My Azure ARM template development workflow
Writing infrastructure as code is pretty nice and I enjoy the declarative approach of defining what you want and letting...
2017-12-13
40 reads
Blog Posts
Security Architecture: Knowing the Adversary
When I present or teach on a security topic, I take the time to cover the mindset of the adversary....
2017-12-13 (first published: 2017-12-04)
1,752 reads
2017-12-13
326 reads
The Value of Consistent Design
Yesterday I wrote about best practices, illustrating that what may be an assumed technical design standard doesn’t fit every scenario....
2017-12-13
405 reads
Learning Through Blogging and Speaking
This post is a response to this month's T-SQL Tuesday prompt created by Mala Mahadevan. T-SQL Tuesday was created by Adam Machanic and is a way for SQL users...
2017-12-12
13 reads
Learning Through Blogging and Speaking
This post is a response to this month’s T-SQL Tuesday prompt created by Mala Mahadevan. T-SQL Tuesday was created by...
2017-12-12
171 reads
Power BI Custom Visuals Class (Module 80 – TreeViz)
In this module you will learn how to use the TreeViz Custom Visual. The TreeViz is a breakdown tree that...
2017-12-12 (first published: 2017-12-04)
1,757 reads
Reducing the Number of Reads in Your Queries
In last week's post, we went over how one of best ways to improve query performance was to reduce the number of reads that your query has to do.
Less reads...
2017-12-12
14 reads
Reducing the Number of Reads in Your Queries
“A-Bridged” – reducing reads – get it? I’m sorry you’re reading this. Photo by Jamie Street on UnsplashIn last week’s post, we went over how...
2017-12-12
220 reads
SQL Server Failed to Open Loopback Connection – What?
I could not read my error log on one of my local SQL Servers, when I executed the following code:
EXEC...
2017-12-12
827 reads
Blogs
How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later)
By SQLPals
How to Clear the SSMS Cache (SSMS 21 and Later) Updated...
The flight recorder: Replaying what an AI agent did on my SQL Server
By Arun Sirpal
“What exactly did it do on my server?” is the first question a DBA...
Announcements from the Microsoft Fabric Community Conference — Barcelona 2026
By James Serra
Microsoft shared a broad set of Fabric, Power BI, and SQL updates at FabCon...
Forums
Let's Talk Certifications
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Let's Talk Certifications
The Hidden Security Risks of Role Combination in SSAS Tabular
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Hidden Security Risks of...
The Empty Aggregate
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Empty Aggregate
Question of the Day
The Empty Aggregate
I have this table in a SQL Server 2025 database:
CREATE TABLE [dbo].[CustomerOrder] ( [OrderID] [int] NULL, [CustomerID] [int] NULL, [total] [money] NULL ) ON [PRIMARY] GOWhat is returned from this code? (answers are for the sum and then the count)
SELECT SUM(total) AS sum,
COUNT(total) AS count
FROM dbo.CustomerOrder;
See possible answers