SQL Server Data Type Precedence

I am executing a simple query/stored procedure from my application against a large table and it's taking a long time to execute. The column I'm using in my WHERE clause is indexed and it's very selective. The search column is not wrapped in a function so that's not the issue. What could be going wrong?

The Ego, the Id and the DBA

In most organizations, the DBA team is seriously outnumbered by headstrong developers and clock driven managers, and "great" DBAs will often be outnumbered by...well...the not so great. In order to be heard in this environment, a DBA will not only need to be very skilled, but will also need a healthy dose of ego.

Cleaning Up SQL Server Deployment Scripts

Although, generally speaking, source control is the truth, a database doesn't quite conform to the ideal because the target schema can, for valid reasons, contain other conflicting truths that can't easily be captured in source control. Dave Ballantyne explains the problems and suggests a solution.

SQL Saturday #154 | St.Louis, MO

Sept 15th, 2012 at the CAIT Campus of Washington University in St.Louis - 5 Jackson Avenue, Clayton, MO 63105

SQL Saturday #154 is the very first SQL Saturday event in the St.Louis area. It is a free one day event for SQL Server professionals and those wanting to learn about SQL Server. We are planning on a 4 track event with 200 attendees. We currently have several sessions aligned towards Database Administration, Application Development, Business Intelligence and professional Development Tracks. We also have several sessions focused on SQL Server 2012! Please visit our event website for more details and free registration.

SQL Saturday #156 - Providence, RI

Come visit Rhode Island and meet fellow SQL Server professionals from all over New England as SQL Saturday comes on Sept 15, 2012.

Why is my transaction log full?

Why does the transaction log fill up? There are a variety of reasons, and MVP Gail Shaw walks you through the various things to check.

AlwaysOn Architecture Guide: Building a High Availability and Disaster Recovery Solution by Using AlwaysOn Availability Groups

SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Groups provides a unified high availability and disaster recovery (HADR) solution that improves upon legacy functionality previously found across disparate features. Prior to SQL Server 2012, several customers used database mirroring to provide local high availability within a data center, and log shipping for disaster recovery across a remote data center. With SQL Server 2012, this common design pattern can be replaced with an architecture that uses availability groups for both high availability and disaster recovery. This paper details the key topology requirements of this specific design pattern, including quorum configuration considerations, steps required to build the environment, and a workflow that shows how to handle a disaster recovery event in the new topology.

Using nmap to scan for SQL Servers on a network

I need to try and find all SQL Servers, not just the ones in my domain. We know there are a couple of appliances that are potentially running SQL Server and we want to see them, too. What can I use to do this?

The Seven Sins against T-SQL Performance

There are seven common antipatterns in T-SQL coding that make code perform badly, and three good habits which will generally ensure that your code runs fast. If you learn nothing else from this list of great advice from Grant, just keep in mind that you should 'write for the optimizer'.

AlwaysOn Availability Groups in SQL Server 2012

This article discusses and demonstrates AlwaysOn Availability groups in SQL Server 2012, a new feature for high availability.