Why is shrinking IT budgets a good thing?

Each year around this time, companies enter the familiar ritual of budgeting. For many, it feels like a long and exhausting negotiation between ambition and constraint. Everyone knows, it...

Reverse Engineering a Physical Model Diagram

I recently wrote about a logical diagram with Redgate Data Modeler. That was interesting, but creating all the objects is a pain. I decided to try creating a physical...

Prepping for Certification, Part 3 of ?

After I have understood the details for a certification test (part 1), including format and the rules for taking it and after I have taken time to learn how...

SQL Training Black Friday Deals

If you're looking for particular "Black Friday" deals, here is what I've seen advertised in the community. I have not taken any of these classes, so I can't give...

Dry-run xp_delete_file Before Actually Deleting Files?

Dry-run xp_delete_file Before Actually Deleting Files?

xp_delete_file doesn’t really have a built-in dry-run option to preview which files it would remove. But there’s a simple workaround,...

Happy Thanksgiving! (USA Holiday)

In the United States, today is Thanksgiving. The intent behind the holiday is to remember all that we have to be thankful. I have a lengthy list from friends...

Getting SQL Server 2025 RTM Running in Containers on macOS

SQL Server 2025 RTM is here, and if you’re running Docker on macOS, you might have hit a wall trying to get it running. Here’s what happened when I...

The PASS Data Community Summit 2025 Recap

It’s Monday. I’ve been home since Fri night, but with a busy weekend, I’m still recovering from the PASS Data Community Summit. There’s a nice wrap from the crew,...

Microsoft Post-Quantum Crypto APIs Are Now Generally Available

I mentioned this in my talk on Quantum Computing at the PASS Data Community Summit: Microsoft has announced that the post-quantum cryptography APIs are now generally available.

SQL Server 2025 Generally Available

This was announced last week at Microsoft Ignite and it's been covered by others such as Brent Ozar, but if you haven't heard, SQL Server 2025 is now generally...