The PoSh DBA: Solutions using PowerShell and SQL Server
PowerShell is worth using when it is the quickest way to providing a solution. For the DBA, it is much more than getting information from SQL Server instances via PowerShell; it can also be run from SQL Server as part of a system that helps with administrative and monitoring tasks.
Understanding Column Properties for a SQL Server Table
Designing a table can be a little complicated if you don’t have the correct knowledge of data types, relationships, and even column properties. In this tip, Brady Upton goes over the column properties and provides examples.
Two Steps Ahead
Today Steve Jones talks about those great DBAs, the Exceptional ones that do more than just respond to issues or set up monitoring on their systems.
Getting Started With XML Indexes
XML Indexes make a huge difference to the speed of XML queries, as Seth Delconte explains; and demonstrates by running queries against half a million XML employee records. The execution time of a query is reduced from two seconds to being too quick to measure, purely by creating the right type of secondary index for the query.
A SQL Server Log Reader
There's a hole in the SQL Server platform. No log reader comes with the product and Steve Jones thinks Microsoft should build one and include it.
Stairway to Server-side Tracing - Level 9: How to Automate SQL Traces using the Data Collector
In this level you will see how to employ the Data Collector feature of SQL Server to automate management of SQL Traces among multiple servers.
SQL Server Semantic Search to Find Text in External Files
Sometimes it is necessary to search for specific content inside documents stored in a SQL Server database. Is it possible to do this in SQL Server? Can I run T-SQL queries and find content inside Microsoft Word files? Yes, now with SQL Server 2012 you can do a semantic search.
Walk on the Wild Side
Today Steve Jones talks about the differences between development and production and how it can be good to spend a little doing the other type of work.
Tune Your Indexing Strategy with SQL Server DMVs
SQL Server Indexes need to be effective. It is wrong to have too few or too many. The ones you create must ensure that the workload reads the data quickly with a minimum of I/O. As well as a sound knowledge of the way that relational databases work, it helps to be familiar with the Dynamic Management Objects that are there to assist with your indexing strategy.
Blogs
Excellent article on securing msdb
By Brian Kelley
Fabiano Amorim has written an excellent article at Simple Talk on securing msdb. Here's...
T-SQL Tuesday #201: Temp Tables
By Steve Jones
This month we have a new host, which I am grateful for. So many...
When Do You Reach For A #temp Table?
I needed to do some research because there is more to #temp tables than...
Forums
OUTER APPLY Fundamentals: Part 2
Comments posted to this topic are about the item OUTER APPLY Fundamentals: Part 2
Building Great Software
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Building Great Software
The Range of Customers
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Range of Customers
Question of the Day
The Range of Customers
I have this data in the OrderHeader table in a SQL Server 2025 database (ordered by CustomerID ASC):
orderid orderdate customerid complete 3 2025-05-10 00:00:00.0002 1 21 2024-01-10 00:00:00.0003 1 15 2023-10-28 00:00:00.0004 1 13 2025-03-08 00:00:00.0006 1 11 2024-04-02 00:00:00.0007 1If I run this query, how many rows are returned?
SELECT * from dbo.OrderHeader where customerid between 3 and '6'See possible answers