What is CPU Usage?
Tracking metrics and reporting on them to others can help ensure everyone is aware of how your database servers are functioning. However, Steve notes that we have to agree on what we are measuring.
2026-07-22
166 reads
Editorials
2026-07-20 (first published: 2019-08-20)
674 reads
The SQL Server 2016 Plan
Steve notes SQL Server 2016 went out of support this past week. What are you plans if you run this version?
2026-07-18
114 reads
The Mythical Bus Accident
Preparing for disaster is important, both at work and in your personal life.
2026-07-17
111 reads
A Security and AI Fail
Security is an important consideration for anyone working with data, but it's especially a concern with AI.
2026-07-15
138 reads
Forward Deployed Engineers
A new job title, the forward deployed engineer, is becoming more popular.
2026-07-13
174 reads
SSRS Reminded Me of the Time Microsoft Retired TMG
Reading that SQL Server 2025 shipped without SSRS took me back to 2012, when Microsoft announced end-of-life for TMG — our perimeter firewall, web proxy, and SSL inspection. It had run quietly for years until it suddenly needed a plan. Within weeks, vendors found us. Demos, a steering committee, a three-month project plan. We weren't […]
2026-07-11
124 reads
I Can't Make You Learn
Steve believes that his career and life have become better as he learns more everything. It's the key to improvement.
2026-07-10
138 reads
A Quick Second Opinion
Communication is hard, and it's something most of us can learn to do better. Steve notes that using an LLM for tasks will also help you learn to communicate better.
2026-07-08
137 reads
Bad IT People
What happens when you have bad IT people working in your company? Steve Jones says that they always will be around, but we might not want to enable them to continue in this business when we find them.
2026-07-06 (first published: 2011-03-02)
2,369 reads
Blogs
Narrow Task Decomposition in AI Pipeline Agents
A nightly load into sales_fact fails. Ask an orchestrating agent to break down the...
Car Update: August 2026
By Steve Jones
It’s been some time since I provided a car update, so I decided to...
Microsoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not To
By James Serra
An architecture scenario Imagine separate Sales, Finance, Shared Data, and Executive Analytics workspaces. Sales...
Forums
Managing Incidents and Fighting Fires
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Managing Incidents and Fighting Fires
Backing Up a DMK
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Backing Up a DMK
The Quiet Part
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Quiet Part
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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