A SQL Server Patching Shortcut
This post on SQL Server patching illustrates a quick and simple way of safely extracting SQL Server installation files in advance of patching a SQL Server instance.
The 2015/2016 Simple-Talk Awards
Once more Simple-Talk invites its readers to vote on the top nominations for the Simple-Talk Awards. Find out who or what has been nominated for each of this year's nine categories, and cast your vote to decide the winners - voting closes tomorrow!
Code smells versus transgressions
The oddest SQL practices can be done deliberately for good reason, but are there any that are always wrong, that are so bad that that their use should be prohibited as a matter of policy?
Move an Existing Log Shipping Database to a New Monitor Server
How to move a log shipping database to a new monitor server without removing and rebuilding the log shipping setup.
Bad Cardinality Estimates from SSMS Plans – Redux
Aaron Bertrand shares some insight about early changes to Plan Explorer that help to provide you with the most accurate information we can.
The Database Transaction Unit (DTU) Decoded
In an Azure SQL Database, you pay for a certain number of DTUs, but what are these? Steve Jones explains.
If SQL Server Runs on Linux, What's Left for April Fools Day
It’s still a bit hard to believe that SQL Server will soon run on Linux. If you think back to the early days of SQL 7, 2000, even 2005, who would have bet any money on it ever happening?
Blogs
Narrow Task Decomposition in AI Pipeline Agents
A nightly load into sales_fact fails. Ask an orchestrating agent to break down the...
Car Update: August 2026
By Steve Jones
It’s been some time since I provided a car update, so I decided to...
Microsoft Fabric OneLake Shortcuts: When to Use Them and When Not To
By James Serra
An architecture scenario Imagine separate Sales, Finance, Shared Data, and Executive Analytics workspaces. Sales...
Forums
Backing Up a DMK
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The Quiet Part
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BIT_COUNT in SQL Server
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Question of the Day
Backing Up a DMK
In SQL Server 2025, I have a database with a Database Masker Key (DMK). I want to back up this key and keep a copy offline. When do I have to open this key before running the backup?
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