SQLServerCentral Article

Using Different Techniques for SQL Server Automation

Automating SQL Server tasks is the sign of an experienced DBA. One who doesn't waste time on repetitive tasks that can be easily setup in a job, task, or some other scheduling process to run when they need to run. Haidong Ji has written a number of articles on how to perform automation and brings us yet another technique. This time he looks at managing your backup files, something that we all need to do, but all too often forget to do.

SQLServerCentral Article

Nightmare Contest

Murphy's law has struck us all, as evidenced by the disaster entries we've received in the past. Imceda software, makers of Litespeed are sponsoring a new contest, looking for your nightmares.

SQLServerCentral Article

Review: NGSSquirrel

NGS Software is in the security business and have been very successful in finding vulnerabilities in many products, notable SQL Server. They have used their expertise to build products to help you better secure your systems. Dale Corey looks at one of those products, NGSSquirrel, which does vulnerability assessment.

SQLServerCentral Article

Database Change Management: An Automated Approach

SQL Server change management is tough. The tools don't integrate with version control systems, there isn't good administrative controls to enforce control, and often you need to buy a third party tool to make this work. New Author Darren Fuller takes a look at the various ways in which you can implement version control in SQL Server. This is part one of a four part series on version control in SQL Server.

SQLServerCentral Article

Lookup Table Design

Designing a SQL Server database is a challenging task. Making decisions about how to build tables, their relations, etc. can be a full time job for any DBA helping to build an application. Lookup tables are a part of just about every application that you work with or build a back end for. Leo Peysakhovich brings us an article on database design that deals specifically with lookup tables.

SQLServerCentral Article

Review: SQLCentric

Monitoring your SQL Servers is something every DBA must do. Checking job status, disk space, etc. is a frequent question seen in our forums. Pearl Knowledge Solutions has developed a product to help you easily setup monitoring on your servers from a web interface. SQLCentric gets 4 stars from author Bruce Szabo; read his detailed review on this fine product.

SQLServerCentral Article

The Bowling Challenge

Know anything about bowling? Or writing hard core TSQL? Or test driven development? Even if you don't, this might be a good way to build those skills. Write a stored procedure that can score a bowling game and you might win one of our books and a shirt!

SQLServerCentral Article

Comparison of Oracle Drivers

Oracle is usually a dirty word in the SQL Server community, but like it or not, lots of data resides in Oracle databases. And SQL Server is often used to gather this data together in a warehouse of some sort for spinning cubes, generating reports, etc. Haidong Ji looks at the various methods that you can connect to an Oracle driver and compares the speed of each. If you need to get data from Oracle, or may need to, this is the place you want to start.

Blogs

Git forked

By

Forgive me for the title. Mentally I’m 12. When I started my current day...

Setting FK Constraints in Data Modeler

By

One of the things a customer asked recently about Redgate Data Modeler was how...

Webinar: Navigating the Database Landscape in 2026

By

For a number of years, we’ve produced the State of the Database Landscape report,...

Read the latest Blogs

Forums

Expanding into Print

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Expanding into Print

Downtime Caused by the Postgres Transaction ID Wraparound Problem

By Chandan Shukla

Comments posted to this topic are about the item Downtime Caused by the Postgres...

The String Distance I

By Steve Jones - SSC Editor

Comments posted to this topic are about the item The String Distance I

Visit the forum

Question of the Day

The String Distance I

In SQL Server 2025, what is returned by this code:

SELECT EDIT_DISTANCE('Steve', 'Stan')
Assume preview features are enabled.

See possible answers