Stairway to Azure SQL Hyperscale – Level 2: Page Server Architecture Explained
In Level 2 of the Stairway to Hyperscale, we learn about Page Servers in more detail.
How to Measure Replication Latency in SQL Server AlwaysOn Synchronous Availability Groups
Synchronous replicas in SQL Server Availability Groups promise no data loss, but they don’t promise zero delay; under heavy load they can still fall behind. This article shows how to measure and track that hidden replication delay using SQL Server performance counters, so you can see how well your system keeps up during IO‑intensive operations and plan maintenance more safely.
AI Steals Joy
Are the AI tools developers use making them enjoy their jobs more or less? Steve has a few thoughts.
Parameter Sensitive Plan Optimization in SQL Server 2022
Learn about a new feature of SQL Server 2022 - Parameter Sensitive Plan Optimization(PSPO)
Configure SQL Server Alerts for Azure SQL Managed Instance
How can we setup alerts in Azure SQL MI to notify us when there are issues?
The Yutes
I recently had the opportunity to talk a little PostgreSQL with the Salt Lake City PostgreSQL Meetup group (thank you for having me by the way). Great bunch of people who were really engaged and asked a lot of questions. On the way out of the event, I was chatting with one person (who had […]
Revisiting SQL Server Window Functions- A Practical Walkthrough
A look at window functions in SQL and how they can be used to query data without the restrictions of a GROUP BY.
The Security of Old Tech
Older technology can introduce security issues, along with performance ones. Keeping your systems somewhat up to date is important for security.
How to Increase SQL Server Column Width Without IO (Input/Output) Overhead
This article dives into a fun (and interesting!) strategy for widening fixed-width columns in SQL Server, to reduce downtime, risk, and runtime at the time when a column’s data type needs to be changed.
Password Guidance
Passwords are essential and also a problem in many organizations. Guidance has changed over the years and Steve has a few thoughts on what's recommended today.
Blogs
Enterprise AI Operating Rhythm – Top 5 practices for 2026
2025 exposed a growing gap between AI ambition and operational reality. As budgets tightened...
Stop Being Surprised by Your Azure Bill: Use Budgets
By John
When organizations migrate workloads to Azure, the focus is usually on architecture, performance, and...
Resetting on the AI hype train
By Brian Kelley
There's a great article from MIT Technology Review about resetting on the hype of...
Forums
The Max PK Length
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Max PK Length
My experience using the GitHub Copilot in SSMS 22
Comments posted to this topic are about the item My experience using the GitHub...
The Microsoft SQL Year in Review
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The Microsoft SQL Year in...
Question of the Day
The Max PK Length
If I create a multiple column Primary Key constraint, what is the most number of bytes I can include in the constraint?
See possible answers