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!
Learn how to use the SQL Trace subsystem in SQL Server to audit your instances. This series will examine the basics of SQL Trace and teach you how to set up, schedule, and manage traces and the data generated.
2019-03-26 (first published: 2011-02-01)
2,992 reads
SQL Server Agent is at the heart of any live database system. The Agent has a number of uses which aren't always obvious, and so a knowledge of the system is always useful, to developers as well as DBAs. Richard Waymire provides a simple explanation of its many uses.
2019-03-26 (first published: 2011-02-04)
4,657 reads
Learn how to get started with Reporting Services in this easy to read series from MVP Jessica Moss that examines how you might start dealing with reporting requests from management.
2019-03-26 (first published: 2011-02-02)
8,206 reads
Microsoft StreamInsight™ is designed to assist in developing Complex Event Processing (CEP) applications in .NET This is appropriate for stream sources tsuch as those in manufacturing applications or financial trading applications. StreamInsight provides the means to monitor, manage, and mine several sources simultaneously for conditions,trends, exceptions, opportunities, and defects almost instantly. It is ideal for performing low-latency analytics on the events and triggering response actions, and for mining historical data to continuously refine and improve definitions of alerting conditions. Johan provides a simple explanation of the system in a series of practical articles.
2019-03-26 (first published: 2011-02-04)
470 reads
Learn about the Azure Data Factory service for moving data in ETL flows.
2018-10-23
6,025 reads
SQL Server 2017 is the first SQL Server version that can be installed on Windows, Linux and inside a Docker container. This stairway series serves as a guide for the experienced SQL Server DBA to acquire skills and knowledge on this platform. This is an introductory series to installing Linux and SQL Server on Linux.
2018-08-09
2,805 reads
SSAS (SQL Server Analysis Services) is available in two modes, tabular and multidimensional. The new tabular model is easier for those companies who are not already invested in the traditional, multidimensional model. In this stairway, Thomas LeBlanc will teach you how to create tabular models used for reports and dashboards.
2018-06-13
12,415 reads
Azure SQL Database is Microsoft’s fully managed cloud relational database service in Microsoft Azure. With many companies moving to cloud based solutions Azure SQL Database is a leading option for the data tier that many consider.
The aim of this stairway course is to give you a comprehensive practical guide on how to begin creating Azure SQL Databases whilst trying to convey some very important practical knowledge on the way. This stairway course assumes that you have absolutely no knowledge of Azure and after completing it you will become comfortable with creating logical SQL servers, databases, correct security configuration around firewalls and logins hence allowing you to connect to the database via SQL Server Management Studio.
2018-06-05
7,096 reads
This is a series designed to help you learn more about Machine Learning Services using both R and Python. We will cover the architecture, installation, configuration, and use of Machine Learning Services to run complex analysis on your data.
2018-04-25
4,153 reads
This series looks at row based access control in SQL Server 2016+ as implemented in the Row-Level Security feature.
2017-10-27
3,424 reads
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What are the initial config sizes for the tempdb primary data files, secondary data files, and log files in SQL Server 2022?
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