To keep up to date with all the technologies in SQL Server, the DBA or developer who wants to stay ahead is faced with the struggle of constant learning. How do you keep up while avoiding information overload, unnecessary detours and dead-ends?
The SQL Server Stairways is our solution to this problem. Designed to smooth out even the steepest learning curve, each Stairway is a SQL tutorial series focused on a single topic and is arranged into no more than a dozen easily-navigable tutorials that we call 'steps'. Each step is the length of a typical magazine tutorial, and emphasizes practical, hands-on learning, with just enough background theory to help you understand the topic at a deeper level.
Using straightforward language and avoiding jargon and marketing babble, each Stairway tutorial series is designed to take you from zero knowledge of a particular SQL Server topic to a level of practical understanding that will allow you to start using that feature in a production environment. The learning gradient is steady and manageable, but also brisk. You won't be wasting time.
Happy climbing!
This stairway addresses many of the issues that come about with ad hoc database deployment processes in many organizations. You will learn how to better architect and structure your processes to ensure a reliable database deployment for your applications.
2026-06-11 (first published: 2026-04-15)
128 reads
Data Analysis Expressions (DAX) can be used in formulas or expressions to calculate and return information from data already in our Power BI models. This Stairway series serves as a progressive introduction to DAX within the context of Power BI, examining the functions, operators and values involved, and examining their operation in practice examples. As a part of introducing DAX functions and overall capabilities, the Levels of the series will also offer a wealth of practical exposure to Power BI features as a part of putting DAX to work in our data models and visualizations.
2026-04-15 (first published: 2011-08-09)
19,802 reads
This series looks at the Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) feature in SQL Server 2008+.
2026-04-15 (first published: 2016-11-23)
3,532 reads
Azure SQL Hyperscale is a scale of the Azure SQL Database intended to scale to very large levels, up to 100TB for a database. This option sits next to the General Purpose and Business Critical tiers. It is described in the What is Hyperscale? document from Microsoft. This series is intended to teach you about […]
2025-08-25 (first published: 2025-08-22)
231 reads
Snowflake is a cloud data warehouse platform that runs on AWS, Azure, and Google Compute Platform. This series looks at the structure and setup of a Snowflake data warehouse.
2025-06-13 (first published: 2021-05-19)
4,094 reads
This stairway series is designed to teach you about the Azure Synapse Analytics cloud service.
2025-06-06 (first published: 2024-06-19)
631 reads
Containers are a lightweight way of building applications that run on a host. Similar to virtualization, the container is a virtual OS rather than a full machine. This stairway will walk you through the basis of containers using Docker for Windows and SQL Server inside of a container.
2024-07-28 (first published: 2019-07-06)
8,111 reads
AlwaysOn is a complex set of technologies that is often mis-understood. In this Stairway you will learn about the AlwaysOn technologies, how they fit into the High Availability stack, and how to make good use of them.
2024-07-23 (first published: 2014-06-25)
19,212 reads
This stairway series tries to help the reader become comfortable with server management objects (SMO). These objects are a programmatic way of accessing SQL Server functions and objects through an API from .NET. This series will help you learn the basics with practical applications for your work.
2024-01-20 (first published: 2023-11-30)
1,421 reads
2023-10-16 (first published: 2023-09-13)
1,431 reads
With Fabric Mirroring, Microsoft is promoting a nice and appealing story for operational reporting...
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By Arun Sirpal
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I set up a few users on my SQL Server 2022 instance.
CREATE LOGIN User1 WITH PASSWORD = 'Demo12#1' CREATE USER User1 FOR LOGIN User1 GO CREATE LOGIN User2 WITH PASSWORD = 'Demo12#2' CREATE USER User2 FOR LOGIN User2 GO CREATE LOGIN User3 WITH PASSWORD = 'Demo12#3' CREATE USER User3 FOR LOGIN User3 GOI then created a schema that one of them owned. Under this schema, I added a table with some data.
CREATE SCHEMA MySchema AUTHORIZATION User1
GO
CREATE TABLE Myschema.MyTable(myid INT)
GO
INSERT MySchema.MyTable
(
myid
)
VALUES
(1), (2), (3)
GO
SELECT * FROM MySchema.MyTable
GO
I granted rights and verified that User2 could access this table.
GRANT SELECT ON Myschema.MyTable TO User2 GO SETUSER 'USER2' GO SELECT * FROM MySchema.MyTable GOThis worked. Now, I move this schema to a new user.
ALTER AUTHORIZATION ON SCHEMA::Myschema TO User3; GOWhat happens with this code?
SETUSER 'USER2' GO SELECT * FROM MySchema.MyTable GOSee possible answers