders
2026-10-09
Learn how to build a report that shows the health of your database estate that your leadership will read and use.
2026-10-07
1,352 reads
NOLOCK is bad and you probably shouldn't use it, but every time I mention that publicly, the pushback just keeps coming. I don't know why people so firmly believe that their situation couldn't possibly be affected by bad/random data from NOLOCK.
2026-10-07
Learn how you might balance the load in Amazon Athena when you have large partition windows.
2026-10-05
1,604 reads
By Steve Jones
This is timely, as I’m currently on a boat in the Adriatic taking a...
You can find the slides and SQL scripts for my session “Spice up your...
By SQLPals
How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later) Updated...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Using CHOOSE()
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Re-Seeding a Broken Log Shipping...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The DBA is Dead! Long...
We have this code that sets some status values and then queries them using the CHOOSE() function in SQL Server 2025.
CREATE TABLE Status
(
StatusID INT,
StatusDescription VARCHAR(20)
);
GO
INSERT dbo.Status
(
StatusID,
StatusDescription
)
VALUES
(0, 'Uncategorized'),
(1, 'Active'),
(2, 'Inactive'),
(3, 'Temp');
GO
SELECT CHOOSE(StatusID, 'Unknown', 'Active', 'Inactive', 'Temporary')
FROM Status;
When the SELECT runs, what is returned? See possible answers