database devops

Technical Article

Stairway to Reliable Database Deployments Level 6 – Managing Changesets Over Time

  • Stairway Step

As database changesets accumulate over time, they gradually become more than deployment artifacts. This level explores how a well-organized changeset library evolves into a replayable representation of the database’s structural history, supporting not only reliable deployments but also reconstruction, auditing, and long-term maintainability. Through practical examples and a real-world case study, it shows why maintaining coherent Create and Rollback scripts continues to provide value long after a successful production deployment.

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2026-08-05

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Stairway icons Database Deployments

Concurrency and Baseline Control: Level 5 of the Stairway to Reliable Database Deployments

  • Stairway Step

As database development scales across multiple contributors, concurrency becomes an inherent aspect of the process. Changes that are individually correct may still conflict when developed against a shifting baseline. This level introduces a disciplined approach to managing parallel changesets by controlling their scope, identifying overlap, and resolving conflicts through realignment. By ensuring that only one changeset retains its original baseline while others are adapted accordingly, deployments remain predictable and consistent. Once released, changesets are treated as immutable, and further evolution proceeds through new, forward-only changes.

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2026-06-24

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Stairway icons Database Deployments

Stairway to Reliable Database Deployments Level 4 – Preparing for Production Deployment

  • Stairway Step

This level examines how a rehearsed changeset is transformed into production-ready deployment artifacts. By consolidating scripts into controlled execution units and validating the resulting artifacts, the approach ensures that production deployment remains predictable and aligned with what was proven during rehearsal.

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2026-06-11 (first published: )

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Technical Article

Enterprises that adopt Database DevOps save an average of $4.3M per year (Video)

  • Article

If treated well, the database can be a major accelerator in your business’s efficiency. It can be the star performer in your migration to the cloud, in your move to micro services and other change initiatives. Find out how the database can be the hero in your digital transformation or change initiative.

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2023-07-10

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The Range of Customers

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Question of the Day

The Range of Customers

I have this data in the OrderHeader table in a SQL Server 2025 database (ordered by CustomerID ASC): 

orderid orderdate               customerid complete
3       2025-05-10 00:00:00.0002          1
21      2024-01-10 00:00:00.0003          1
15      2023-10-28 00:00:00.0004   1
13      2025-03-08 00:00:00.0006          1
11      2024-04-02 00:00:00.0007          1
If I run this query, how many rows are returned? 
SELECT *
 from dbo.OrderHeader
 where customerid between 3 and '6'

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