Take a deep dive into perhaps the single most important facet of query performance―indexes―and how to best use them. Newly updated for SQL Server 2022 and Azure SQL, this fourth edition includes new guidance and features related to columnstore indexes, improved and consolidated content on Query Store, deeper content around Intelligent Query Processing, and other […]
2023-05-26 (first published: 2023-03-17)
1,643 reads
Know how to track changes and key events in your SQL Server databases in support of application troubleshooting, regulatory compliance, and governance. This book shows how to use key features in SQL Server ,such as SQL Server Audit and Extended Events, to track schema changes, permission changes, and changes to your data. You’ll even learn how to track queries run against specific tables in a database. ss
2023-05-22 (first published: 2023-05-08)
592 reads
Phil Factor offers straightforward answers to tricky SQL Compare questions.
2020-09-30
There is no good reason for having ANSI_PADDING set to OFF when you create tables in SQL Server. It was provided purely for legacy databases that had code that assumed the old CHAR behavior for dealing with padding, and its use has now been deprecated.
2020-03-18
You’ve probably heard of Compliant Database DevOps, but to take it from buzzword to boardroom relies on demonstrating value across your business. IT leaders must think more broadly than cost savings and ROI calculations when investing in scaling DevOps across database teams.
Our latest whitepaper explains how to lay the foundations for a successful DevOps implementation, and how to track success against global metrics that demonstrate your team’s impact across the business.
2019-10-14
Compare common approaches to provisioning test data to database development teams, and assess how they stack up in terms of delivering realistic test data, managing bottlenecks, and meeting data privacy regulations.
2019-07-04 (first published: 2019-06-20)
Phil Factor demonstrates how to use SQL Clone to create 'disposable' SQL Server databases, for development and testing work. You can spin up a clone, use it to unit test your code, messing up the clone in the process, then reset the clone in seconds, ready for the next test.
2019-06-04
Whenever you’re ready to refresh a test cell with the latest database version, you need a safe way to drop the current set of clones, and the parent image, without losing any unsaved work. Phil Factor provides a PowerShell script that automates this process so it runs in the time it takes to grab a coffee, after which can quickly deploy the new clones.
2019-04-19
The next version of SQLServerCentral will go love on Saturday, March 30, 2019
2019-03-29
293 reads
2018-12-24
53 reads
By Steve Jones
A customer had a question recently on masking Chinese characters. I thought that was...
By Steve Jones
looseleft – the feeling of loss upon finishing a good book, sensing the weight...
By Steve Jones
I have been experimenting more and more with ChatGPT on a regular basis. I’m...
Hi, I have a few AWS EC2 instances currently running SQL Server 2016. I'd...
Hello, I need help to improve an existing (hence I cannot change table's structure...
In Brent Ozar's list of links today, I learned that Microsoft has removed the...
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