Introduction It was the week before Black Friday — the biggest online ad rush of the year. Our US-based ad-tech platform was gearing up for an insane traffic spike. Hundreds of real-time campaigns were about to go live across multiple brands, each with thousands of user sessions flowing through our system. Every incoming user impression […]
2025-07-22
2,276 reads
Take a basic look at database diagrams, what they are, and how to create one.
2025-07-21
444 reads
Unlocking Interoperability: A Guide to Foreign Data Wrappers in PostgreSQL and Aurora PostgreSQL AWS RDS As a database professional, I often encounter scenarios where data is fragmented across various systems. In today's distributed IT landscape, it's not uncommon for critical business information to reside in different databases, perhaps an on-premise PostgreSQL instance for legacy applications, […]
2025-07-21
51 reads
2025-07-18
5,589 reads
In this article, I wanted to test a common assumption we DBAs make – that adding INCLUDE columns to indexes is harmless. I created a FULL recovery test database with a realistic wide Orders table containing extra large VARCHAR columns to simulate an ERP workload. I ran updates and measured transaction log backup sizes before and after adding INCLUDE columns to a nonclustered index. The results shocked me. The update without INCLUDE columns generated a 10 MB log backup, while the same update with INCLUDE columns produced over 170 MB – a 17x increase in log volume. I explain why this happens: INCLUDE columns are physically stored in index leaf rows, so updates affecting them write bigger log records. I also clarify that updating key columns generates even more log than INCLUDE updates because it involves row movement (delete + insert), but INCLUDE updates still cost more log than if those columns weren’t indexed at all. The takeaway is clear – INCLUDE columns are powerful, but they silently increase transaction log generation, impacting backup sizes, replication lag, and DR readiness. Always measure their real cost before deploying to production.
2025-07-18
648 reads
In Part 1, I explored how to bend SQL Server Agent to our will and peek under the hood of Azure SQL Managed Instance (SQL MI), gaining full OS access to the container (all without relying on xp_cmdshell). But once I realized what kind of door I'd opened, curiosity pushed us further, tempting us to […]
2025-07-17 (first published: 2025-07-16)
400 reads
In this next article, we look at creating balanced dimensions on demand.
2025-07-16
649 reads
Article Overview In this article we will learn how to integrate a Spring boot application with Apache Cassandra database and Redis cache. This is an extension to one of our previous articles which demonstrates the steps to set up Apache Cassandra and how to integrate is with Springboot, link shared below. https://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/cassandra-springboot-integration In this tutorial […]
2025-07-14 (first published: 2024-07-18)
50 reads
This article shows the final step of an availability group creation, specifically for a distributed clusterless one.
2025-07-14
3,563 reads
With the ever-increasing pace of the digital era, companies are continuously looking for opportunities to enhance efficiency, cut costs, and optimize operations. The most viable way to accomplish these is through Custom Automation Software Development.
2025-07-11
448 reads
By Steve Jones
anderance – n. the awareness that your partner perceives the relationship from a totally...
By gbargsley
We’ve all been there. Someone walks up and asks, “Is SQL Server having issues?”...
By Chris Yates
In the beginning, there was OLTP – Online Transaction Processing. Fast, reliable, and ruthlessly...
Hello, I think I need a recursive cte query but unsure of the logic....
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Security of Old Tech
True or False: Tables with a SPARSE column consume more space than regular columns if most values are NOT NULL.
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