Day 1 of Simon's journey to build an OLAP solution in a week.   Read more...

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Table partitioning is a blessing in that it makes large tables that have varying access patterns more scalable and manageable, but it is a mixed blessing. It is important to understand the down-side before using table partitioning.  Read more...

The OLAP Challenge at the PASS Summit. Read about the plan and preparations.  Read more...

Greg Larsen shows you how to install Data Quality Services and the companion client tool called Data Quality Client for SQL Server 2012.  Read more...

A DBA may consider switching a database to the BULK_LOGGED recovery model in the short term during, for example, bulk load operations. When a database is operating in the BULK_LOGGED model these, and a few other operations such as index rebuilds, can be minimally logged and will therefore use much less space in the log  Read more...

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This article shares some tips on using concatenation efficiently for application development, pointing out some things that we must consider and look at when concatenating values or fields in our queries or stored procedures.  Read more...

A free eBook from SQLServerCentral and Red Gate software can help you learn about the best hardware for your SQL Server instances.  Read more...

The Execute SQL Task of SSIS is extraordinarily useful, but it can cause a lot of difficulty for developers learning SSIS, or only using it occasionally. What it needed, we felt, was a clear step-by-step guide that showed the basics of how to use it effectively. Annette Allen has once again cleared the fog of confusion.   Read more...

in order to use the modify() method to delete data from typed and untyped XML instances, you must pass an XML DML expression as an argument to the method. That expression must include the delete keyword, along with an XQuery expression that defines the XML component to be deleted. Robert makes it seem simple, as usual.  Read more...

A quick solution is a table function that will create a date range based on the parameters given. Then, you can just join to the results.  Read more...

SQL Server developers and database administrators have one last chance for a full day of free training and networking at SQL in the City 2012.  Read more...

This article shows a clean non-looping method to parse comma separated values from a parameter passed to a stored procedure.  Read more...

When the average database developer is obliged to manipulate XML, either shredding it into relational format, or creating it from SQL, it is often done 'at arms length'. A shame, since effective use of techniques that go beyond the basics can save much code,  Read more...

Learn all you need to know about MDX, by drawing only on your current SQL knowledge.   Read more...