Microsoft 'Always On' technology does not support distributed or cross-database transactions. Why not? Grahaeme Ross shows how to investigate cross-database transactions to understand the problem in more detail, and concludes that a Cross-Database transaction can cause loss of data integrity in the commit phase of the two-phase commit.
2015-04-24
7,846 reads
Say you have a SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) package with a Foreach Loop container. Inside that container you have a task that sometimes can fail. Koen Verbeeck provides a tip on how to implement SSIS so that, if it fails, the loop will just continue, skip the current step and go to the next iteration.
2015-04-23
7,361 reads
Join us on Tuesday 28th April at 4pm BST (11am EDT) for a free webinar panel discussion featuring Brian A. Randell, Grant Fritchey, Steve Jones, and host, Stephanie Herr, on the topic of maintaining visibility and control in database continuous delivery.
2015-04-23 (first published: 2015-04-17)
8,898 reads
Access-control within the database is important for the security of data, but it should be simple to implement. It is easy to become overwhelmed by the jargon of principals, securables, owners, schemas, roles, users and permissions, but beneath the apparent complexity, there is a schema-based system that, in combination with database roles and ownership-chaining, provides a relatively simple working solution.
2015-04-22
6,866 reads
There are several different approaches to automating deployment of SQL Server Infrastructure-as-a-Service virtual machines in Microsoft Azure. Marcin Policht examines an approach that involves uploading or creating a custom operating system image which is well suited for scenarios where you want to deploy a custom-configured SQL Server instance to multiple virtual machines with minimal effort and maximum consistency.
2015-04-21
7,452 reads
One of the most certain ways of going wrong with any relational database is to get data conversion wrong. Implicit data conversion is a good feature for the expert but can cause a lot of trouble to the unwary. These boil down to seven ways of failing to get data conversion right. Rob Sheldon explains and gives sage advice on how to avoid the problems.
2015-04-20
7,337 reads
The job of a DBA requires a fusion of skill and knowledge. To acquire this requires a craftsman mindset. Craftsmen find that the better they get at the work, the more enjoyable the work gets, and the more successful they become. Deliberate practice, Specialization and an appetite for overcoming difficulty are good habits to deliberately adopt to successfully grow those craftsmanlike skills to the point that you become “so good they can’t ignore you”.
2015-04-17
9,586 reads
Using SQL to perform cluster analysis to gain insight into data with unknown groups
2015-04-16
5,182 reads
There are times when you don’t what to return a complete set of records. When you have this kind of requirement to only select the TOP X number of items Transact SQL (TSQL) has the TOP clause to meet your needs. In this article Greg Larsen explores how to select a subset of data from a record set.
2015-04-16
9,580 reads
2015-04-15
532 reads
By Steve Jones
For a number of years, we’ve produced the State of the Database Landscape report,...
By Steve Jones
I coach volleyball and I do a lot of stat stuff on paper. I...
By Steve Jones
dolorblindness – n. the frustration that you’ll never be able to understand another person’s...
Hi all, I've just had to roll back my SSMS 22 version from 22.3.0,...
Hi! I've been banging my head against the wall for 2 days now trying...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Power of Data and...
In SQL Server 2025, there is a new function that returns the current date without the time. What is it?
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