Building a Data Center
A data center is a complex beast. Is it worth building and maintaining your own? Steve has a few thoughts on a data center versus a cloud.
Why you should avoid Implicit Measures in your Power BI model
Learn about the differences and challenges with implicit and explicit measures in Power BI.
Frappe and Laravel: Database Management and Migrations
In this second installment of our series comparing Frappe and Laravel, we probe into critical aspects of database management and migrations.
Words vs Data
Are you clear in your reporting. Steve notes that sometimes we might leave too much up to interpretation by the end user.
SSMS Export to Excel
You’re running an ad-hoc query in a Microsoft SQL Server database with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and need to further analyze the result set in an Excel spreadsheet. How do you export the data?
Throwing Iron at the Cloud and AI
As organizations move to the cloud, the once essential role of the Database Administrator (DBA) as the guardian of system optimization, has been overshadowed, often viewed as a bottleneck to innovation. Yet, as technology evolves, the one thing I know is history repeats itself, and optimization skills are once again emerging as a critical necessity. […]
Data Debt
The idea of data debt seems both silly and obvious to Steve. We all have too much data and it's out of control.
JSON in Microsoft SQL Server: A Comprehensive Guide
Introduction JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) has become a popular data format for storing and exchanging information. Microsoft SQL Server, starting from version 2016, introduced built-in support for JSON, allowing developers to work with JSON data more efficiently within the relational database environment. This article will explore how to store, retrieve, and manipulate JSON data in […]
How to rename a SQL Server database
There may come a time when you want to or need to rename a database. In this tip we look at a couple different options.
Creating a Linked Server in Amazon RDS for SQL Server: A Step-by-Step Guide
Linked servers in Amazon RDS for SQL Server allow seamless connectivity to remote databases for distributed queries and data integration. In this article, I guide you through the step-by-step process of creating a linked server using SQL commands, from setting up authentication to testing the connection. Learn best practices, advanced configurations, and essential considerations, including why you can't use SSMS for linked server setup in RDS. This professional guide is tailored for experienced database administrators looking to optimize cross-server operations.
Blogs
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...
The FinOps Lifecycle: From Budgeting to Reporting
By HeyMo0sh
Working in DevOps long enough teaches you two universal truths: That’s exactly why I...
Forums
query to track time spent on individual tasks in SSIS
Hi everyone I am looking at building a query to determine how much time...
SQL Server Transactional Replication from Always On Availability Groups to Azure SQL Database
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server Transactional Replication from...
Hidden Heroes
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Hidden Heroes
Question of the Day
Identities and Sequences I
When thinking of the Identity property for auto incrementing columns and sequences for the same action, which are explicitly linked to increment a number in a table when a new row is added?
See possible answers