Is Transparent Data Encryption just security theatre?
I love theatre. In six months I am putting on two one-act plays for a local festival, because I don’t already have enough on my… Read More »Is Transparent Data Encryption just security theatre?
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Randolph
Gimmicks that work: XEvent Profiler in SQL Server Management Studio
[2018-07-03 edit: The original name of this feature was XE Profiler, but it was changed to XEvent Profiler in SSMS 17.4.] I have a favourite… Read More »Gimmicks that work: XEvent Profiler in SQL Server Management Studio
Repair a Windows Server 2016 installation
This is more for my benefit in the future, but hopefully it can help someone else too. We recently had problems with a development server… Read More »Repair a Windows Server 2016 installation
The perils of RAID
Recently, I was asked to assist an organization with getting their data back for a SQL Server that had experienced physical hard drive failure. I… Read More »The perils of RAID
Why is a value in DATETIME2 8 bytes, but in BINARY it is 9 bytes?
In the #sqlhelp Slack channel on the SQL Server Community Slack workspace last month, Jemma Hooper asked: When trying to CAST or CONVERT a datetime2… Read More »Why is a value in DATETIME2 8 bytes, but in BINARY it is 9 bytes?
Changes to Service Packs and Cumulative Updates for SQL Server 2017
Edited on 10 October 2018: Please note that this model has changed. See Changes to the SQL Server servicing model (Cumulative Updates) for more. The… Read More »Changes to Service Packs and Cumulative Updates for SQL Server 2017
Compañero Conference and SQL Modernization Roadshow
October is a busy month for me. I am flying all over the US and Canada for speaking engagements to share some thoughts about migrating… Read More »Compañero Conference and SQL Modernization Roadshow
Does rebuilding my clustered index also rebuild my non-clustered indexes?
I’ve been working with SQL Server for many years now, and up until recently, I assumed that rebuilding any clustered index would cause non-clustered indexes… Read More »Does rebuilding my clustered index also rebuild my non-clustered indexes?
A trillion and one
Joe Obbish wrote an epic post a few weeks ago about loading a trillion rows into a non-partitioned table in SQL Server, using a clustered… Read More »A trillion and one
Connect Windows 10 client to a VPN on Windows Server 2012 R2
I got a strange request in a Slack channel the other day. A colleague in South Africa, who uses Windows, was unable to connect to… Read More »Connect Windows 10 client to a VPN on Windows Server 2012 R2
What you need to know about memory limits on SQL Server
Last week, I posted this statement on Twitter, along with a screen capture of the official Microsoft documentation: Reminder: Max Server Memory is *not* just… Read More »What you need to know about memory limits on SQL Server
Speaking at SQLSaturday #635 in Vancouver this weekend
This coming weekend, at SQLSaturday #635 in Vancouver BC, I will be presenting a brand new talk about Temporal Tables, one of my favourite features… Read More »Speaking at SQLSaturday #635 in Vancouver this weekend
Microsoft presents: MySQL and PostgreSQL?
For the longest time, MySQL has been the recommended database platform for blogs and other websites. It’s free. It’s available on every version of Linux,… Read More »Microsoft presents: MySQL and PostgreSQL?
This is how I recovered from a catastrophic failure
I was fresh off the boat* from South Africa, working in a small computer store in an equally small town in Saskatchewan. Five days a… Read More »This is how I recovered from a catastrophic failure
Locks, Blocks, and Isolation Levels
Last week we looked at ACID compliance. This week we dive a little deeper into the Isolation portion, and what it all means. Isolation levels… Read More »Locks, Blocks, and Isolation Levels