Dynamic Data Masking – SQL Server
Use Dynamic Data Masking to protect your data
The post Dynamic Data Masking – SQL Server appeared first on Tim Radney.
2023-12-25 (first published: 2023-12-03)
223 reads
Tim Radney
What is Azure SQL
I get asked about Azure SQL very often. This is a topic that I’ve written about and taught many times. To be honest, this is a rather large topic...
2023-11-17 (first published: 2023-10-25)
419 reads
SQL Server Recovery Models
When I review customers database environments, I always check to see what the recovery model is for their databases and review that with the customer. I often times have...
2023-11-15
13 reads
Are You Protected from Ransomware
There have been many organizations that have become victims of ransomware over the years. Occasionally we hear about some high-profile cases in the news. Most every case I’ve read...
2023-09-19
7 reads
SQL Server Patching
Why should you patch your SQL Server instances? Compliance, stability, security, reliability, functionality, and more. Microsoft regularly releases updates to SQL Server known as Cumulative Updates (CUs). Cumulative updates...
2023-08-15
34 reads
Why You Should Test Your SQL Server Backups
My number one reason that you should test your backups is to make sure you know how to restore/recover. The absolute worst time to learn how to restore is...
2023-07-10
14 reads
Why Aren’t You Monitoring SQL Server
I repeat the phrase “If you aren’t monitoring it, you can’t measure it” all the time. Through my IT career, this has been a constant. If you don’t have...
2023-06-14
5 reads
Stop Using Balanced Power with SQL Server
The OS default Power Plan for Windows is Balanced Power. This can cause degraded overall performance for SQL Server. Balanced Power is a great concept to help conserve energy...
2023-05-16
14 reads
Reasons Why SQL Servers Don’t Get Configured to Industry Best Practices
Throughout my career, I’ve worked on a LOT of different SQL Servers. Many that were installed and configured by application administrators, developers, vendors, and data professionals. I’ve seen servers...
2023-04-11
10 reads
Children at Technical Conferences Part II
Nearly 10 years ago I wrote a blog post about having my son tag along at various conferences I was speaking at. So much has changed in the past...
2023-03-22 (first published: 2023-03-13)
216 reads
Blogs
Don’t Miss Out – SQL Server Query Tuning Fundamentals Starts Next Monday!
Next Monday, February 9, 2026, my one-day live online training SQL Server Query Tuning...
Monday Monitor Tips: SQL Auditing Preview
By Steve Jones
One of the features we advocates have been advocating for is a better way...
SQL Server 2025 CU1 Fixes the Docker Desktop AVX Issue on macOS
Microsoft fixed the AVX instruction issue in SQL Server 2025 CU1. The container now...
Forums
25 Years of SQL Server Central
Comments posted to this topic are about the item 25 Years of SQL Server...
The Decoded Value
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Decoded Value
Deploying SQL Server Developer Edition in Kubernetes: A Cost-Effective Alternative to RDS
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Deploying SQL Server Developer Edition...
Question of the Day
The Decoded Value
In SQL Server 2025, what is returned from this code:
DECLARE @message VARCHAR(50) = 'Hello SQL Server 2025!'; DECLARE @encoded VARCHAR(MAX); SET @encoded = BASE64_ENCODE(CAST(@message AS VARBINARY(1000))); SELECT BASE64_DECODE(@encoded)See possible answers