As yo probably know, Brian covers security topics for us and does a great job. This week he looks at the fixed roles and points out a few things you may not have thought about.   Read more...

One of the major problems in the database field is when people store sensitive data unencrypted into SQL Server. This article shows you one of the most basic ways to encrypt data to the casual viewer.   Read more...

One thing that often amazes me is that many SQL Server developers do not actually measure the performance of their queries. Many of them thought that you needed external tools, more or less complicated, to run against your server, and they did not have the time or inclination to learn and try these. This article will describe a couple of much easier methods of measuring performance of queries.   Read more...

In part one Chris Kempster covered a variety of security recommendations primarily for production systems. In Part two of this series he continues to explore security at a variety of levels where you may not realize you are vulnerable.   Read more...

If your database is marked suspect, this will show you a step-by-step guide in how to fix the problem.   Read more...

One of the best ways to reduce the load on your server and increase application responsiveness is to reduce the number of "round trips" your application makes. This article by Andy Warren shows you a few ways to increase your performance by reducing round trips.   Read more...

Securing your SQL Server can be an arduous task, but very rewarding. This article covers 10 steps to properly protecting your data.   Read more...

In this series of articles, Chris Kempster will discuss some of the finer aspects of SQL Server security and also touch on OS, physical and application security to open up this science for general discussion.   Read more...

If you allow users write access to replicated tables on the subscriber, you can run into cases where a record is inserted on the wrong server - which will result in a replication stopping error if the same primary key is later inserted on the publisher. Find out how to fix it without pushing a new snapshot.   Read more...

Just because a column has an index doesn't mean the SQL Server Query Analyzer will use it. Learn how to create indexes SQL Server will use.   Read more...

This article by Andy Warren talks about using sp_addlogin to move logins from one server to another. It also points out a problem you may run into if you have a SQL 7 server that was upgraded from 6.5   Read more...

One thing that often amazes me is that many SQL Server developers do not actually measure the performance of their queries. Many of them thought that you needed external tools, more or less complicated, to run against your server, and they did not have the time or inclination to learn and try these. This article will describe a couple of much easier methods of measuring performance of queries.   Read more...

If your database is marked suspect, this will show you a step-by-step guide in how to fix the problem.   Read more...

Nice write up on the Admin Companion. Should you add it to your bookshelf? Frank offers his frank opinion.   Read more...

We saw a note from Chad about a tool he wrote in the forums and asked him to write up some notes. Not only did we get notes, we got the source code! See what a DBA can do with some DMO.   Read more...

In part one Chris Kempster covered a variety of security recommendations primarily for production systems. In Part two of this series he continues to explore security at a variety of levels where you may not realize you are vulnerable.   Read more...

The second part of Steve Jones's series on having SQL Server automatically report information to a DBA.   Read more...

One of the most handy extended stored procedures in SQL Server is xp_cmdshell. This article will show you how to use it.   Read more...

As yo probably know, Brian covers security topics for us and does a great job. This week he looks at the fixed roles and points out a few things you may not have thought about.   Read more...

Andy takes us through a recent troubleshooting session that includes a call to PSS. Ever run agent from the command line? Have a good idea of what justifies a call to PSS? Read this to learn more.   Read more...

One thing that often amazes me is that many SQL Server developers do not actually measure the performance of their queries. Many of them thought that you needed external tools, more or less complicated, to run against your server, and they did not have the time or inclination to learn and try these. This article will describe a couple of much easier methods of measuring performance of queries.   Read more...

As yo probably know, Brian covers security topics for us and does a great job. This week he looks at the fixed roles and points out a few things you may not have thought about.   Read more...

We saw a note from Chad about a tool he wrote in the forums and asked him to write up some notes. Not only did we get notes, we got the source code! See what a DBA can do with some DMO.   Read more...