Confession Time: I Never Taught You About B-Trees.
I work with databases for a living. I teach people, and I help them via consulting. And as far as I can remember, I’ve never written something about how b-trees work.
It’s 2026. Why are databases still failing GDPR compliance audits?
This article examines three recurring database-layer failures documented in the EDPB’s 2026 enforcement findings: the complexity of executing erasure across relational schemas, the backup paradox that can silently undo compliant deletions, and the audit log contradiction that traps organizations between two competing obligations.
Forward Deployed Engineers
A new job title, the forward deployed engineer, is becoming more popular.
TRY_PARSE vs TRY_CONVERT in SQL Server: From Basics to Practical Usage
This article shows how the TRY_PARSE() and TRY_CONVERT() functions can be used to handle data quality issues and ensure that your software continues to function without throwing errors.
Understanding Deadlock Victim Selection in SQL Server
A short introduction to how deadlocks work and how you can affect their behavior inside your system.
SSRS Reminded Me of the Time Microsoft Retired TMG
Reading that SQL Server 2025 shipped without SSRS took me back to 2012, when Microsoft announced end-of-life for TMG — our perimeter firewall, web proxy, and SSL inspection. It had run quietly for years until it suddenly needed a plan. Within weeks, vendors found us. Demos, a steering committee, a three-month project plan. We weren't […]
I Can't Make You Learn
Steve believes that his career and life have become better as he learns more everything. It's the key to improvement.
Why Your SQL Permissions Disappeared
When you change a schema owner in SQL Server, all object-level permissions vanish instantly. There is no warning. Here's how to prevent it and fix it when it happens.
Correct SQL Server Always On Availability Group Not Synchronizing
We had an issue with a SQL Server database in an Always On Availability Group (AOAG) where it was not synchronizing the secondary replica even though it was using the “Synchronous commit” Availability Mode for the secondary replica. This article explains how to troubleshoot and resolve:
A Quick Second Opinion
Communication is hard, and it's something most of us can learn to do better. Steve notes that using an LLM for tasks will also help you learn to communicate better.
Blogs
From DBA or Data Engineer to AI Engineer: A Realistic Path
If you spend your days tuning queries, managing pipelines, or keeping a production database...
SQL Server gMSA: Why So Many DBAs Still Aren't Using It in 2026
By SQLPals
SQL Server gMSA: Why DBAs Still Aren't Using It in 2026 ...
Take Time to Gain Perspective
By Brian Kelley
Probably the best piece of advice I ever received is to take time to...
Forums
Fulltext filter daemon host (FDHost) process has stopped abnormally
We have performed a side-by-side upgrade, from SQL Server 2016 to 2022 Developer Edition,...
Automating OSM Data Refresh in Power BI’s Azure Maps Reference Layer
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Automating OSM Data Refresh in...
Database Mail Configuration
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Database Mail Configuration
Question of the Day
Database Mail Configuration
If I want to get a list of the configuration settings for Database Mail using T-SQL, how can I do so?
See possible answers