Tempdb size resets after a SQL Server service restart
Have you ever checked the size of the SQL Server tempdb after restarting SQL Server to find that it's reset? Simon Liew explains this behaviour.
2017-05-31
3,326 reads
Additional Articles
Validate Integer and Decimal Values in SQL Server
Bhavesh Patel shows how to validate specific use-cases for integer and decimal values in SQL Server.
2017-05-31
3,649 reads
Azure SQL Database - Dynamic Data Masking
A number of security-related features are built into Azure SQL Database, including Transparent Data Encryption, Row-Level Security, and Azure SQL Database Auditing. Their availability reflects the consistent effort by Microsoft to provide functional parity between Azure SQL Database and SQL Server instances running in Azure virtual machines as well as in your on-premises environment. Another example of this trend is support for Dynamic Data Masking, covered in this article.
2017-05-30
2,632 reads
SQL Server Temporal Tables: How-To Recipes
Tables that return the value of the data in the table at a particular point of time have been with us since the first relational database, but have always required special queries and constraints, and can be tricky to get right. System-versioned Temporal Tables, new in SQL Server 2016, make such tables behave like any other. How do you create one, or modify an existing table? How can you get an In-Memory Optimized OLTP table to be Temporal? Alex Grinberg shows how.
2017-05-30
3,726 reads
Generating Plots Automatically From PowerShell and SQL Server Using Gnuplot
When you are automating a number of tasks, or performing a batch of tests, you want a way of automating the production of your plots and graphs. Nothing beats a good graphical plot for giving the indications of how the process went. If you are using PowerShell and maybe also SQL Server, it pays to use a command-line plotting tool such as Gnuplot to do all the hard work. It turns out to be handy for a range of data jobs, turning PowerShell into a handy data science tool.
2017-05-29
3,301 reads
Using striped backups with SQL Clone
If you’re a Redgate SQL Backup customer, occasionally you’ll need to convert your SQL Backup (.sqb) files to the native SQL Server backup format (.bak), perhaps to perform native database restores on a server where SQL Backup isn’t installed. This produces a striped backup, because each thread used when making the backup will produce a separate file. Can we use a striped backup produced in this way, or indeed any striped backup, as the source for a SQL Clone image? Short answer: we can! Let’s see how that works.
2017-05-29
2,237 reads
It’s not you, it’s me (I/O troubleshooting)
Monica Rathburn talks about a few of the more common elements she always checks for when troubleshooting I/O problems.
2017-05-26
3,491 reads
Getting Started with Azure SQL Data Warehouse - Part 4
Azure SQL Data Warehouse is a new enterprise-class, elastic petabyte-scale, data warehouse service. Join Arshad Ali as he discusses round-robin and distributed tables, and how to create them. He also discusses how partitioning works in SQL Data Warehouse and looks at the impact of choosing the right distribution key. As a bonus Arshad shows you how to leverage PolyBase to quickly and easily import or export data from SQL Data Warehouse.
2017-05-25
3,392 reads
Masking your on-premise database with SQL Data Mask
In the last update from Redgate Foundry three weeks ago, they announced their intention to build a version of SQL Data Mask that would mask on-premise SQL Server databases, as well as Azure SQL Databases. They're pleased to say this version of the prototype is now available - here are the details.
2017-05-24
2,809 reads
Azure Networking for SQL Server DBAs
The network is important to any DBA because so much performance is dependent on I/O, because of the importance of security, and ensuring that everyone get the right access. DBAs generally need not become experts in Azure networks, but it helps to understand the concepts and language. If you are running a SQL Server Virtual Machine in Azure, then VNets, Subnets, Network Security Groups, VNet peering and VPN gateways are all worth knowing about in order to to keep SQL Servers running smoothly.
2017-05-23
3,526 reads
Blogs
Shifting Mindsets: Why FinOps is Essential for Cloud Efficiency
By HeyMo0sh
As a DevOps practitioner, I’ve always focused on performance, scalability, and automation. But as...
March 2026 SQL Server Security Updates
By Brian Kelley
On Patch Tuesday, in addition to OS and Office security patches, Microsoft also released...
How Fabric Mirroring Transformed with SQL Server 2025
When mirroring was first released for Azure SQL Database, it used Change Data Capture...
Forums
Multiple Deployment Processes
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How to Use sqlpackage to Detect Schema Drift Between Azure SQL Databases
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Upgrading Admin Queries
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Question of the Day
Upgrading Admin Queries
I have a query from a former DBA that we run on SQL Server 2025 to check on database metadata. This query references sys.sysaltfiles. I want to refactor this code to be more modern. Which DMV should I reference instead?
See possible answers