Shrinking SQL Server Backup Files and Speeding Up Backups
With backup compression you can speed up our backups, while making your backups smaller.
Dealing with Failure
A minor disaster in Colorado reminds Steve about the need to prepare, and think about the failure points in our preparations.
The V1 Team’s Doomed Redesign
A new version of an existing application doesn't always provide an upgrade.
What are Inline Indexes?
New releases of SQL Server arrive at a quick pace, and it's difficult to keep up with the many features introduced in each version. In this article, Phil Factor reviews a feature you may have missed, inline indexes. He covers the syntax and the many ways they can be used and then performs some performance tests to see if they can make a difference with table variables.
Create Power BI Connection to Azure SQL Database
Learn how to use Power BI to retrieve data from an Azure SQL Database.
What should you do about memory dumps?
A SQL Server monitoring tool is warning you that you’re getting memory dumps, and you’re wondering what that means.
Building Better Stored Procedures
In a followup, this article includes discussion of more advanced features of using stored procedures.
Introduction to SQL Server Security — Part 3
SQL Server supports partially contained databases. This gives you the option of adding database users with a password inside the database. This makes the database easier to move to another instance or participate in an Always On Availability Group. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains how to work with users in contained databases.
Badly Encrypted Databases
Database encryption is hard, and somewhat controversial. Steve thinks we ought to do a better job of it.
Blogs
A New Word: los vidados
By Steve Jones
los vidados – n. the half-remembered acquaintances you knew years ago, who you might...
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...
Forums
Vectors in SQL Server 2025
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Vectors in SQL Server 2025
Odd Sequences
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Odd Sequences
Everything is the right question away
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Everything is the right question...
Question of the Day
Odd Sequences
What values are returned from this code?
CREATE SEQUENCE NumericSequence
AS NUMERIC(5,1)
START WITH 1.0
INCREMENT BY 0.1;
GO
SELECT NEXT VALUE FOR NumericSequence
GO
SELECT NEXT VALUE FOR NumericSequence
GO See possible answers