T-SQL Context Switching
Being a standards advocate, Steve has a few thoughts on team code structure.
DevOps Self-Service for Databases with SQL Clone
Phil Factor describes the freedom of being able to "self-serve" databases, during testing and development, and explains how it works with SQL Clone.
How to Use Parameters in PowerShell
Every DBA should have basic PowerShell skills. In this article, Greg Moore explains how to write a PowerShell script that takes parameters.
Which Service in Azure Should You Use for SQL?
I remember when Azure SQL Database was first released in 2010. Microsoft has tweaked the name a couple of times over the years, and back then it was called SQL Azure. The largest database you could create was just 50 GB, and there were quite a few restrictions, such as heaps not being supported. Since […]
Documenting with Tests
The idea of using more unit tests to improve code quality has been around for some time. However Steve Jones notes today that some people use tests for documentation.
Real-time moving averages for IoT with R
Computing an average over all your data is easy, but what if your data arrives incrementally and you need to be able to compute real-time averages on the fly? That's what we are going to look at.
SQL Server Security Part 2
In part one Chris Kempster covered a variety of security recommendations primarily for production systems. In Part two of this series he continues to explore security at a variety of levels where you may not realize you are vulnerable.
Database Build Blockers: Cross-Server Database Dependencies
Phil Factor demonstrates how to tackle builds when databases make cross-server references. The technique uses synonyms to represent the remote objects, and local 'stub' objects to overcome the problems caused by 'missing references' when building the individual objects.
Entity Framework Core Raw SQL Queries Examples
In this article we look at how to run SQL Server queries with Entity Framework Core using the DbSet.FromSql method, parameterized queries, stored procedures and using the Database.ExecuteSqlCommand property.
Getting a List of the Striped Backup Files
If you have a list of striped backup files, how can you find the latest backup set? Steve Jones uses dbatools and PowerShell to automate this process.
Blogs
Moving On-Prem PostgreSQL to the Cloud: Picking the Right Path for Big Tables
Every PostgreSQL migration eventually hits the same fork in the road. The database is...
A Spread of Vacation
By Steve Jones
I’m off on vacation today. Which is a little weird as I just got...
How AgentDBA Identifies Backup Failures
By Arun Sirpal
Every DBA has a box like this. Sitting untouched for months. Nobody’s proud of...
Forums
Have you done a Mid year check in?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Have you done a Mid...
From SQL Server On-Premises to Claude Desktop: How I built a Full MCP Pipeline
Comments posted to this topic are about the item From SQL Server On-Premises to...
Independence Day 2026
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Independence Day 2026
Question of the Day
Independence Day 2026
In the original Independence Day movie (1996), what type of computer did Jeff Goldblum use to connect to the alien mainframe? Take a guess, don't look it up or ask AI.
See possible answers