Helpful Management Studio Settings and Features
Learn a few tips and tricks to make your work with SSMS much more efficient and helpful.
Securing the DevOps Pipeline Part 2: Hardening Kubernetes and Cloud Security
In Part 2, we shift our focus to securing containerized deployments and cloud infrastructure. We will cover Kubernetes security hardening, real-time monitoring, infrastructure as code (IaC) security, and shifting security left to catch misconfigurations early. These strategies will help your team secure workloads in production and respond to potential threats before they lead to a security breach.
Shining a Light on Shadow AI - Responsible Data Protection When AI is Everywhere
As someone who has had the honor of delivering keynotes at both Oracle and SQL Saturday data events, I’ve spent time with professionals on both sides of the database world. I’ve held the title of database administrator, developer, engineer and architect for structured, transactional giants and the analytics-heavy ecosystems of eight different database platforms, (not […]
Are Data Breaches Inevitable?
Steve examines the idea that we might all have a data breach at some point.
How to Safely Remove a SQL Server Data File Without Downtime
Learn how to safely remove a SQL Server .ndf data file without any downtime using DBCC SHRINKFILE (EMPTYFILE). This hands-on tutorial walks through real-world Azure-based setup, data redistribution, and storage cleanup — ideal for DBAs managing enterprise SQL Server environments.
SQL ASCII Function Use and Examples
The ASCII function is used to return the ASCII value for the first character in a string.
Evergreen SQL Server
Microsoft talks about evergreen SQL, where you never need to patch your database.
Stairway to Transaction Log Management in SQL Server, Level 2: A Brief Overview of Transaction Log Architecture
In order to make it easier to understand truncation, space reuse and fragmentation in the log file, Tony gives a brief explanation of how the transaction log works.
Your SQL Server Needs Spring Cleaning, Too.
First things first: pick up that filthy keyboard, take it over to the trash can, turn it upside down, and give it a good, vigorous shake.
Blogs
Think Twice Before Enabling Fabric’s Inbound Network Protection
Fabric inbound network protection involves two tenant-level controls: Private Link and Block Public Internet...
Match the Model to the Task, Not the App: An Orchestrator-Worker Pattern in Python
Most apps that call an LLM send every request to the same model. That...
Advice I Like: Responsibility
By Steve Jones
“The foundation of maturity: Just because it’s not your fault doesn’t mean it’s not...
Forums
AI Observability Challenges in FinOps as a DBA
Comments posted to this topic are about the item AI Observability Challenges in FinOps...
Migration Challenge: Excessive FULLSCAN Statistics Update Duration Blocking SQL
Hello everyone , I am planning to migrate a database from SQL Server 2014...
SQL Agent Job Automated Change Capture Process
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Agent Job Automated Change...
Question of the Day
Finding a Database Master Key
Where do I check for the existence of a Database Master Key (DMK) in SQL Server 2025?
See possible answers