macOS Tahoe breaks SQL Server on Docker containers on Apple silicon
The honeymoon is over, and macOS 26 Tahoe broke the Rosetta 2 emulation layer with SQL Server 2025 RC 1 running in a Docker container. I know it was...
2025-10-06
201 reads
Born SQL with Randolph West
Get required permissions for DMVs
Part of my job at work is to update Transact-SQL reference content. System dynamic management views (DMVs) have permissions that are managed in the SQL Server Database Engine source...
2025-09-08 (first published: 2025-08-23)
223 reads
SQL Server Management Studio uses the Visual Studio installer
Yes, SSMS 21 uses the Visual Studio installer. No, you don’t need to download it every time. No, you don’t need a Visual Studio license to use it.
The post...
2025-08-14
16 reads
What’s new in SQL Server 2025 CTP 2.0
Three years ago, when the first public preview of SQL Server 2022 (CTP 2.0) was announced, I was a few months in at the SQL Docs team, and had...
2025-05-23 (first published: 2025-05-19)
560 reads
The hell of Git line endings and the (not so) simple fix
I wrote a stream-of-consciousness post a few months ago about what I do in my day job at Microsoft, working in the Database Docs team. Basically we spend most...
2025-02-19 (first published: 2025-02-12)
337 reads
Don’t run CHKDSK while SQL Server is running
On behalf of every database administrator everywhere, I implore you not to run CHKDSK on a system that has a live database installed and running. This includes, but is...
2024-08-21 (first published: 2024-08-09)
350 reads
How do you restore a SQL Server 2000 database in the year 2024?
A discussion on LinkedIn led to this hypothetical “real world” question: Problem statement: I have a SQL Server 2000 database backup that I need to restore to a supported...
2024-07-05 (first published: 2024-06-20)
381 reads
What I actually do at Microsoft
I started working at Microsoft in January 2022. I enjoy it. I even wrote a stream-of-consciousness post about it last year. A significant part of our job in the...
2024-06-28 (first published: 2024-06-10)
346 reads
I can no longer recommend Liquid Web for hosting
I’ve had a really disappointing experience with the Liquid Web sales team, regarding the web server that hosts this blog post you’re reading right now. My disappointment is compounded...
2024-01-26
31 reads
Hello Microsoft Entra ID, good bye Azure Active Directory
A couple of months ago where I work, a major product started undergoing a rebrand. I don’t pretend to understand marketing folks, but a change this big needed to...
2023-12-19
445 reads
Blogs
A New Word: Foilsick
By Steve Jones
foilsick – adj. feeling ashamed after revealing a little too much of yourself to...
Accelerated Database Recovery for tempdb in SQL Server 2025
Accelerated database recovery was introduced in SQL Server 2019 and provides fast recovery, instantaneous...
Measuring What Matters: Operationalizing Data Trust for CDOs
By Chris Yates
Trust is the currency of the data economy. Without it, even the most advanced...
Forums
Create an HTML Report on the Status of SQL Server Agent Jobs
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Create an HTML Report on...
ETL Framework In Production
Hello, I am leveraging Python within SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) packages, primarily through...
SQL Server Ghosts
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server Ghosts