Do I Want to Design My Own Transaction Log?
The processing of the Transaction Log seems simple to reproduce, but be sure you consider all the possibilities.
2016-03-21
2,783 reads
Articles
SQL Server Integration Services SSIS Package Configuration
As you develop, test and deploy SSIS packages, you need to specify different parameter values for things like database connection strings, file and folder paths, etc. without having to edit the individual SSIS packages to make these changes. Ray Barley looks at how you can accomplish this goal by taking advantage of the configuration capabilities that SSIS provides, in particular the SQL Server package configuration.
2016-03-21
5,914 reads
2016-03-19 (first published: 2015-01-08)
18,879 reads
Queries to Monitor SQL Server Replication Backlog
When replicating data to other servers it is always a concern that the subscribers may be far behind. In this article, Tim Smith shares some queries to help monitor SQL Server replication row counts.
2016-03-18
3,632 reads
Documenting SQL Server with PowerShell
SQL Server instances are generally poorly-documented. How easily can you tell if something has changed? How easily can you check that there is adequate space for growth? Are you up-to-date with licenses? What errors are happening? Who has accessing the system? Before PowerShell, it was difficult to be on top of all this. Now you can, with the help of Sander's database documenter.
2016-03-17
5,004 reads
Comparing string splitting / concatenation methods
Whenever a query is executed in SQL Server, its execution plan, as well as some useful execution data are placed into the plan cache for future use. This information is a treasure trove of metrics that can allow some very useful insight into your server’s performance and resource consumption - Ed Pollack shares some useful queries to start utilizing it.
2016-03-16
4,373 reads
Documenting SQL Server with PowerShell: PosH VC
Virtual Chapter meeting, Mar 16, 12pm EST. Documentation is mostly overlooked and only comes up when a problem arises. What if you'd have a tool or method to generate documentation for all your database servers? In this session, Sander Stad will show you show how easy it is to use PowerShell to retrieve information from your servers. He'll detail what can be used to document your servers, how to retrieve the information and what should be documented. In the end you no longer have an excuse not to document your servers.
2016-03-15
4,054 reads
Sparse Columns in SQL Server : Impact on Time & Space
Erin Stellato (@erinstellato) looks into sparse columns in SQL Server – the changes to space requirements and the impact on the write portion of your workload.
2016-03-15
3,581 reads
2016-03-14
94 reads
Releasing Databases in VSTS with Redgate SQL CI and Octopus Deploy
You can still do Database Lifecycle Management (DLM) workflows in the hosted version of Team foundation Server (TFS) in Visual Studio Team Services (VSTS) . If you are doing your database development in SSMS, you can use a mix of tools to set up the functionality in VSTS. Jason Crease demonstrates how to build and deploy a simple database into the test environment using SQL CI, SQL Source Control, Octopus Deploy, tSQLt, SQL Cop and SQL Release, all with the minimum of hassle and effort.
2016-03-14
2,885 reads
Blogs
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Happy Holidays, Let's Do Nerdy Stuff
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UNISTR Escape
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Celebrating Tomorrow
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Question of the Day
UNISTR Escape
In SQL Server 2025, I run this command:
SELECT UNISTR('*3041*308A*304C\3068 and good night', '*') as "A Classic";
What is returned? (assume the database has an appropriate collation)
A: 
B: 
C: 
See possible answers