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If you are thinking of taking a SQL Server 2005 MCP exam, now is the time to do it. And with exam insurance, you can get two chances to pass and a free year of Technet!
Using Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS)
SQL Server 2005 has so many new features that in my opinion if you read only BOL for a year you'd find something new every day. One of those is Multiple Active Result Sets or MARS. Multiple Active Result Sets is a new SQL Server 2005 feature that, putting it simply, allows the user to run more than one SQL batch on an open connection at the same time.
Twiddling the knobs: The Default Backup directory
What's the best way to change the default backup directory for a server, using SSMS or Enterprise Manager, without changing all the default directories at the same time? What is the TSQL to do it? A prize for the best correct solution.
Sales Order Workshop Part IV
In the fourth installment of this series, Jacob Sebastian moves on to SQL Server 2005 and the new XML capabilities that make
working with XML data easier than ever.
Delivering on SQL Server
Having been at the sharp end of many successful SQL Server solutions, I believe there are some fundamental principles that all successful SQL Server installations have in common. Whilst the challenges in delivering an enterprise-scale database-intensive application can be wide and varied, there are a few basic practises that will give you the best possible chance of success.
SQL Server 2005 Security Best Practices - Operational and Administrati
his white paper covers some of the operational and administrative tasks associated with SQL Server 2005 security and enumerates best practices and operational and administrative tasks that will result in a more secure SQL Server system.
Sales Order Workshop Part III
In the previous articles, Jacob Sebastian looked at using XML to save a sales order with variable numbers of line items to a SQL Server
2000 database. In this part, he expands upon the processing to access that data from multiple nodes.
SQL Server Wait Events: Taking the Guesswork out of Performance Profil
This article introduces some techniques that will allow you to pinpoint exactly where the performance issues are in your system, so you'll know exactly where to spend your time (and money) in solving them.
PowerSMO at work part 2
Dan Sullivan continues his exploration of the versatile PowerSMO tool with coverage of how to control logins, monitor server activity and create standalone administrative scripts.
Use SQLIOSIM to simulate SQL Server disk activity
I regularly use SQLIO.EXE to gauge the maximum throughput a disk subsystem can sustain. Recently Microsoft released SQLIOSIM.EXE to provide better results for this type of test. However they didn't release any documentation on the tool and I could never figure out what it was trying to tell me. It looks like they finally did release a Knowledge Base article on SQLIOSIM. Give it a spin. I'd be curious to hear what you think of the tool.
Blogs
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...
March 2026 SQL Server Security Updates
By Brian Kelley
On Patch Tuesday, in addition to OS and Office security patches, Microsoft also released...
How Fabric Mirroring Transformed with SQL Server 2025
When mirroring was first released for Azure SQL Database, it used Change Data Capture...
Forums
Multiple Deployment Processes
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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...
Upgrading Admin Queries
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Upgrading Admin Queries
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