“But I don’t need to back up that database.”
Brent Ozar shares four stories of people who thought they could avoid backups - and got burned.
2018-05-04
5,663 reads
Articles
Scripting Objects with PowerShell
In the third installment of this series, Steve Jones uses PowerShell to source control code.
2018-05-03
4,871 reads
150 SQL Code Smells
Some time ago, Phil Factor wrote his booklet 'SQL Code Smells', collecting together a whole range of SQL Coding practices that could be considered to indicate the need for a review of the code. It was published as 119 code smells, even though there were 120 of them at the time. Phil Factor has continued to collect them and the current state of the art is reflected in this article. SQL Prompt is committed to cover as many as possible of them. Phil has also updated his book, which is free to download.
2018-05-03
5,999 reads
Packaged-Application Database Nightmares - A Horror Story
The business decides on a packaged application and buys it. After installation, you look at the schema and realize that is is a nightmare. How do you manage this nightmare?
2018-05-02 (first published: 2015-12-22)
5,449 reads
Preventing Invalid Data Early In An ETL Flow
In this post, Tim Smith will look at some of the considerations for both data rules and logic to prevent invalid data early in the ETRL process.
2018-05-02
3,324 reads
Random Word Generation for Data Scrubbing
With HIPAA and GDPR requiring your careful scrubbing of data for lower environments, random word generation promises to be a huge helper. Read here how to do it.
2018-05-01
5,901 reads
Introduction to Azure SQL Managed Instance
Microsoft currently offers two built-in methods of running production SQL Server databases in Azure. The first relies on the ability of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) Azure virtual machines to host a variety of on-premises workloads, including SQL Server instances. The second one leverages Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)-based Azure SQL Database. With the introduction of the Azure SQL Managed Instance service, you have a third option, which combines the benefits of its two predecessors.
2018-05-01
3,285 reads
Self SQL Injection
Based on a real fact, this article demonstrates how a bad use of sp_executesql can lead to unpleasant surprises
2018-04-30
1,823 reads
Execution Plans and Data Protection
One of the most important tools for query tuning is ability to view execution plans. They are even portable; you can send an execution plan to get advice from someone who doesn't have access to the underlying data. Have you even considered that sensitive information might travel along with the plans? Hugo Kornelis explains how execution plans affect data protection.
2018-04-30
3,411 reads
SQL Server Closure Tables
SQL Server has a couple of different ways to represent hierarchies, but they do not allow storing any additional information that is important to the relationship between objects. In this article, Phil Factor explains how to use closure tables to overcome this deficiency.
2018-04-27
3,926 reads
Blogs
Finding Balance: Things Will Come Up
By Steve Jones
I have a presentation on finding balance in your career that got quite a...
Who Are You Doing It For?
By Brian Kelley
But as I've matured over the years, I came to realize that I needed...
Presenting Twice in May 2026
By alevyinroc
I will be presenting my latest session, Documenting Your Work for Worry-Free Vacations, in-person...
Forums
The day-to-day pressures of a DBA team, and how we can work smarter with automation and AI
Comments posted to this topic are about the item The day-to-day pressures of a...
Migrate SSRS Reports to PowerBI Report Server in SQL Server 2025
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Migrate SSRS Reports to PowerBI...
Identities and Sequences III
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Identities and Sequences III
Question of the Day
Identities and Sequences III
When thinking of the Identity property for auto incrementing columns and sequences for the same action, which can be used with the BIGINT data type?
See possible answers