What's ROI Got to Do With It?
This article by Simon Galbraith (from Red-Gate Software, one of our valued advertisers!) in .Net Magazine talks about how to calculate ROI when evaluating software purchases.
Managing Jobs - Part 1
How many jobs do you have? 10? 100? 1000? Andy makes the point that what works to manage for a small number of jobs doesn't work when that number doubles or triples (well, unless you only had 1 job to start with!). In part one of two, this article looks at ideas for using categories and naming conventions to get things under control.
Server Hardware Standards
Standards are important in the computer business, both the hardware and software side. After looking at Coding Standards in a previous series, Steve Jones looks at the server side of standards beginning with hardware.
Freeware: Terminator Opens Gigabyte Files Easily
Ever tried to open 1 Gig ASCII file with Notepad? WordPad? Do you remember ASCII codes of Tab and Carriage Return? Enter Terminator; huge ASCII file viewer and BCP helper. Terminator reads top 10 (and more if asked) records of ASCII file of any size. It detects record terminators and calculates current cursor position (field offset) and length of selected area (field length). Best of all, it's free!
Block the DBA?
Can you block a DBA from performing certain actions on a server if he has sysadmin rights? The real answer is no, but this article shows you how to block an unknowledgable DBA from performing certain actions.
Another SQL Server Virus Hits the Internet
On Friday the 24th, a virus that preys on a SQL Server vulnerability began to attack networks, taking down many networks. This brief network describes the virus and how to protect yourself from it.
How to move SQL Server from one computer to another?
Moving SQL Server from one computer to another is not a very difficult thing to do, but it often stumps newbie DBAs. Of course, it needs careful planning to ensure that the SQL Server is moved completely and properly to the new machine, and with a minimal downtime and no data loss. This article introduces you to a couple of methods you can employ to move/migrate SQL Server from one computer to another.
Worst Practice - Bad Comments
This one is pretty interesting, Andy discusses a few things he sees in comments that not only fail to add value, they end up costing extra time. There's room for discussion here, but definitely a discussion worth having - comments can make you or break you, here's a chance to think about what you think is important in commenting and pass that on to your development team.
Document Your Tables with SchemaToDoc
This application will convert your schema into a standard Word document. Try before you buy, they have two versions - both under $200.
How to Search for Date and Time Values
Because of the way date and time values are stored in SQL Server, searching for a particular date or time is not as straightforward as you might think it would be. This article describes how date/time values are stored, how the database design can simplify (or complicate) data retrieval, and how to query date/time data to get the right results every time.
Blogs
New article – migrating from a named instance
By Brian Kelley
Do you have a case where you have a named instance you'd like to...
Using the SIGN() Function: #SQLNewBlogger
By Steve Jones
I was trolling the docs and noticed the SIGN() function. I have never written...
T-SQL Tuesday #201 Round-Up: Temp Tables, Friend or Foe?
By ReviewMyDB
The T-SQL Tuesday #201 round-up: nine bloggers on whether temp tables are a friend...
Forums
Admin Rights for Everyone
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Admin Rights for Everyone
Kerberos Authentication for Aurora PostgreSQL: Mapping AD Groups to Database Roles
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Kerberos Authentication for Aurora PostgreSQL:...
RegEx Functions I
Comments posted to this topic are about the item RegEx Functions I
Question of the Day
RegEx Functions I
Which of these RegEx functions need compatibility level 170 in SQL Server 2025?
See possible answers