Azure DWH part 15: PolyBase and Azure Data Lake
In this article, we will learn how to query a csv file stored in the Data Lake using PolyBase.
2017-09-05
2,641 reads
Articles
Introduction to Azure Cosmos DB
Azure Cosmos DB is the latest data service offering from Microsoft. Azure Cosmos DB is a super set of DocumentDB and provides a new set of capabilities. These capabilities make Azure Cosmos DB stand out from other members in the NoSQL database family.
2017-09-05
3,084 reads
Time Traveling with Temporal Tables on SQL Server 2016
One of the new features of SQL Server 2016 is the ability to time travel in your databases and visit a specific table at a specific point of time in history. You can also use this feature to audit changes or “undo” whole data warehouse updates.
2017-09-04 (first published: 2016-10-18)
10,282 reads
Protecting production data in non-production environments
In this article, Grant Fritchey looks at the need to ‘shift left’ the database and associated database testing, while keeping sensitive data secure when it is outside the production...
2017-09-04
4,570 reads
Statistics in SQL: The Mann–Whitney U test
Phil Factor shows how to use the Mann-Whitney U test in SQL to to find out whether two samples come from the same distribution.
2017-09-04
4,456 reads
PowerShell Tool Time: Our First Toolbox
Learn how to begin assembling your functions and code into modules you can easily call from any session.
2017-09-01 (first published: 2015-10-28)
7,570 reads
What is the biggest mistake you made in production?
When you have sysadmin access, you are bound to make a big mistake in production at some point in your career - in this post Tara Kizer looks back at what hers were.
2017-09-01
4,773 reads
Resolving could not open a connection to SQL Server errors
Have you ever gotten connectivity errors from SQL Server? Jugal Shah explains the common causes for these errors, and advises on the steps you can take to resolve them.
2017-08-31
3,542 reads
Automating the Synchronization of RDS SQL Server Agent Jobs in a Multi-AZ Environment
Although Azure is the obvious Cloud service to host SQL Server, Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) for SQL Server is a good choice when your organisation uses AWS. RDS deals with maintenance and monitoring, and supports the use of PowerShell to automate routine tasks. What if a script needs to be triggered by an unscheduled event? Even in this case, RDS can be configured to run scripts to react when something like a failover happens. Laerte Junior shows how easy it is to set up Lambda functions and some PowerShell scripts to automatically synchronise agent jobs after a failover.
2017-08-30
2,895 reads
Fighting Evil in Your Code: Comments on Comments
One of the most glib generalisations you can make about development work is to say that code should be liberally commented, or conversely that it should never be commented. As always, the truth is more complicated. There are many different types of comment and some types are best treated firmly with the delete key, where others are to be cherished and maintained assiduously. Even though it is hard to find two developers who agree on the topic of commenting, Michael Sorens warily sketches out the issues and the battleground.
2017-08-29
3,670 reads
Blogs
The flight recorder: Replaying what an AI agent did on my SQL Server
By Arun Sirpal
“What exactly did it do on my server?” is the first question a DBA...
Announcements from the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference — Barcelona 2026
By James Serra
Microsoft shared a broad set of Fabric, Power BI, and SQL updates at FabCon...
Au Revoir for now
By Steve Jones
No, I’m not quitting or retiring. Just going on vacation, but I leave tonight...
Forums
Let's Talk Certifications
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The Hidden Security Risks of Role Combination in SSAS Tabular
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Hidden Security Risks of...
The Empty Aggregate
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Empty Aggregate
Question of the Day
The Empty Aggregate
I have this table in a SQL Server 2025 database:
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[CustomerOrder] ( [OrderID] [int] NULL, [CustomerID] [int] NULL, [total] [money] NULL ) ON [PRIMARY] GOWhat is returned from this code? (answers are for the sum and then the count)
SELECT SUM(total) AS sum,
COUNT(total) AS count
FROM dbo.CustomerOrder;
See possible answers