New Mobile Attack Vectors

With many mobile phones containing malware, Steve Jones notes this could be a problem for data professionals.

Dynamic Images in SQL Server Reporting Services

It is relatively easy to provide a smart BI solution when your customer has all the resources for a new hardware and software platform, but it takes ingenuity to provide an effective simple solution requiring data-driven pictorial information on a range of template diagrams with just an existing platform of SQL Server, Reporting Services and .NET.

Finding and Eliminating Duplicate or Overlapping Indexes

Duplicate & Overlapping Indexes can be a drag on write speed and disk resources. How do we find and eliminate them quickly and effectively?

The Need for Database Intelligence Software

A brief editorial on future database engines having built in intelligence.

5 Monitoring Queries for SQL Server

Every DBA squirrels away favourite queries for monitoring SQL Server. Nowadays many of these are too complex to keep in your head. Dennes describes how he uses T-SQL queries for solving problems, whether it involves fixing the problems of missing indexes, preventing unrestrained autogrowth, avoiding index fragmentation, checking whether jobs have failed or avoiding memory stress conditions.

Fuzzy Processing

There are times when you don't want to get exact mathematical calculations in data processing, and Steve Jones talks about one of them today.

Stairway to DLM Dashboard Level 1: An Introduction

In the first article of this stairway, learn what DLM Dashboard can do and how it provides a useful service to DBAs and developers.

What's "Actually" going on with that Seek?

Rob Farley digs deeper into seeks and actual rows read, demonstrating a case where you want a non-sargable expression in the WHERE clause.

Byte Me: DeleteDeleteDelete

Introduction to the Azure SQL Database Advisor

One of the challenges associated with running your workloads in Azure SQL Database is the limited level of management oversight. Fortunately, there is an alternative approach that leverages the functionality incorporated into the recently introduced Azure SQL Database Advisor - Marcin Policht provides a brief overview.