DR Prep
This week Steve Jones asks how you might handle DR preparation or process differently in the new year.
Row Sorting in SQL
It should be easy to model a game of poker in SQL. The problem is, however, that you need to model a permutation from a set of elements. Joe Celko argues that using a group of columns to do this isn't necessarily a violation of 1NF, since a permutation is atomic. Then comes the second problem: how would you sort such a column-base permutation in order? Sorting columns in SQL?
All Flash
Should you think about using SSD storage in your SQL Server databases? Steve Jones thinks this might be something you should consider.
Partitioning in SQL Server
Partitioning has improved with each new version of SQL Server. From partitioned views in SQL Server 7.0 through partition table parallelism in SQL Server 2008. With SQL Server 2012, we are now allowed to even create up to a 15K partition on a single table.
Querying SQL Server Agent Job History Data
Often times we are tasked with having to programmatically come with a list of durations per SQL Server Agent Job to trend the run times and order the results by date. Unfortunately it's not always easy in the way the data is stored in the system tables in the MSDB database. This tip explains how to use the system tables to get the data into the correct format for dates and job durations.
Automatically Generate Stored Procedures
This article will show you how to automatically generate insert, update, and delete procedures for tables in your database
Free Tools for the DBA: PAL Tool
The Performance Analysis of Logs tool is a general tool for collecting and analysing log data. With the addition of a template, it becomes an effective way of analysing data from performance counters for SQL Server, in order to diagnose performance problems and capture baseline information.
'At-Rest Data-Leakage': The Euphemism
If you let working drives leave the building in a readable state, you’re unintentionally in the publishing business.
Blogs
Simple Talks Podcasting in 2026
By Steve Jones
I’m in the UK today, having arrived this morning in London. Hopefully, by this...
Flyway Tips: AI Generating Migration Script Names
By Steve Jones
AI is a big deal in 2026, and at Redgate, we’re experimenting with how...
The Book of Redgate: Get the right stuff done
By Steve Jones
Another of our values: The facing page has this quote: “We admire people who...
Forums
Script Task execution error with HTTP request
I have a script task that tries to execute a HTTP request, which seems...
SQL Server 2025 Standard Developer Edition
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server 2025 Standard Developer...
URL Safe or Not?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item URL Safe or Not?
Question of the Day
URL Safe or Not?
If I use BASE4_ENCODE() in SQL Server 2025, is the output URL Safe by default?
See possible answers