SQL Server Is Slow – Part 2 of 4(?)
The 10-Minute Outside-In Triage Don’t Blame SQL First It’s 9:05 AM and your helpdesk lights up: “The SQL Server is down. Nothing works.” By 9:07, everyone is staring at...
2025-09-24
23 reads
Blog Posts
Local LLM Models at SQL Saturday Boston 2025
I’m starting a long trip at Boston this weekend. I’ll be there Saturday speaking, two sessions I think. At least one. I’m excited for this session as I’ve had...
2025-09-23
22 reads
Automating SQL Maintenance: How DevOps Principles Reduce Downtime
In the world of modern data infrastructure, SQL databases remain the backbone of enterprise applications. They power everything from e-commerce platforms to financial systems, and their reliability is non-negotiable....
2025-09-22
65 reads
Azure Networking: Designing for Change
Failing to plan is planning to fail. When organizations first begin implementing Azure networking, the focus is often on the immediate requirements: connectivity, security, and performance for your databases...
2025-09-22 (first published: 2025-09-03)
150 reads
Secure Your SQL Estate: Best Practices for Azure SQL Security
The Castle and the Keys Imagine your Azure SQL environment as a sprawling digital estate – a castle of data, with towers of insight and vaults of sensitive information....
2025-09-22 (first published: 2025-09-02)
425 reads
From Couch-Potato to Triathlete – and What This Means for Your SQL Server
Do you know if your SQL Server is really running at its best? To help you answer that question, I’ve recently launched a free 30-minute SQL Server Health Check. In...
2025-09-21
15 reads
Retro Data 2025 – Slidedeck
You can find the slides of my session on the €100 DWH in Azure on Github.
The post Retro Data 2025 – Slidedeck first appeared on Under the kover of...
2025-09-20
11 reads
SQL Server Failover Cluster Instances
Old Reliable Still Matters If you’ve been around SQL Server for a while, you’ve heard of Failover Cluster Instances (FCIs). They’ve been part of SQL’s high availability toolbox since...
2025-09-19 (first published: 2025-09-03)
205 reads
The Case of the Forgotten Compatibility Mode – Scooby Dooing Episode 3
Like any good mystery, some SQL Server problems look spooky on the surface but have a very simple culprit hiding in the shadows. Every good Scooby-Doo episode starts with...
2025-09-19 (first published: 2025-09-03)
246 reads
A Prompt AI Experiment
Prompt AI released recently and I decided to try a few things with the tool that might help me in database work. I’ve had to do this task, but...
2025-09-17
94 reads
Blogs
Resetting on the AI hype train
By Brian Kelley
There's a great article from MIT Technology Review about resetting on the hype of...
A New Word: Etherness
By Steve Jones
etherness – n. the wistful feeling of looking around a gathering of loved ones,...
Vibe Coding a Login Tracking System
By Steve Jones
A customer was asking about tracking logins and logouts in Redgate Monitor. We don’t...
Forums
The Microsoft SQL Year in Review
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T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: The || Operator
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Your Value from a Conference
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Question of the Day
UNISTR Basics
What does this code return in SQL Server 2025+? (assume the database has an appropriate collation)
SELECT UNISTR('Hello 4E16754C') AS 'A Classic';
A: 
B: 
See possible answers