What is DevOps really?
Ops and Development people have plenty of ideas for improving the whole software delivery process, but the task of developing, maturing and communicating these ideas isn't often in their...
2014-05-20
5,187 reads
Articles
Comparing Different Data Types
Comparing columns of different data types can be a drain on resources, as well as our sanity. This is a look into a few strategies for dealing with implicit conversions.
2014-05-19
10,320 reads
Introduction to the SQL Server Analysis Services Neural Network Data Mining Algorithm
In data mining and machine learning circles, the neural network is one of the most difficult algorithms to explain. Fortunately, SQL Server Analysis Services allows for a simple implementation of the algorithm for data analytics. Dallas Snider explains
2014-05-19
3,590 reads
RAID and Its Impact on your SQL Performance
This article attempts to explain RAID's impact on SQL performance.
2014-05-16 (first published: 2012-05-01)
38,165 reads
Microsoft Azure Diagnostics Part 1: Introduction
Having a well thought-out plan for diagnostic data is important for on-premises applications, but it is arguably more important for distributed, highly scalable cloud applications. Michael Collier has provided a clear introduction to Microsoft Azure Diagnostics, including the Diagnostics Agent and how to extract the data.
2014-05-16
2,747 reads
SQL Scripts in SSMS
A new plug in for Management Studio from Red Gate is free. It will give you access to all the scripts at SQLServerCentral, including your own briefcase.
2014-05-15
3,863 reads
Using Encrypted Backups in SQL Server 2014
This article details encrypted backups and how they are implemented in SQL Server 2014.
2014-05-15
5,153 reads
Validate File Properties with PowerShell Prior to Import into SQL Server
We recently faced an issue where an internal data provider began providing an incomplete or inaccurate files because it lacked the proper length (or didn't exceed a certain size). In our case, we implemented a check on the file before importing using PowerShell, here's what we did.
2014-05-15
2,501 reads
The Performance of Traversing a SQL Hierarchy
Dwain Camps shows that, depending on the size and characteristics of some hierarchical data, six different methods of traversal can each be the fastest at some point. He illustrates the danger in generalizing from just one set of test data, and that it's foolish to assume that just because SQL code looks neat, it will perform well.
2014-05-14
2,625 reads
Encrypt a file from SSIS using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
This article demonstrates how to create a CLR assembly that can encrypt or decrypt a file with AES-256 cryptography, how to reference the CLR assembly from an SSIS script task, and how to generate an MD5 checksum file so that its recipient can confirm the integrity of the encrypted file.
2014-05-13
6,499 reads
Blogs
Methodology for dealing with bad data in production
By Brian Kelley
Pinal Dave wrote up his methodology for what to do when you discover bad...
How to Provision an Azure SQL Database
Aside from spinning up a SQL Server instance container, the free Azure SQL Database...
Claude finds two cryptographic weaknesses (but the sky isn’t falling)
By Brian Kelley
If you haven't seen the announcement, Anthropic was able to utilize Claude (Mythos Preview)...
Forums
Why SQL Server Database Attach fails and how to repair it
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Why SQL Server Database Attach...
Fixing P1 Queries
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Fixing P1 Queries
BIT_COUNT() IV
Comments posted to this topic are about the item BIT_COUNT() IV
Question of the Day
BIT_COUNT() IV
In SQL Server 2025, I run this code:
select bit_count('A')
What is returned? See possible answers