Designing SQL Server ETL Pipelines That Don't Break at Scale
A few lessons learned in building ETL pipelines and tricks to ensure you can easily maintain these over time.
2026-05-15
91 reads
Articles
2026-05-15 (first published: 2026-05-06)
1,012 reads
When, and when not, to use LLMs in your data pipeline
LLMs should be used in data pipelines for unstructured text, semantic search, and natural language queries – but avoided for deterministic, high-volume, or regulated tasks. Drawing on my real-world experience building large-scale ML systems, in this guide I’ll explain exactly where LLMs belong in your data pipeline and, just as importantly, where they don’t.
2026-05-15
There Are Days When I Feel Like Giving Up on the Plan Cache and Query Store.
In theory, SQL Server performance monitoring is pretty simple: 1. Review the server’s top wait types, 2. Find the queries causing those wait types, 3. Fix those queries, or improve the way the server reacts to them (indexes, settings, etc.). But in practice, step 2 is awful because:
2026-05-13
SSRS Is Dead. Here Are Your Real Options
SQL Server 2025 shipped without SSRS. If you're managing paginated reports, your options just narrowed; but they're not what most people think. I evaluated all 10 realistic migration paths. Here's an honest comparison, including the one I built.
2026-05-11
13,190 reads
SOFTMAX Function in SQL Server
Explore the mechanics of the SOFTMAX function in SQL Server. Transform scores into probabilities with this essential tool.
2026-05-11
How to Calculate Distance Between Coordinates in SQL Server
Learn a quick way to calculate distances without resorting to spatial calculations.
2026-05-08
1,913 reads
Can SQL Server 2025’s REGEXP_SPLIT_TO_TABLE fix STRING_SPLIT in T-SQL?
Learn how to split strings efficiently in T-SQL using STRING_SPLIT and the REGEXP_SPLIT_TO_TABLE function in SQL Server 2025.
2026-05-08
2026-05-06 (first published: 2025-04-16)
1,682 reads
SQL Server Table-Valued Parameter Join Issues in Stored Procedures
Learn how table valued parameter joins in SQL Server stored procedures can negatively impact query performance.
2026-05-06
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Designing SQL Server ETL Pipelines That Don't Break at Scale
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Detecting Deadlocks Quickly
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SQL Server Showing Out of Space But Plenty of Drive Space
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Detecting Deadlocks Quickly
In the Database Engine, when a deadlock is detected, what does the detection interval shrink to (in time)?
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