Why Doesn't Database Software Help Us?
Databases don't manage themselves, but Steve sees this as an opportunity, not a problem.
How to deploy and execute an SSIS package from the SSISDB catalog
Beginning with SQL Server 2012, SQL Server Integration Services packages can be deployed and executed from a SQL Server database named SSISDB, which serves as a repository for SSIS packages.
Tool Limits
Today Steve asks about the tools you use for your job and if they help or hurt your productivity.
Azure AD Authentication for Azure SQL Databases
In this article we walk through how to connect to Azure SQL Database using Azure Active Directory authentication along with multi-factor authentication.
Documenting a SQL Server Data Catalog in HTML and Git Markdown
Dave Poole explains the need for high quality database documentation and then demonstrates how to document the SQL Server database for a data catalog, in both HTML and Git Markdown, using SQL Doc, SQL Data Catalog, PowerShell, and a few helper scripts to ensure consistency and correctness.
Getting a Query Execution Plan in PostgreSQL
Introduction You often need to check the performance of a PostgreSQL query you just wrote to look for some way to improve performance. In order to do this, you need a report of the query execution, which is called the execution plan). The query execution plan gives you the entire summary of the query execution […]
My Time is Valuable
Spending time on low value tasks isn't often worth the cost for highly paid employees.
A data transformation problem in SQL and Scala: Dovetailing declarative solutions
This article is an interesting approach to solving a data transformation problem in SQL and Scala. Shel Burkow uses a SQL execution plan for software design.
Every IT Organization is a Snowflake
Some people think every IT department is unique. While that might be literally true, Steve doesn't think that is actually the case.
Stairway to SQL Server Security Level 2: Authentication
Authentication is the first step in letting a principal get access to an instance of SQL Server, essentially resolving the question, Who are you? In this stairway level you’ll learn about the basics of authentication and the authentication options available. This level covers logins and users and you’ll learn about the password policies that can help strengthen SQL Server authentication.
Blogs
In-Person CISA Training – April 13-16, 2026
By Brian Kelley
I will be leading an in-person Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam prep class...
EightKB 2026
EightKB is back again for 2026! The biggest online SQL Server internals conference is...
The FinOps Lifecycle: From Budgeting to Reporting
By HeyMo0sh
Working in DevOps long enough teaches you two universal truths: That’s exactly why I...
Forums
query to track time spent on individual tasks in SSIS
Hi everyone I am looking at building a query to determine how much time...
SQL Server Transactional Replication from Always On Availability Groups to Azure SQL Database
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server Transactional Replication from...
Hidden Heroes
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Hidden Heroes
Question of the Day
Identities and Sequences I
When thinking of the Identity property for auto incrementing columns and sequences for the same action, which are explicitly linked to increment a number in a table when a new row is added?
See possible answers