Why I Developed SQL Code Guard: A Fairy Tale from a DBA
This is the story of how a free addin for SSMS, SQL Code Guard, was created and joined the Red Gate SSMS Ecosystem project.
2014-03-10
5,251 reads
Additional Articles
Adding SQL Server AlwaysOn to existing Failover Clusters
We have a SQL Failover Cluster Instance in our primary data center, and want to implement a second two node Failover Cluster Instance in our secondary data center. A new two node cluster located in our secondary data center was setup, but I could not create a new High Availability Group between the two failover cluster instances. What went wrong?
2014-03-07
3,721 reads
Big Data: Integration with Little Data
If we want to incorporate big data into our enterprise, it's crucial to know how to integrate it with our existing data.
2014-03-06
5,076 reads
Junk Drawer
Dale Newman created open source project called Junk Drawer. It's goal is to make the majority of Excel or text file importing a one step, no-brainer process without using the Import Wizard.
2014-03-05
3,095 reads
Fixing Cache Bloat Problems With Guide Plans and Forced Parameterization
Imagine it. You've been asked to fix a dire performance problem with a SQL Server database. You find a severe case of 'Cache Bloat' due to ad-hoc queries, but you can't fix the code itself. What should you do? Specify forced parameterization? Perhaps a better idea would be to use guide plans.
2014-03-04
2,646 reads
Avoid using NOLOCK on SQL Server UPDATE and DELETE statements
Occasionally I come across UPDATE and DELETE statements where the target SQL Server table is referenced with the NOLOCK hint. Does this hint help or hurt performance in this case?
2014-03-03
4,698 reads
Calculating Gaps Between Overlapping Time Intervals in SQL
There are a number of real-life reporting tasks in SQL that require a 'gaps and islands' analysis. There are a number of techniques around that work, but finding ones that scale well makes for a tougher, but interesting, challenge.
2014-02-28
3,824 reads
DBAs Checklist for Designing and Reviewing SQL Server System Architectures
In this tip, Sadequl Hussain will try to list a few areas DBAs need to cover when they are designing new systems or reviewing proposed solutions.
2014-02-27
5,421 reads
SQL Server Indexed Views: The Basics
Views are a valuable tool for the SQL Server Developer, because they hide complexity and allow for a readable style of SQL expression. They aren't there for reasons of performance, and so indexed views are designed to remedy this shortcoming. They're great in certain circumstances but they represent a trade-off, and they come with considerable 'small print'. Jes Borland explains.
2014-02-26
4,674 reads
Using hash values in SSIS to determine when to insert or update rows
A common method to detect if a row has changed is to compare hashes. Integration Services itself doesn’t have a hash implementation, so in this tip I’ll show how you can implement a hash detection mechanism using a script component, as an alternative to the pure T-SQL solution.
2014-02-25
3,416 reads
Blogs
Programmatic Tool Calling with the Claude SDK
Programmatic Tool Calling with the Claude SDK Every morning somebody on the team runs the...
A New Word: Mauerbauertraurigkeit
By Steve Jones
mauerbauertraurigkeit – n. inexplicable urge to push people away, even close friends whose company...
Methodology for dealing with bad data in production
By Brian Kelley
Pinal Dave wrote up his methodology for what to do when you discover bad...
Forums
Why SQL Server Database Attach fails and how to repair it
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Why SQL Server Database Attach...
Fixing P1 Queries
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Fixing P1 Queries
Question of the Day
BIT_COUNT() IV
In SQL Server 2025, I run this code:
select bit_count('A')
What is returned? See possible answers