How to be a Good DBA - Strategy and Tactics
New Author! And long time reader - Jeffrey was site member #712, almost 3 years and 130,000 members ago! This article describes the skills needed to progress from junior to intermediate to senior DBA.
How to Build Dynamic Stored Procedures
Robert is our expert on dynamic sql. This week he offers some good hints for planning the contruction of a proc that will use dynamic sql. He also adds some suggestions on how to format the code so that when you return to it later, you can figure out what you were doing!
Index Creation Guidelines
Index Creation Guidelines for SQL Server can be pretty sparse. Usually there are a couple, clustered index for ranges, nonclustered, etc. Leo Peysakhovich has taken some time to write down his guidelines based on his experience for creating indexes and the rational for doing so. He's also taken a few minutes to look at which indexes NOT to create, something that might be worth knowing..
Intro to Database Mail in SQL 2005
Mail processing in SQL Server 2005 has changed substantially, including a new name, DBMail! Corey Bunch birngs is an introduction to this new subsystem, including HTML formatting.
Introduction to SQL-DMO
This article by Andy warren shows you how to get started with DMO using either VB or VBScript. The article includes sample code that will backup all databases on a server and will update the statistics on all databases as well.
Moving Logins - A Gotcha!
This article by Andy Warren talks about using sp_addlogin to move logins from one server to another. It also points out a problem you may run into if you have a SQL 7 server that was upgraded from 6.5
Nesting Stored Procedures
We're pleased to announce that Robert will be writing for us each month - generally on stored procedures, but occasionally on a different topic. This article discusses how nesting stored procedures works and how to use @@NextLevel. Good reading! If there is a stored procedure topic you'd like to see covered, add a comment to the article or email us at articles@sqlservercentral.com
Pivot table for Microsoft SQL Server
One of the seeminly more popular enhancements in SQL Server 2005 to T-SQL is the PIVOT operator. There have been quite a few articles, but new author Peter Larsson decomposes in detail how you can perform this operation with previous versions.
Query Analyzer Tricks
Query Analyzer is a great tool for developing SQL code. There are a number of little tricks that can greatly increase the amount of work you can do with very little effort. This article starts looking at some of the features of this tool.
Blogs
“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....
Shifting Mindsets: Why FinOps is Essential for Cloud Efficiency
By HeyMo0sh
As a DevOps practitioner, I’ve always focused on performance, scalability, and automation. But as...
Forums
Windows logins for users migrated from DomainA to DomainB
Hi, I have a SQL Server instance where users connect to via Windows Authentication,...
Multiple Deployment Processes
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Multiple Deployment Processes
How to Use sqlpackage to Detect Schema Drift Between Azure SQL Databases
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How to Use sqlpackage to...
Question of the Day
Upgrading Admin Queries
I have a query from a former DBA that we run on SQL Server 2025 to check on database metadata. This query references sys.sysaltfiles. I want to refactor this code to be more modern. Which DMV should I reference instead?
See possible answers