Where's the best place to live as a DBA?
Got wanderlust? We thought it would be fun to look at where the best place to live in the world is as a DBA. Find the winners and weigh in on the debate here!
T-SQL Requires the Right Approach
Some of the most problematic T-SQL code I’ve seen over the years originated because the developer approached T-SQL with techniques more suitable for developing applications. I often saw these issues in my consulting days and always took the opportunity to teach the customer instead of only fixing the problems. One reason is that SQL is […]
Performance Tuning Using Free Tools, Part 2
You can do essential performance tuning on your SQL Server databases using a FREE toolkit!
A Database DevOps Workflow Using Redgate Deploy
Tony Davis describes a typical database development cycle and deployment pipeline supported by Redgate Deploy. It allows branch-based database development, using disposable databases (clones) and version control tools, promotes continuous integration and testing of changes and automates the build and deployment processes so that they are repeatable, fast and reliable.
Quantifier predicates
Predicates in SQL are often complex and difficult to understand. In this article, Joe Celko explains the logic behind a few of the predicates: EXISTS, SOME, ANY and ALL.
Coding for the Future
Writing code that solves problems and adapts to the future is a challenge, but it's something we should think about.
Automating Flyway Undos
How to auto-generate first-cut undo scripts for every Flyway migration. For every new version of a database created by a Flyway versioned migration, we compare it to a 'source' directory containing object-level build scripts for the previous version. The SQL Compare engine does the rest, producing the associated undo script that will revert the database to the previous version, if required.
Creating a SQL Server Agent Job to Run Python Scripts in a Virtual Environment
In this article we walk through how you can run Python scripts using SQL Server Agent, so you can setup scheduled jobs to run your Python code.
Teams Security Issues
There are a few security issues in the Teams application from Microsoft, and Steve notes that some of the push for new features can be a problem in this area.
Blogs
Adding an HTTP MCP Server to VSCode
By Steve Jones
I wrote earlier this week about the SQL MCP Server using the Data API...
Microsoft announces new cybersecurity AI multi-model
By Brian Kelley
Yesterday, July 27, 2026, Microsoft announced a new cybersecurity effort called Project Perception. Included...
Getting the SQL Server MCP Server Running
By Steve Jones
If you’ve wanted a SQL Server MCP server for your databases, it’s available. The...
Forums
Symmetric Key Encryption
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Symmetric Key Encryption
The “Successful Login” Dilemma: Why Your Login Auditing Strategy Might Be Hurting Your Server
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The “Successful Login” Dilemma: Why...
Building Your Own Software
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Building Your Own Software
Question of the Day
Symmetric Key Encryption
If I run this statement in SQL Server 2025, how is the password encrypted?
CREATE SYMMETRIC KEY MySymmetricKey WITH ALGORITHM = AES_256, KEY_SOURCE = 'My secret key source passphrase', IDENTITY_VALUE = 'My secret identity value' ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'S&perS#cretP@ssword7'; GOSee possible answers