What "DateDiff" are you trying to get?  The number of days, weeks, months, years, hours, seconds, etc?

I suppose the easiest way to help you would be if you could post...

I think the faster way to parse XML is to do it outside of SQL.  In general, SQL is not "fast" at parsing XML data.  I think your interpretation of:

Given...

One solution (not mine) was using the Box API:

https://community.box.com/t5/Platform-and-Development-Forum/Using-the-box-api-in-SSIS/td-p/68823

Thank link has the general process as well as some code to help with it.

I personally have not done this as I...

Thanks for the followup and solution!

That is weird about the syntax... I was using your original syntax when I tested it and it worked for me.  But maybe it was...

Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me, but what is the difference between B and C?

It was a bit of a vague question.  Is the query only run...

I signed up!  I'm always curious about new DBA tools.  Survey was a bit vague with some things.  Like do you prefer the GUI or CLI.  Would you consider writing...

LOL... for me it definitely is not, but...

You could download adventureworks database and just write some complex queries against that?

But it depends on what you consider complex.  I have some stored procedures at my workplace that are...

Where I work, I have 60+SQL instances with roughly 5 databases per instance.  Not an ideal setup with 3 physical servers, but it works for what we need.

We have our ...

Just to confirm, if the date was the 15th, would you want it from the 28th/29th/30th/31st (depending on the month) to the 14th?

Basically, are you wanting it from 15 days...

ReportServer and ReportServerTempDB are databases used exclusively by SSRS.  If you are not using SSRS, you don't need those.

To take a different approach, it depends on what you are trying to capture with the audit trail.  Do you care about who and when each and every change was...

My first step - grab an execution plan.  Have a look under the  hood at what is happening.

But I don't think those 2 queries are doing the same thing.  Having...

My  preference is any production level server, maintenance is done in a controlled maintenance window outside of business hours where possible.

You are giving yourself a 1 hour window to do...