Hidden Connections
Ever have strange DTS errors after moving a package? You changed all the connection strings, but still get connection errors. Steve Jones did and tracked down one potential culprit.
2002-10-29
4,393 reads
Administration
Alternatives to SQL Backups
All of do us regular backups. Ok, all of us SHOULD do regular backups. In this article Andy comments on why having a backup plan isn't enough and why you should look at some other options for when you need to fix data errors. This really speaks to the goal of minimizing down time using low tech, readily available solutions. If you're not interested yet, we'll add this - one of the alternatives he suggests is Microsoft Access!
2002-10-28
8,433 reads
Open Source ASP Enterprise Manager in Design Phase
Andy relates some info he got from Wes Grant about his freeware and open source project to build a web based admin tool for SQL that is currently in the design/initial coding phase. Get the scoop and maybe write some of the code too!
2002-10-22
4,837 reads
Conflicting Instructions
Ever have problems following something from Books Online? There may be a reason. Microsoft has noticed as well and there are updates for this valuable DBA tool. Here's a sample of the changes and a link to get the update.
2002-10-21
4,460 reads
Using Check Constraints
Check constraints can be added to a table to enforce specific rules on one or more columns. This article shows you how to use them to enforce simple and more complex rules.
2002-10-03
16,295 reads
Worst Practice - Sorting by Ordinal
If you've been with us for a while you know that Andy started a series last year on worst practices. As he says, maybe you can't always do best practices, but at least dont do the worst ones. Read the article and add a comment, participate!
2002-10-01
7,477 reads
Push Those Logs Away!
Steve found a gaping hole in his backup process. One that he plugged with this script to move log files around the network in the event of a server failure. If you can't afford to lose a day of work, read about his solution.
2002-09-30
6,276 reads
Adding Linked Servers Using SQL-DMO
Following up on a question posted in our discussion area, Andy looks at how to use DMO to add and remove linked servers. Along the way he points out a couple 'gotchas' and throws in a cool tip about how to save a little time when you experiment with DMO.
2002-09-19
12,182 reads
Nightly Failed Jobs Report
Do you get tired of reviewing each SQL Agent notifications nightly to determine which SQL Agent jobs failed? Is there a significant number of SQL Agent job notifications that it takes a while to review each? Here is an alternative that allows you to have a single email report of all job failures.
2002-09-17
11,737 reads
Kill That Target!
Having trouble with a target server (TSX)? Steve Jones did in his environment. Read about how he worked around the issue to restore administrative capabilities.
2002-09-16
7,246 reads
Blogs
AI: Blog a Day – Day 4: Transformers – Encoder, Decoder, and Attention
By Vinay Thakur
Continuing from Day 3 where we covered LLM models open/closed and their parameters, Today...
Flyway Tips: Multiple Projects
By Steve Jones
One of the nice things about Flyway Desktop is that it helps you manage...
What DevOps Look Like in Microsoft Fabric
By HeyMo0sh
Microsoft Fabric (not to be confused with the more general term “fabric” in DevOps)...
Forums
Can an Azure App Service Managed Identity be used for SQL Login?
I'm fairly certain I know the answer to this from digging into it yesterday,...
Azure Synapse database refresh
Hi Team, I am trying to refresh the Azure Synapse Dedicated pool from production...
how to write this query?
hi everyone I am not sure how to write the query that will produce...
Question of the Day
Fun with JSON I
I have some data in a table:
CREATE TABLE #test_data
(
id INT PRIMARY KEY,
name VARCHAR(100),
birth_date DATE
);
-- Step 2: Insert rows
INSERT INTO #test_data
VALUES
(1, 'Olivia', '2025-01-05'),
(2, 'Emma', '2025-03-02'),
(3, 'Liam', '2025-11-15'),
(4, 'Noah', '2025-12-22');
If I run this query, how many rows are returned?
SELECT *
FROM OPENJSON(
(
SELECT t.* FROM #test_data AS t FOR JSON PATH
)
) t; See possible answers