Would You Like a Stay Interview?
For this Friday poll, Steve Jones talks about an interesting concept. The "stay interview."
A Perspective on Database Performance Tuning
Fundamentally, database performance tuning is done for two basic reasons, to reduce response time and to reduce resource usage, both of which can apply for any given situation. Julian Stuhler looks at database performance tuning, and why it remains one of the most important topics for any DBA, developer or systems administrator.
Capturing Real-Time Currency Conversions in SSIS
Integration excels at moving and transforming data in real time. Jeff Singleton brings us a great use of SSIS in making currency conversions using a web service.
Man in the MIddle
Are you worried about man in the middle attacks on your database server? If you run Oracle you should be, but SQL Server DBAs should not assume they are safe. Adding communication encryption can be a good idea for SQL Server DBAs.
Configure Windows Firewall for SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services in Windows Server 2008 R2
As I am new to Windows Server 2008 R2 it would be great if you can let me know the step by step approach to enable the default port of SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services in Windows Firewall for user connectivity.
How to Read Excel Cells from SQL Server Integration Services
We can get data in all sorts of formats in the real world. In this new article from Dinesh Asanka, learn how to use scripting to import data from individual Excel cells.
Regular Service
Steve Jones feels that we ought to get regular service packs from Microsoft to support SQL Server. Not everyone agrees. Do you?
Consolidating SQL Server Error Logs from Multiple Instances Using SSIS
SQL Server hides a lot of very useful information in its error log files. Unfortunately, the process of hunting through all these logs, file-by-file, server-by-server, can cause a problem. Rodney Landrum offers a solution which will allow you to pull error log records from multiple servers into a central database, for analysis and reporting with T-SQL.
Concrete Code
When building a new database or system, are you designing concrete code? Should you be? Steve Jones comments on matching your needs with your architecture.
SQL Server Luxembourg User Group Meeting
Our next meeting will be held on Friday 30th April in downtown Luxembourg.
Blogs
Advice I Like: Pyramid Schemes
By Steve Jones
If someone is trying to convince you it’s not a pyramid scheme, it’s a...
Using Prompt AI for a Travel Data Analysis
By Steve Jones
I was looking back at my year and decided to see if SQL Prompt...
FinOps for Kubernetes: Leveraging OpenCost, KubeGreen, and Kubecost for Cost Efficiency
In the era of cloud-native applications, Kubernetes has become the default standard platform for...
Forums
Database file shrink issue.
Hi experts, I have a 3+ TB database on a 2019 sql server which...
The North Star for the Year
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The North Star for the...
Multiple Escape Characters
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Multiple Escape Characters
Question of the Day
Multiple Escape Characters
In SQL Server 2025, I run this code (in a database with the appropriate collation):
SELECT UNISTR('%*3041%*308A%*304C%*3068 and good night', '%*') AS 'A Classic';
What is returned? See possible answers