Stairway to SQLCLR Level 3: Security (General and SAFE Assemblies)
In the third level of our Stairway to SQLCLR, we look at the various mechanisms in place to help us control Security. In this Level we will focus on SAFE mode and see how secure SQLCLR is by default.
Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) in SQL Server
There are several ways to implement encryption in SQL Server; Arshad Ali focuses on Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), which was introduced in SQL Server 2008 and is available in later releases.
Patching Problems
After some issues with a recent Windows patch, Steve Jones is concerned about the future of software updates.
Optimizing Transaction Log Throughput
As a DBA, it is vital to manage transaction log growth explicitly, rather than let SQL Server auto-growth events "manage" it for you. If you undersize the log, and then let SQL Server auto-grow it in small increments, you'll end up with a very fragmented log. This article demonstrates how this can have a significant impact on the performance of any SQL Server operations that need to read the log.
No reason to abandon SQL
The early signs are that we can now run a SQL-based relational database with distributed execution plans over commodity hardware, leaving just the task of splicing together of the result to the engine itself, then why can’t Microsoft or Oracle do it?
Do We Still Need Database Design in the Era of Big Data?
Many big data application implementations seem to begin with an existing data warehouse, one or more new high-volume data streams, and some specialized hardware and software. The data storage issue is often accommodated by installing a proprietary hardware appliance that can store huge amounts of data while providing extremely fast data access. In these cases, do we really need to worry about database design?
The 5 Worst Days in a DBAs Life: Day 2
Steve and the rest of the DBA Team are back for round two. In this episode they have to restore all of a business' data using nothing but a set of off-site backups, kanban, and witty repartee.
Blogs
Upgrading SQL Server Containers on the Laptop
By Steve Jones
I don’t have SQL Server installed on my laptop. In an effort to keep...
How to Find Expensive Queries in Amazon Redshift
Slow-running queries can degrade your Redshift cluster’s performance and lead to increased costs. Identifying...
The Notification Trap: How Input Fatigue Is Killing Deep Work in Tech
By gbargsley
If you've been here before, you know this blog is usually about SQL Server,...
Forums
SQL 2019 instance with AG, across 2 Windows 2016 OS servers - OSin-place upgrade
Hi all Can I get some perspective from the community please on performing in-place...
How Long is a Long I/O?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How Long is a Long...
T-SQL Trigonometric Functions in SQL Server
Comments posted to this topic are about the item T-SQL Trigonometric Functions in SQL...
Question of the Day
How Long is a Long I/O?
In SQL Server 2025, a long I/O is recorded in the error log with message 833. How long much an I/O request be outstanding before this message is written to the log?
See possible answers