Books

The Art of SQL Server Filesteam eBook cover

The Art of SQL Server FILESTREAM by Jacob Sebastian and Sven Aelterman

FILESTREAM is implemented as an extension to the VARBINARY(MAX) data type and allows large object data to be stored in a special folder on the NTFS file system, while bringing that data under the transactional control of SQL Server. This book describes both the way it works and the implementation, administration and troubleshooting of it.

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2012-11-12

597 reads

SQL Server Concurrency eBook cover

SQL Server Concurrency: Locking, Blocking and Row Versioning

Your application can have impeachable indexes and queries, but they won't help you if you can't get to your data because another application has it locked. That's why every DBA and developer must understand SQL Server concurrency and how to troubleshoot excessive blocking or deadlocking. Kalen Delaney's book is your guide.

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2012-10-02

3,679 reads

SQL Server Backup and Restore eBook cover

SQL Server Backup and Restore

A DBA's tasks, from day-to-day, are rarely constant; with one exception: the need to ensure each and every day that any database in their charge can be restored and recovered, in the event of error of disaster. In this book, you'll discover how to perform each of these backup and restore operations using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), basic T-SQL scripts and Red Gate's SQL Backup tool.

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2012-03-26

12,761 reads

Troubleshooting SQL Server A Guide for the Accidental DBA eBook cover

Troubleshooting SQL Server: A Guide for the Accidental DBA

Three SQL Server MVPs, and stalwarts of the SQLServerCentral and MSDN community forums, provide fascinating insight into the most common SQL Server problems, why they occur, and how they can be diagnosed using tools such as Performance Monitor, Dynamic Management Views and server-side tracing. The focus is on practical solutions for removing root causes of these problems, rather than "papering over the cracks".

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2011-09-29

25,091 reads

SQL Server Team-Based Development eBook cover

The Red Gate Guide to SQL Server Team-based Development

This book shows how to use of mixture of home-grown scripts, native SQL Server tools,
and tools from the Red Gate SQL Toolbelt, to successfully develop database applications in a team environment,
and make database development as similar as possible to "normal" development.

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2010-10-21

4,843 reads

Performance Tuning with SQL Server Dynamic Managment Views eBook cover

Performance Tuning with SQL Server Dynamic Management Views

This is the book that will de-mystify the process of using Dynamic Management Views to collect the information you need to troubleshoot SQL Server problems. It will highlight the core techniques and "patterns" that you need to master, and will provide a core set of scripts that you can use and adapt for your own requirements.

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2010-06-14

8,752 reads

Blogs

Adding an HTTP MCP Server to VSCode

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I wrote earlier this week about the SQL MCP Server using the Data API...

Microsoft announces new cybersecurity AI multi-model

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Yesterday, July 27, 2026, Microsoft announced a new cybersecurity effort called Project Perception. Included...

Getting the SQL Server MCP Server Running

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If you’ve wanted a SQL Server MCP server for your databases, it’s available. The...

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Forums

Symmetric Key Encryption

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

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

By Pablo Echeverria

Comments posted to this topic are about the item The “Successful Login” Dilemma: Why...

Building Your Own Software

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Building Your Own Software

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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';
GO

See possible answers