Exploring Azure Storage for SQL Server DBAs – Part 2

Managed Disks have simplified way that Azure storage interacts with the users' virtual machines, thanks to the way that it eliminates the need to deal with the Storage Account. It is now easier to add new disks to a virtual machine, either in PowerShell or via the portal. The Storage Spaces feature in Windows Server can be used to aggregate disks together and obtain higher levels of performance. Joshua Feierman explains how to do it all.

How to Move a Table to a Different File Group

There may be a time when you want to move a table from one file group to another. It's easy if it contains a clustered index. Read on to learn more.

SQL Server Join Example

What are all of the JOIN options in SQL Server? What is the significance of each of the options? How does the syntax work? Jeremy Kadlec answers these questions and more.

Build Dynamic Backup Locations with Minion Backup

See how Minionware Backup gives you the ability to customize backup files and locations.

Byte Me: Entrepreneurial

Why is my clone so small?

Using very few megabytes and taking very little time, SQL Clone can quickly creates multiple copies of very large databases. How? It might sound like magic, but it's not; in this blog post Redgate developer Chris Hurley goes into the details of how the technology works.

The Secret Password

The secret passwords we store in systems might be secure from discovery, but are they secure from use?

Azure Load Balancers and SQL Server

Load balancing in Azure has more importance for the DBA, because it is essential for Windows Server Failover Clustering in Azure, whether it is for AlwaysOn Availaiblity Groups, Failover Clustered Instances, or any other highly-available solution. Azure load balancing works out the location of the availability group, and routes traffic there. The load balancer detects a failure, and routes traffic to the new primary replica. Joshua Feierman gives an overview of what is required.

How to implement a T-SQL code formatting standard using SQL Prompt

Louis Davidson shows how to save a defined SQL formatting style as a shareable template that you can quickly share with your coworkers.

More Open Data

A new site from Steve Ballmer opens lots of data to the public.