This document describes the process to provision a SQL Azure server manually. While it is expected that most servers will be provisioned using automation, DBA's must have the skills and know the process to perform the same provisioning manually.
Steve Jones has a story about what it's like to work with, and without, Version Control Systems.
Of course it seems a great idea to have your application on all the main mobile platforms as well as on the desktop. However, as Arkadiusz Pachucy knows all too well, this can ultimately leave you with a full-scale maintenance nightmare. In this article he looks at whether technologies like PhoneGap/Cordova or Adobe Air could be the perfect compromise - and if so, what frameworks to use.
How to render PDF documents using SQL CLR. Also a good introduction on creating SQL CLR functions.
In the past, working in .NET for non-Windows platforms has been dependent on third-party frameworks like Mono. Now, with VS2015 and DNX Microsoft have stepped up to provide everything you need to code multi-platform apps straight out of the box. Clive Tong introduces this new .NET technology.
Glenn Berry gives a thorough guide on using DiskSpd, a command-line tool that measures the performance characteristics of your storage subsystem.
SQL Server 2016, which at the time of writing is in preview release CTP 2.1, has a great new feature called Live Query Statistics. In this article, Koen Verbeeck introduces the new feature which allows you to view a live execution plan of an active query, giving a fantastic opportunity for troubleshooting and debugging.
Putting together a portfolio allows you the chance to showcase what you're good at doing. Steve Jones thinks this might be a good thing for technical people.
A nightly load into sales_fact fails. Ask an orchestrating agent to break down the...
By Steve Jones
It’s been some time since I provided a car update, so I decided to...
By James Serra
An architecture scenario Imagine separate Sales, Finance, Shared Data, and Executive Analytics workspaces. Sales...
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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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