Unlocking Data Transformation: My journey with dbt (Data Build Tool) on SQL Server
Learn about dbt, a tool used by lots of data engineers to move data between systems.
Your Security Checkup
We often find security issues come from holes in the way we've set up systems. Steve asks if you perform security checkups on your systems.
5 Strategies to Refactor SQL Code
Code refactoring is a common process when developing in procedural languages – and essential to developing high-quality code – yet somehow often gets overlooked in SQL.
How Important Are Real Time Decisions?
There has been a push to build real time analytics and decision support systems. Steve discusses whether this is a good idea for many organizations.
T-SQL in SQL Server 2025: The UNISTR Function
I am not much for working in languages other than English. That's my native language and I know little about others. However, the last few years I find myself using emojis more and more in quick communications as they seem to add some fun to the interaction. And those interactions need to be stored in […]
How to Query JSON Data Quickly in SQL Server, Part 2: SQL Server 2025
SQL Server 2025 and .NET 10 bring several new improvements to storing JSON natively in the database and querying it quickly.
SQL Server Licensing is Simple
Over the years I've had no shortage of licensing questions for SQL Server. At times it's felt a little crazy. Look at the licensing guide. Choose EE or SE and the number of cores. Then check if you're using VMs. Oh, and consider the cloud, and which cloud you're running a workload on. It's simple […]
Stairway to Azure SQL Hyperscale Level 5: Data Growth and Fast Auto-Grow Mechanism
In this level, we learn about the database file size growth in Hyperscale.
SQL Server DBaaS Vulnerability: Decrypting System Code & Exfiltrating User Data
Security in cloud environments is both challenging and fascinating, particularly for Database-as-a-Service (DBaaS) offerings like Amazon RDS, GCP CloudSQL and Alibaba ApsaraDB RDS. The cloud vendor acts as the system administrator, managing the operating system, patching, and backups, while the user manages their data and databases.
Build a Test Lab of SQL Server 2025 on Windows Server 2025 using Hyper-V Virtual Machines
Create your own test lab on Hyper-V to evaluate SQL Server 2025 and Windows Server 2025
Blogs
From Planning to Practice: Setting Up Your FinOps Framework
By HeyMo0sh
As someone who works in DevOps, I’m always focused on creating systems that are...
“We love to debate minutiae”
By Brian Kelley
I am guilty as charged. The quote was in reference to how people argue...
Advice I Like: Knots
By Steve Jones
Learn how to tie a bowline knot. Practice in the dark. With one hand....
Forums
Restoring On Top II
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SQL Art 2: St Patrick’s Day in SSMS (Shamrock + Pint + Pixel Text)
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Art 2: St Patrick’s...
Breaking Down Your Work
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Breaking Down Your Work
Question of the Day
Restoring On Top II
I have a database, DNRTest, that has a number of tables and other objects in it. The other day, I was trying to mock up a test and ran this code on the same server:
-- run yesterday CREATE DATABASE DNRTest2 GO USE DNRTest2 GO CREATE TABLE NewTable (id INT) GOToday, I realize that I need a copy of DNRTest for another mockup, and I run this:
-- run today USE Master BACKUP DATABASE DNRTest TO DISK = 'dnrtest.bak' GO RESTORE DATABASE DNRTest2 FROM DISK = 'dnrtest.bak' WITH REPLACEWhat happens? See possible answers