Data Farming
Another spy story involving data that's not true, and perhaps not plausible, but it makes Steve Jones think about data shadows.
AlwaysOn in SQL Server 2014 CTP1
AlwaysOn encompasses the SQL Server solutions for mission-critical high availability and disaster recovery. Two solutions were included under the AlwaysOn umbrella in SQL Server 2012: Availability Groups and Failover Cluster Instances. Each solution has different characteristics, making them appropriate for different scenarios, and both can be combined in the same deployment.
Disaster Recovery Tip #6 - Monitor Your Systems
Today's complex systems are too large to be able to rely on any DBA's memory for knowledge of each component, and its configuration options and settings.
Moving to the Heartland
With companies like Microsoft and Google building data centers in small towns, Steve Jones has some comments about how this might affect IT jobs.
Rendering images from a database on SSRS reports
Looking for a way to put images on SSRS reports and allow the business users to change the images every so often? This article explains how to implement this in such a way that you don't have to modify a report when the image is changed.
The Agile Cult
Lots of developers have embraced Agile development, and Steve Jones thinks it's a good way to build software. However, it's not necessarily as easy as you might think.
Are my actual worker threads exceeding the sp_configure 'max worker threads' value?
Tom Stringer (@SQLife) was working on some HADR testing for a customer to simulate many availability groups and introduce significant load into the system to measure overhead and such. In his quest to do that he was seeing behavior that he couldn’t really explain and so worked with him to uncover what was happening under the covers.
SQL Server Central Webinar Series #24: Prepare for When Disaster Strikes
Our next webinar on July 23rd has Steve Jones presenting on some disaster stories with ideas on how you might prevent, or mitigate the effects, of those problem situations.
Survey: Understanding SQL Code
Understanding thousands of lines of code of an existing database is very time-consuming and tedious, prone to inadvertent oversight of key logic points. We are looking at advanced ways to provide greater insight into your code base while reducing the numerous demands placed on the developer. Please help us by completing this short survey to help us define the requirements.
Tables and Clustered Indexes Part 2
A table does not so much 'have' a clustered index as a table 'is' a clustered index.
Blogs
ISACA AI Material/Exam Prep Discount (May 18 – June 30, 2026)
By Brian Kelley
If you are considering any of the ISACA AI certs like the Advanced Artificial...
A Fabric solution can be very cost effective
By ChrisJenkins
Are you currently using Microsoft Fabric or considering migrating to it? If so, there...
Track SQL Server Configuration Changes Using the Error Log
By SQLPals
Track SQL Server Configuration Changes Using the Error Log If you...
Forums
We Are Eating Our Own Seed Corn
Comments posted to this topic are about the item We Are Eating Our Own...
Before Using AI with Business Data, Read This
Artificial intelligence tools are quickly becoming part of daily business operations, from document analysis...
Designing SQL Server ETL Pipelines That Don't Break at Scale
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Designing SQL Server ETL Pipelines...
Question of the Day
Detecting Deadlocks Quickly
In the Database Engine, when a deadlock is detected, what does the detection interval shrink to (in time)?
See possible answers