A Dearth of Comments
Steve Jones talks about one of the least favorite things for IT people: documentation. How much do you really need to do?
The Mindset of the Enterprise DBA: Harnessing the Power of Automation
After you have done the necessary groundwork of standardising and centralising your database adminstration processes, you are now in a position to implement some effective automation of some of these processes. Which ones do you choose, and how do you set about automating these tasks?
The Ins and outs of In-Memory OLTP
As you may know, SQL Server is a very robust database, but SQL server has its performance bottlenecks. With the introduction of In-Line memory OLTP, there is a chance to get rid of the performance bottlenecks
The Need for Auditing
Is C2 auditing widely used? Should it be more widely used? Steve Jones talks about the subject of auditing in today's editorial.
Comparing SQL Server Datatypes, Size and Performance for Storing Numbers
When more than one numeric SQL Server data type may be suitable for a field in a project, which data type should you choose and what are the implications for SQL Server performance?
Another Way to Look at Trees
An alternative to tree traversal, and ultimately more efficient way to look at organizational structures is presented.
Swallowing the Camel
There is a paradox in the nature of the abstractions that many developers want when dealing with databases. They will strain at the gnat, but swallow a camel (Matthew 23:24). Whereas they will recoil with horror when a DBA suggests that an abstraction layer based on views, functions and procedures in a separate database schema […]
The Ten Commandments for DBAs
What should a good DBA do? Steve Jones came across a list he likes that showcases those things that should guide your efforts on a daily basis.
Survey: Using Online Accounts
Using online accounts for license management has some advantages, Red Gate is researching how to implement this for our tools in a way that improves the experience for all involved. To say thank you for your participation, there's a chance to win a $25 Amazon certificate.
Who Broke the Build?
Continuous Integration and automatic builds are fantastic tools for software teams, but only if developers take responsibility for their code. Karsten Kempe explains how to use Team Foundation Server to drive better continuous integration, and walks through a simple open-source tool he built to make nightly builds more transparent, and more valuable.
Blogs
A New Word: los vidados
By Steve Jones
los vidados – n. the half-remembered acquaintances you knew years ago, who you might...
In-Person CISA Training – April 13-16, 2026
By Brian Kelley
I will be leading an in-person Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) exam prep class...
EightKB 2026
EightKB is back again for 2026! The biggest online SQL Server internals conference is...
Forums
query to track time spent on individual tasks in SSIS
Hi everyone I am looking at building a query to determine how much time...
SQL Server Transactional Replication from Always On Availability Groups to Azure SQL Database
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQL Server Transactional Replication from...
Hidden Heroes
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Hidden Heroes
Question of the Day
Identities and Sequences I
When thinking of the Identity property for auto incrementing columns and sequences for the same action, which are explicitly linked to increment a number in a table when a new row is added?
See possible answers