Degrees and Trade Schools
Can we normalize a couple of things? 1 – Trade Schools. Back in the 80’s trade classes in high school and post high school were frowned upon, or looked...
2024-05-08
41 reads
Unlock the Power of Your Data: From Basic to Advanced Data Analysis
Data isn't just about numbers and spreadsheets. It holds stories, patterns, and the answers to questions that can drive your business forward. To unlock this potential, you need the...
2024-05-27 (first published: 2024-05-07)
385 reads
Attacking the Weakest Link
When I look at a system and think about its security model, the first thing I start poking around at is where I think security is weakest. For instance,...
2024-05-06
61 reads
Webinar – Microsoft Fabric for Dummies
On Wednesday May 15th 2024 I will give a free webinar on MSSQLTips.com about Microsoft Fabric (at 6PM UTC).Abstract: Microsoft Fabric is the new all-encompassing data platform of Microsoft....
2024-05-06
66 reads
Migrate datetime data to datetimeoffset with AT TIME ZONE
I recently reviewed, worked on, and added a similar example to the DATETIMEOFFSET Microsoft Learn Docs article at the recommendation of my colleague Randolph West, who guessed (accurately) I...
2024-05-22 (first published: 2024-05-03)
408 reads
The Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Your SQL DBA Skills
Database administrators (DBAs) are the backbone of data-driven organizations. If you're looking to break into this field or climb the DBA career ladder, mastering SQL is absolutely crucial. Let's...
2024-05-03
389 reads
Friday Basics: Authentication vs. Authorization
Another security fundamentals topic is authentication versus authorization. For those who have a clear understanding of the difference between the two, like with Recovery Point Objective (RPO) vs. Recovery...
2024-05-24 (first published: 2024-05-03)
310 reads
A New Word: mcfeely
mcfeely – adj. inexplicably moved by predictable and well-worn sentiments, even if they are trite or obvious or being broadcast blindly to the masses. I get mcfeely all the...
2024-05-03
18 reads
Bicep Your Elastic Jobs
I posted on Terraform and Azure SQL last year but wanted to see what Bicep could do this year. I’m going to test Bicep out with Elastic Jobs. TL;DR—My...
2024-05-22 (first published: 2024-05-02)
168 reads
3rd Party Applications Have Issues
As a SQL DBA, what do you do when a vendor application has performance problems that are code related? Server settings don’t generally seem to be an issue. Queries...
2024-05-20 (first published: 2024-05-02)
206 reads
Blogs
Microsoft announces new cybersecurity AI multi-model
By Brian Kelley
Yesterday, July 27, 2026, Microsoft announced a new cybersecurity effort called Project Perception. Included...
Getting the SQL Server MCP Server Running
By Steve Jones
If you’ve wanted a SQL Server MCP server for your databases, it’s available. The...
Introducing azsql-migration-test: Test and Validate Azure SQL Database Migrations
Introducing azsql-migration-test, a small open-source CLI that validates your Azure SQL Database migrations against...
Forums
Symmetric Key Encryption
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Symmetric Key Encryption
The “Successful Login” Dilemma: Why Your Login Auditing Strategy Might Be Hurting Your Server
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The “Successful Login” Dilemma: Why...
Building Your Own Software
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Building Your Own Software
Question of the Day
Symmetric Key Encryption
If I run this statement in SQL Server 2025, how is the password encrypted?
CREATE SYMMETRIC KEY MySymmetricKey WITH ALGORITHM = AES_256, KEY_SOURCE = 'My secret key source passphrase', IDENTITY_VALUE = 'My secret identity value' ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'S&perS#cretP@ssword7'; GOSee possible answers