Generating Non-uniform Random Numbers with SQL
Some FUNCTIONs to help generate non-uniform random numbers from uniform random numbers including Normal, Multinomial, etc.
Email Job Failures Report to DBA using PowerShell
MySQL introduced its own brand of job scheduling, called Events, in version 5.1. However, some Database Administrators (DBAs) feel that it isn't quite ready for prime time. This article presents a hybrid solution that uses MySQL Event Scheduling to manage the batch jobs and Windows PowerShell for the error handling.
Security and Honesty
Today Steve Jones talks security and the need for us to share information about issues, especially those that impact security.
Using a PowerShell Script to delete old files for SQL Server
Many clients are using custom stored procedures or third party tools to backup databases in production environments instead of using database maintenance plans. One of the things that you need to do is to maintain the number of backup files that exist on disk, so you don't run out of disk space. There are several techniques for deleting old files, but in this tip I show how this can be done using PowerShell.
SQL Server 2012 - New Service Broker Features
SQL Server 2012 came with bells and whistles for service broker, that give you plenty reasons to start using service broker in your applications.
The High Availability Poll
Most customers and clients wants highly available systems, with 100% uptime if possible. However most don't want to pay for them, and eventually tolerate some outages to keep costs down. This Friday, Steve Jones asks what is your environment like.
Password Help
Passwords control most of our access to computer systems and provide some level of authentication, but their security depends heavily on their strength and privacy. Steve Jones says you can set a good example for others and hemp improve security on all systems.
Transaction Replication Publisher failover to Mirror
Transaction Replication Publisher failover/failback to mirror standby with automatic redirection of the subscriber and client application.
Introduction into handling errors in PowerShell for SQL Server tasks
PowerShell is becoming a great tool for managing SQL Server tasks, but like most tasks that are coded there is always the need for error handling to deal with the unknown. PowerShell has several options for handling and capturing error details and in this tip we will explain these options using PowerShell for SQL Server examples.
Blogs
Reality (And Limits) of Instant File Initialization for Transaction Logs in SQL Server 2022
By SQLPals
Reality (And Limits) of Instant File Initialization for Transaction Logs in SQL Server 2022 ...
Looking Back at the Redgate 2026 Company Kickoff
By Steve Jones
Last week I spent a few days in Cambridge, UK for the Redgate Company...
Using AI for Git Hooks
By Steve Jones
Recently I had someone internally ask about whether SQL Source Control supports Git Hooks....
Forums
SQL Agent job running gMSA cannot backup to NAS target
I'm running a group MSA for the database engine and SQL Agent in a...
sys.query_store_query question
All, My query is as follows: SET DATEFORMAT dmy SELECT p.query_id, DATEADD(MICROSECOND,-rs.max_duration,rs.first_execution_time) AS starttime,...
Encoding Strings
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Encoding Strings
Question of the Day
Encoding Strings
I have this code in SQL Server 2025. What is the result?
DECLARE @message VARCHAR(50) = 'Hello SQL Server 2025!'; DECLARE @encoded VARCHAR(MAX); SET @encoded = BASE64_ENCODE(@message); SELECT @encoded AS EncodedResult;See possible answers