Evaluating a DBA (or AI)
Steve has a few thoughts on hiring and the way in which you might want to evaluate a DBA candidate.
Implementing Type 4 Slowly Changing Dimensions in SQL Server
Learn about a Type 4 Slowly Changing Dimension in this article by Dinesh Asanka.
SQL Server login failures: how to monitor, report, and alert on them
This guide walks through how to pull login failure data using sys.xp_readerrorlog, filter it by time and error type, parse it into readable columns, aggregate repeat offenders, and automatically email a summary report — turning a passive log file into an active security and troubleshooting tool.
An Azure Outage
Recently the Azure service had an outage and Steve Jones has a few comments on this and why it might not be worse than your own company's IT group.
Optional Parameter Plan Optimization in SQL Server 2025: Fixing the Kitchen-Sink Search Procedure
See how SQL Server 2025 uses Optional Parameter Plan Optimization to create separate plans for selective and unfiltered searches, how to verify the dispatcher and variants, and when dynamic SQL or recompilation is still the better choice.
Database Animations: What’s a Residual Predicate and Why Is It Bad?
Normally when you're looking at an execution plan, and you see an index seek followed by a key lookup, that means it's running relatively quickly.
AI Experience Gap that we keep talking about
Earlier this week, I recorded a talk called “AI: The Good, Bad, and the Future.” I talked about some of the good things that have happened with AI and some of the Bad. But what I really wanted to focus on was the future. I think many of us have heard the two letters AI […]
I Don't Want To Do XX
This Friday Steve is looking for those things you wish you didn't have to handle at work. Let us know what tasks you avoid and would rather hand off to others.
Managing Feature Flags with GET_BIT() and SET_BIT() in SQL Server
Learn how the bitwise functions SET_BIT() and GET_BIT() can be used to manage data stored inside a single column.
9 things I wish SQL Server had (and why they’d matter)
Anyone who’s spent years writing T-SQL has a mental list of “why doesn’t SQL Server just do this already?” moments. Here are 9 of those from Louis Davidson’s perspective – a wish list of practical, coding-oriented feature requests drawn from real-world pain points.
Blogs
The #MS_DatabaseConnector## Role: #SQLNewBlogger
By Steve Jones
I had seen these roles in various instances, but never dug into the new...
Asking for Help Isn’t a Weakness
By Brian Kelley
During COVID, I attended training on software/enterprise architecture given by Mark Richards. One of...
The Proof of the Backup Is in the Pudding
For me, the objective is straightforward: have a backup strategy that is reliable, understandable,...
Forums
Pay for Performance
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Pay for Performance, which is...
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Question of the Day
The ##MS_DatabaseConnector## User
On SQL Server 2025, I run this code as a sysadmin:
CREATE LOGIN Demo WITH PASSWORD = 'Demo1234567' GO ALTER SERVER ROLE ##MS_DatabaseConnector## ADD MEMBER Demo GOI then login as Demo and run this:
USE sandbox go SELECT CURRENT_USERWhat is returned? See possible answers