How Secure is TDE?
When we consider how secure a form of encryption is there are two things we want to consider. Let’s discuss each of these in turn. What are We Protected...
2023-01-13 (first published: 2023-01-03)
410 reads
Matthew McGiffen DBA
Understanding Keys and Certificates with TDE
When you first look at the encryption hierarchy for TDE in SQL Server it can be a bit daunting. There seem to be a lot of objects involved and...
2023-01-04 (first published: 2022-12-21)
354 reads
What is TDE (Transparent Data Encryption)?
TDE is referred to as a “transparent” form of encryption. What that means is that the process of encrypting and decrypting data is fully performed in the background. The...
2022-12-19
124 reads
Recommended Approach to Encryption in SQL Server
We looked earlier at the various places our data lives – on disk, in memory, in-transit across the network. A good strategy will protect all of these locations –...
2022-12-28 (first published: 2022-12-14)
561 reads
Overview of SQL Server Encryption Features
SQL Server has had the native ability to encrypt data since SQL Server 2005. This included functionality that could be used to encrypt individual items and columns of data...
2022-12-12
157 reads
Encryption and Data Protection Regulation
One of the reasons you may be considering encryption is due to the relevant data protection regulation: either because the regulation specifies that data should be encrypted or because...
2022-12-07
32 reads
What do we want to achieve by encrypting our data?
On the face of it, this is a very obvious question with a very obvious answer. We want to prevent data from falling into the wrong hands. In practice,...
2022-12-05
28 reads
Query Store Hints in SQL Server 2022
Another neat little feature in SQL Server 2022 is Query Store Hints. This is the ability to apply a query hint through Query Store rather than having to modify...
2022-11-30
86 reads
Encrypting Your SQL Data Should be Your Default Option
Cyber-attacks and data breaches seem to be perpetually on the rise. Every week we hear news of large companies that have had data stolen with both financial and reputational...
2022-12-14 (first published: 2022-11-30)
398 reads
My SQL Server Encryption book has just been published!
It’s been a long journey, but I got the email from Apress yesterday to say that my book “Pro Encryption is SQL Server 2022” has now been published. You...
2022-12-05 (first published: 2022-11-23)
250 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