Articles

External Article

Identifying PII Data to Lock Down in SQL Server - Part 1

We're pretty confident that we have locked down and encrypted our financial data, but a lot of our customer's PII (Personally Identifiable Information) data is still held in unencrypted form. This data is able to be selected directly by read only business users on many of our downstream reporting, datawarehouse and standby servers. The rise of identity theft makes protecting this data imperative. DBAs are the custodians of this information and must protect it like we protect our own personal information. Recent publicity over the theft of Sony PSN data underscores both the economic and ethical importance of protecting personal data.

2011-07-14

2,864 reads

External Article

Questions About SQL Server Distribution Statistics

Fabiano Amorim was asked a couple of questions about SQL Server Distribution Statistics. Having given an answer based on his current knowledge, he then decided to find out for himself whether what he'd said was right, and started an epic journey of exploration into Distribution Statistics and the way that the Query Optimiser uses them.

2011-07-13

2,132 reads

External Article

Questions About SQL Server Distribution Statistics

Fabiano Amorim was asked a couple of questions about SQL Server Distribution Statistics. Having given an answer based on his current knowledge, he then decided to find out for himself whether what he'd said was right, and started an epic journey of exploration into Distribution Statistics and the way that the Query Optimiser uses them.

2011-07-12

2,173 reads

Technical Article

Free ebook: SQL Server Execution Plans

This free book is brought to you by Red Gate Software and Simple Talk Publishing. Why my query is running slow? Why isn't my index getting used? In order to answer these questions, you have to ask the same return question in each case: have you looked at the execution plan? Grant Fritchey provides the only dedicated and detailed guide to this essential topic.

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2011-07-11

6,178 reads

External Article

How to develop TSQL Code

The basic texts for developing SQL code tend to leave unsaid the basic techniques for building routines such as stored procedures in TSQL. Phil Factor is well-known for his more lengthy and complex stored procedures, so we asked him to explain in more detail how he goes about developing things without the comfort of Visual Studio.

2011-07-08

3,997 reads

Blogs

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Independence Day 2026

In the original Independence Day movie (1996), what type of computer did Jeff Goldblum use to connect to the alien mainframe? Take a guess, don't look it up or ask AI.

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