Do I Need to Master PowerShell?
As a SQL Server DBA, do you need to be a master of PowerShell scripts? In this 9 minute episode, I talk about how much you need to know...
2017-09-12
12 reads
How Can the SQL Server Resource Governor Help You?
MANAGING ‘NOISY NEIGHBORS’ IN SQL SERVER If you’ve been managing databases for any length of time, you’ve probably had to contend with the “noisy neighbors” scenario. In this scenario,...
2017-02-10
20 reads
2016-10-18
10 reads
2016-07-22
7 reads
2016-06-02
13 reads
AlwaysOn Availability Groups Synchronous Replica Readable Secondary Data Access Latency
With SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups, when you configure a secondary in synchronous-commit mode for read-only access, there can be data access latency. If you make changes to your...
2016-05-15
11 reads
Cardinality Estimation – Table Variable Vs Temporary Table in SQL Serve
SQL Server creates and maintains statistics for temporary tables, which lead to better cardinality estimation and optimal execution plan generation. Table variables have no statistics, which can result in...
2016-05-15
10 reads
Extended Event Locks Lock Waits in SQL Server
When it comes to lock waits, one of the important information we need to know is which statement waited for locks and how long. This is possible with extended...
2016-05-15
121 reads
Extended Event Query Post Execution Showplan in SQL Server
Query Post Execution Showplan event is a very useful event to find problematic queries and execution plans based on CPU usage or duration while analyzing performance issues. It can...
2016-05-15
55 reads
Filtered Statistics in SQL Server
In SQL Server, Filtered Statistics can improve cardinality estimation, i.e. when joining lookup table, or while joining fact table and dimension table. For this reason, SQL Server supports the...
2016-05-15
10 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