Database Weekly

SQLServerCentral Editorial

How to be an MVP

  • Editorial

For those of you who haven’t heard of it, MVP stands for Most Valuable Professional. Microsoft gives this award to people in the community – not employees – who help teach the community at large about their products. The award can be given in one or more of the categories such as Data Platform, AI, […]

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2020-08-08

270 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

Controlling Intelligent Query Processing Features

  • Editorial

I always look forward to new T-SQL features and optimizer enhancements with every new version of SQL Server. Starting in 2017, Microsoft came up with a set of features called Intelligent Query Processing (IQP). These features work to improve performance without changing any code. If you’d like to learn more about these features, take a […]

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2020-07-11

823 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

What is Azure SQL Database Serverless?

  • Editorial

I remember when the first SQL databases were available on Azure. The size limits and missing features made them impractical for most uses at the time. Fast forward 10 years and you can you create a terabyte database and take advantage of configurations like Hyperscale, Elastic Pool, and Managed Instances. You get automatic high-availability and […]

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2020-06-13

702 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

The Social Impact of Data

  • Editorial

Let the data drive your decisions. This has been something of a mantra for many technical people, and even many business people, across the last twenty or so years. The allure of business intelligence is harnessing lots of data to make decisions that are rooted in some rational analysis of what has happened. Many companies […]

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2020-06-06

88 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

The Build Book of News

  • Editorial

Every year Microsoft has held the Build conference for developers. I've been lucky enough to go a few times, and I was hoping to get the chance to attend again. With the pandemic, the entire event went virtual, and was held across 48 continuous hours. I was slightly disappointed as a few sessions I wanted […]

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2020-05-23

114 reads

SQLServerCentral Editorial

Bad Managers

  • Editorial

I’m constantly hearing stories about terrible managers, and, of course, I’ve experienced quite a few myself. In fact, I can’t come up with many nice things to say about most managers when I look back over my career. (Luckily, my manager at Redgate is wonderful!) Early in my tech career, I was working at a […]

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2020-05-16

199 reads

Blogs

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Forums

Backing Up a DMK

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Backing Up a DMK

The Quiet Part

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Quiet Part

BIT_COUNT in SQL Server

By john.martin

Comments posted to this topic are about the item BIT_COUNT in SQL Server

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Question of the Day

Backing Up a DMK

In SQL Server 2025, I have a database with a Database Masker Key (DMK). I want to back up this key and keep a copy offline. When do I have to open this key before running the backup?

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