SQL Server 2014 Service Pack 2 is Available
SP2 for SQL Server 2014 is now out. Check out the build list.
Importing Blobs from a MySQL Database and Export Them
Using the power of SSIS and BCP to import MySQL Data and extract files from a BLOB(Varbinary) column.
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.
Blogs
Databases and AI Agents
By Arun Sirpal
As part of my wider work exploring Claude Code and AI-assisted database engineering, I...
Creating a Pulsing Conducting Baton - Part 1
By Bert Wagner
Train Wreck The last time I watched a high school band nearly fall apart mid-performance...
ISACA AI Material/Exam Prep Discount (May 18 – June 30, 2026)
By Brian Kelley
If you are considering any of the ISACA AI certs like the Advanced Artificial...
Forums
Why Your Index Isn't Being Used? - Reading Execution Plans to Find the Real Culprit
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Why Your Index Isn't Being...
Distance Metric Algorithms
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Distance Metric Algorithms
What Can AI Really Do?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item What Can AI Really Do?
Question of the Day
Distance Metric Algorithms
What are the distance metric algorithms that can be used in VECTOR_DISTANCE()?
See possible answers