Backup Monitoring and Reporting
Ensuring that you can recover your server is critical. Chad Miller shows us how to accomplish daily backup monitoring and reporting.
Syncing Releases
Is the future for product releases and upgrades, to be synchronized with point releases? Steve Jones relishes the possibility.
Calling a Web Service from within SQL Server
One of the problems you might run into when building applications that consume web services is how you can use web services data within a SQL Server instance. Greg Larsen discusses how to do this within a stored procedure that only runs within the context of SQL Server.
Engine Separation of Duties for the Application Developer
Separation of duties is an important consideration for databases and database applications. By properly defining schemas and roles, you can create a distinction between users who can manipulate data from those that administer the database. This paper discusses the topics of which application developers should be aware and provides a heuristic example to guide you in achieving separation of duties.
Security Basics: Applying the Principle of Least Privilege Properly
Whenever I do a security presentation, I make sure to cover the Principle of Least Privilege. And when I do I boil it down to this very simple definition: Giving the rights to do the job. No more. No less.
SQLSaturday Events Coming Soon
Birmingham (May 20), Pensacola (June 6), and Portland (June 6) are upcoming SQLSaturday events. If you are in the area, please attend.
How to Become an Exceptional DBA
Brad McGehee provides a "career guide" for DBAs. It is intended both to help prospective DBAs find a "way in" to the profession, and to advise existing DBAs on how they can excel at their jobs, and so become Exceptional DBAs.
Providing Operational Analytics via Microsoft Analysis Services, Infor
This article will review the processes for providing Operational Analytics via Microsoft Analysis Services, Informatica and Qlikview
SSIS multi-environment configuration in a single SQL Server table
Centralize SSIS configuration for multiple environments into one table.
The Problem Is You
Why doesn't SQL Server just run smoothly after it's installed? Steve Jones thinks the problem is you.
Blogs
A Cloud Dependency Failure from Amazon
By Steve Jones
I went to sleep while reading a Kindle book on my phone. I know...
Deploying AI in logistics (the unfiltered version)
A conversation with Jan Laš, CIO at HOPI, about what deploying a data agent...
T-SQL Tuesday #198 Invitation: How Do You Detect Data Changes?
It's time for T-SQL Tuesday #198! This month's topic is change detection. The post T-SQL...
Forums
SPAM Issues May 2026
We suffered a SPAM attack from May 1-6, which unfortunately corresponded with time off...
SQL Password enforcing
Hi to all We have situation at a client where someone is illegally changing...
SQL Password enforcing
Hi to all We have situation at a client where someone is illegally changing...
Question of the Day
Creating a JSON Document III
I have this data in a table called dbo.NFLTeams
TeamID TeamName City YearEstablished ------ -------- ---- --------------- 1 Cowboys Dallas 1960 2 Eagles Philadelphia 1933 3 Packers Green Bay 1919 4 Chiefs Kansas City 1960 5 49ers San Francisco 1946 6 Broncos Denver 1960 7 Seahawks Seattle 1976 8 Patriots New England 1960If I run this code, how many rows are returned?
SELECT TOP 2
json_objectagg('Team' : TeamName)
FROM dbo.NFLTeams;
See possible answers