Paying It Forward
Today we have a guest editorial from Andy Galbraith that looks at the ways in which he has helped others in his career.
Storing a variable with a SELECT, and why it didn't work.
Using SELECT to store values into variables is an important technique, but you need to know some of the gotchas as well.
How to Back Up SQL Server to Azure Blob Storage
When you’re planning for disaster recovery, offsite backups in the cloud are an attractive option. SQL Server Management Studio makes it easy to back up to the cloud inside the GUI, and you can learn how in just 90 seconds.
Exam 70-462: Using Azure for the Practice Setup
A step-by-step guide to creating a practice setup for the 70-462 exam using Azure virtual machines.
SQL Server Authenticated Users, why are we still using them?
AD Authentication in SQL Server has been around for a long time, so why do we still use SQL Authentication?
Troubleshooting Parameter Sniffing Issues the Right Way: Part 1
Tara Kizer explains that many of you are troubleshooting Parameter Sniffing issues the wrong way in production. In this three-part series, she will show you how to troubleshoot it the right way.
SQL Server Graph Databases – Part 1: Introduction
SQL Server 2017 now includes a new feature to represent complex relationships in data called Graph Databases. Robert Sheldon introduces Graph Databases in the first article of this new series.
How does GDPR impact your SQL Server Recovery Plans
With GDPR on the imminent horizon, there are many things that Data Platform engineers need to consider with regards to the rights of data subjects. Primary among these is understanding the impact of requests to be forgotten and updates to a person's data when it comes to restoring databases. If you have data that is within the scope of the GDPR then here are some thoughts on extra processes for your DR planning.
Blogs
Shifting Mindsets: Why FinOps is Essential for Cloud Efficiency
By HeyMo0sh
As a DevOps practitioner, I’ve always focused on performance, scalability, and automation. But as...
March 2026 SQL Server Security Updates
By Brian Kelley
On Patch Tuesday, in addition to OS and Office security patches, Microsoft also released...
How Fabric Mirroring Transformed with SQL Server 2025
When mirroring was first released for Azure SQL Database, it used Change Data Capture...
Forums
Multiple Deployment Processes
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How to Use sqlpackage to Detect Schema Drift Between Azure SQL Databases
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How to Use sqlpackage to...
Upgrading Admin Queries
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Upgrading Admin Queries
Question of the Day
Upgrading Admin Queries
I have a query from a former DBA that we run on SQL Server 2025 to check on database metadata. This query references sys.sysaltfiles. I want to refactor this code to be more modern. Which DMV should I reference instead?
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