Better Coding
The Australian Census was a mess, and supposedly some university students build a better version. Steve Jones comments on better coding practices.
Using Microsoft R in Enterprise Environments
This article talks about using the the positive aspects of setting up R in enterprise environment and give instructions on first steps how to do it.
SQL Server Access Control: The Basics
No technology yet invented can in any way allow us to neglect the task of ensuring the security of the database by controlling access. Security must be applied in depth, and the database is designed provide a system that will thwart even the most determined external attack. If it seems a bit complicated at first, that is no longer an excuse now that Rob Sheldon has provided this simple guide for getting started.
Stairway to U-SQL Level 7: More Partition Schemes
Following on from our previous introduction to indexes and partition schemes, we review the distribution schemes used by horizontal partitioning.
The Future for Database Administrators
Today Steve Jones talks about the job changes and prospects for those that manage IT systems.
Installing Master Data Services in an AlwaysOn Environment
This article describes a solution for Master Data Service (MDS) hosted on AlwaysOn Availability Group configuration. The article describes how to install and configure SQL 2016 Master Data Services on a SQL 2016 AlwaysOn Availability group (AG). The main purpose of this solution is to improve high availability and disaster recovery of MDS backend data hosted on a SQL Server database.
Security Leaks from Websites
No matter what we do to secure our databases, we need to be sure our applications are well written, both with secure coding, but also good information handling.
Trace Flag 2389 and the new Cardinality Estimator
Erin Stellato shows the combined effect of different versions of the cardinality estimator and trace flag 2389 on an ascending key model.
A Tutorial With the Azure CLI (Command-Line Interface) and Azure SQL Database
In this article, we will show how to install Azure CLI and then create an Azure SQL Server and a SQL Database.
Is Rollback Feasible for Database Changes?
Many of us would like to be sure we could rollback changes made during a deployment if they caused issues. Steve Jones notes that it might not be worth actually building those scripts in advance.
Blogs
A Career of Memories
By Steve Jones
Annabel retired from Redgate Software this week. Across most of my career at Redgate,...
Rethinking Index Maintenance: Why avg_fragmentation_in_percent Is Outdated and What You Should Do Instead
By Tim Radney
As a SQL Server DBA with years of experience tuning production environments, I’ve seen...
Microsoft Build 2026 announcements
By James Serra
Once again there were a number of Microsoft Build announcements related to data and...
Forums
Changes, Happiness, and a Few Tears
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Changes, Happiness, and a Few...
BCP on Linux
Comments posted to this topic are about the item BCP on Linux
You Probably Don't Need a Vector Database
Comments posted to this topic are about the item You Probably Don't Need a...
Question of the Day
BCP on Linux
When running bcp on Linux, what is the field terminator?
See possible answers