The Sort that Spills to Level 15,000
Paul White shows that SQL Server sometimes produces very misleading information about the impact of sort operations.
2016-10-24
3,412 reads
Additional Articles
Memory/Storage Technology Hierarchy and SQL Server
Glenn Berry discusses the ever-changing landscape of memory/storage technology, and how it relates to SQL Server workloads on Windows servers.
2016-10-21
5,279 reads
Getting started with Query Store feature in SQL Server 2016 – Part 3
Arshad Ali demonstrates how you can analyze the data collected by Query Store either with T-SQL scripting or with the graphical user interface in SSMS.
2016-10-20
4,404 reads
PowerShell Just Enough Administration
A major difficulty for a System Administrator who wishes to provide access for auditors, Helpdesk staff, developers and other IT people is that adminstrator roles give users more access than they need. It is too easy to make mistakes, or to make more changes than those that were signed-off. With JEA, it is possible to create role-based access control (RBAC) endpoints that define precisely what actions you’ll let your users carry out without needing a elevated, privileged administrator credentials, and which log and report all operations.
2016-10-19
3,276 reads
Automatically upload SQL Server Database Backups to Azure with Integration Services
Daniel Calbimonte shows how the Feature pack in SQL Server Integration Services can connect to Azure to automatically copy your SQL Server database backups.
2016-10-18
4,153 reads
Developing Redgate’s SQL Toolbelt
Take a look behind the scenes to learn more about Redgate’s development challenges, what role the SQL Toolbelt plays, and which releases are coming up.
2016-10-18
2,708 reads
In-Memory OLTP: Row Visibility in SQL Server’s MVCC
SQL Server's In-memory OLTP is fast, due to its multi-valued concurrency control (MVCC). MVCC avoids the need for locks by arranging for each user connected to the database to see a snapshot of the rows of the tables at a point in time, No changes made by the user will be seen by other users of the database until the changes have been completed and committed. It is conceptually simple but does the user always see the correct version of a row under all circumstances? Shel Burkow explains.
2016-10-17
3,150 reads
DELETE Operation in SQL Server HEAPs
You should stick to using tables in SQL Server, rather than heaps that have no clustered index, unless you have well-considered reasons to choose heaps. However, there are uses for heaps in special circumstances, and it is useful to know what these uses are, and when you should avoid heaps. Uwe Ricken explains, and demonstrates why you'd be unwise to use heaps rather than tables when the data is liable to change.
2016-10-14
3,646 reads
How to create a directory of object-level scripts using SQL Compare
It’s often useful to be able to create a directory of object-level scripts from an existing database, for example to put a database into version control, or search through a directory of scripts. In this simple ‘how to’ article, Feodor Georgiev expands on the four most common reasons, and shows how simple it is using SQL Compare.
2016-10-14
3,220 reads
SQL Server 2016 New Date Objects
SQL Server 2016 introduced three new objects to deal with the greater demand of data; John Miner takes a look at this new functionality.
2016-10-13
4,605 reads
Blogs
The Book of Redgate: Spread across the world
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Merry Christmas
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Self-Hosting a Photo Server the Whole Family Can Use
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Until recently, my family's 90,000+ photos have been hidden away in the depths of...
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Happy Holidays, Let's Do Nerdy Stuff
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UNISTR Escape
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Celebrating Tomorrow
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Question of the Day
UNISTR Escape
In SQL Server 2025, I run this command:
SELECT UNISTR('*3041*308A*304C\3068 and good night', '*') as "A Classic";
What is returned? (assume the database has an appropriate collation)
A: 
B: 
C: 
See possible answers