SQL Server 2019 on Docker no longer runs as root by default
In my home lab I have an Ubuntu virtual machine that runs both SQL Server 2017 and SQL Server 2019 in Docker containers. After SQL Server 2019 Release Candidate...
2019-09-18
72 reads
Born SQL with Randolph West
Gatekeeping and the lack of diversity in the workplace
Recently I have become more vocal on Twitter and on my personal blog about my social activism. For the record, I have been an activist for LGBTQIA+ rights since...
2019-09-11
116 reads
Convert legacy password storage without aggravating your users
In a previous post I wrote about storing password hashes in a database, which raises the question of how to convert an existing legacy password storage system to use hashes (or...
2019-09-04
29 reads
Using AzCopy with Batch Files and Task Scheduler
As regular readers of this blog will know, I’m a big fan of AzCopy, especially now that it has a sync option to keep local data synchronized with blob...
2019-08-28
1,591 reads
Accelerated Database Recovery in SQL Server 2019: Choose your own filegroup for the version store
An exciting new feature in SQL Server 2019 is Accelerated Database Recovery (ADR). Resulting from a combination of magic beans and smart software developers (I might be wrong about...
2019-08-21
45 reads
How to really store a password in a database
Recently I wrote: Don’t store passwords in a database. I stand by this statement. I expected a lot of flak because I didn’t explain myself. This post goes into...
2019-08-14
297 reads
Gatekeeping and why language matters
This is the second in a series of posts about gatekeeping in Information Technology and other fields. Negative terminology The language we use matters. In the first post I...
2019-08-07
16 reads
How to store a password in a database
Hello, and welcome to today’s class on storing passwords in a database. Don’t store passwords in a database. Thanks for attending. Photo by James Sutton on Unsplash.
The post How...
2019-07-31
256 reads
All the signs were there, but we didn’t understand them: an essay on gatekeeping in IT
This is the first in a series of posts about gatekeeping in Information Technology and other fields. I am not the first — nor will I be the last...
2019-07-17
51 reads
Better SQL Server memory defaults in 2019
In 2016 I created the Max Server Memory Matrix as a guide for configuring the maximum amount of memory that should be assigned to SQL Server, using an algorithm developed...
2019-07-10
781 reads
Blogs
Claude Code Helps Analyze Test Data Manager Log Files
By Steve Jones
I had a customer ask about analyzing their Test Data Manager (TDM) usage to...
PowerPoint to HTML with Claude AI
By Steve Jones
I had an idea for an animated view of a sales tool, and started...
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...
Forums
Why the following cmds in sequence do not work
I need to delete rows from both the temporal main and history tables. The...
When SQL Server Central Went Down
Comments posted to this topic are about the item When SQL Server Central Went...
The String Distance I
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The String Distance I
Question of the Day
The String Distance I
In SQL Server 2025, what is returned by this code:
SELECT EDIT_DISTANCE('tim', 'tom')
Assume preview features are enabled. See possible answers