Stairway Series

Stairway to Columnstore Indexes

Stairway to Columnstore Indexes

  • Stairway

SQL Server 2012 and later offer a very different type of index from the traditional b-tree, the in-memory columnstore index. These indexes use a column-based storage model, as well as a new 'batch mode' of query execution and can offer huge performance increases for certain workloads. But how are they built, how do they work, and why do they manage to have such a dramatic impact on performance? In this stairway, Hugo Kornelis explains all, with his usual mix of concise description and detailed demonstration.

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2015-01-22

12,079 reads

Stairway to Advanced T-SQL

Stairway to Advanced T-SQL

  • Stairway

This stairway will contain a series of articles that will expand on the T-SQL foundation that you learned in the prior two T-SQL stairways, Stairway to T-SQL DML and T-SQL Beyond the Basics. This stairway should help readers prepare for passing the Microsoft Certification exam 70-461: Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012.

(2)

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2014-12-11

21,508 reads

Stairway to AlwaysOn

Stairway to Always On

  • Stairway

AlwaysOn is a complex set of technologies that is often mis-understood. In this Stairway you will learn about the AlwaysOn technologies, how they fit into the High Availability stack, and how to make good use of them.

(2)

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2024-07-23 (first published: )

18,666 reads

Stairway to SQL Server Virtulization

Stairway to SQL Server Virtualization

  • Stairway

Virtualization is becoming more and more common, and without an understanding how virtualization works, the DBA will have blind spots when attempting to resolving performance issues, such as reduce resource contention, or improve the backup and restore operations, and so on.

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2014-06-25

3,722 reads

Stairway to SQLCLR

Stairway to SQLCLR

  • Stairway

The possibilities for programming SQL Server platform were greatly enhanced with the addition of the SQLCLR subsystem. This allows code written in any .NET language to be incorporated into your SQL Server instance and called from a stored procedure or function. You can also create your own data types or aggregates for specialized purposes. This Stairway series will teach you how to get started writing your own CLR code and integrating it into SQL Server.

(6)

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2013-12-27

14,361 reads

Stairway to Biml

Stairway to Biml

  • Stairway

Biml is a markup language that enables you to quickly represent a variety of database related models and constructs, including SSIS packages, models, permissions and more. This stairway helps you get started using the language to represent your objects.

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2013-07-09

7,411 reads

Stairway to XML

Stairway to XML

  • Stairway

XML has been part of the SQL Standard since 2003, and it is also essential for any DBA because so many of the dynamic management views return XML data. Now that the industry is more used to data defined by document markup, it is becoming more important than ever for Database Developers and DBAs to understand the technology and to know where it makes sense to use XML. In this series of articles, Robert Sheldon flexes his talent to make the complicated seem simple.
Note: This series of articles is now available as an eBook.

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2012-08-14

6,395 reads

Stairway to SQL PowerShell

Stairway to SQL PowerShell

  • Stairway

PowerShell is a powerful scripting tool that allows you to automate routine tasks, and script administrative tasks, allowing you to automate a lot of the routine work in a SQL environment. Ben Miller's Stairway Series introduces PowerShell from the beginning, guiding you through how to configure and get started with the framework before working towards more advanced scripting.

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2012-06-14

12,074 reads

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Fabric Mirroring

In which versions can I mirror a database from an on-premises SQL Server to a Fabric data warehouse?

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