The third time’s the charm
Thank you to Microsoft for awarding me a Microsoft Data Platform MVP for the third time in a row. Unlike previous posts on this topic,… Read More »The third time’s the charm
SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 is end of life on 9 July 2019
Next month, Microsoft is ending five years of extended support on SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2. This follows five years of mainstream… Read More »SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 is end of life on 9 July 2019
What is a container anyway?
Recently there was a thread on Twitter which established that a lot of IT people didn’t know the difference between virtual machines and containers. |￣￣￣￣￣￣￣||… Read More »What is a container anyway?
Containers and data: you gotta keep ’em separated
There was an interesting conversation on Twitter recently, between Grant Fritchey (blog | twitter), Kenneth Fisher (blog | twitter), Anthony E. Nocentino (blog | twitter),… Read More »Containers and data: you gotta keep ’em separated
My IT department installed an antivirus with SQL Server
Time for another short blog post, and this one combines two topics I am very passionate about: security, and SQL Server performance. Let’s start by… Read More »My IT department installed an antivirus with SQL Server
SQL Server containers no longer being updated in the Docker registry
In October 2018, Microsoft announced a change to the source of their Docker containers. You should be using the new Microsoft Container Registry (MCR) as… Read More »SQL Server containers no longer being updated in the Docker registry
Speaking at PASS Summit 2019
I am delighted to announce that I have been selected to speak at the largest Microsoft Data Platform conference in the world, PASS Summit 2019,… Read More »Speaking at PASS Summit 2019
Proposed SQL Server defaults: max server memory
(This post was updated on 1 August 2022.) A few months ago I suggested that the following settings should be the default for most SQL… Read More »Proposed SQL Server defaults: max server memory
The easy way to handle UTF-8 in a .NET application when dealing with SQL Server 2019
A short post this week. On a mailing list recently, someone noticed that a .NET application writing to SQL Server did not have the expected… Read More »The easy way to handle UTF-8 in a .NET application when dealing with SQL Server 2019
A short Azure SQL Edge explainer
On Thursday May 2nd, 2019, Microsoft announced a new edition of SQL Server targeting Internet of Things (IoT) edge devices. That means SQL Server can… Read More »A short Azure SQL Edge explainer
The case of scalar UDF inlining, where context is everything
Here’s an interesting story for you this week. As part of the new Intelligent Query Processing improvements introduced in the upcoming SQL Server 2019, we… Read More »The case of scalar UDF inlining, where context is everything
Proposed SQL Server defaults: optimize for ad hoc workloads
(This post was updated on 5 February 2022.) A few months ago I suggested that the following settings should be the default for most SQL… Read More »Proposed SQL Server defaults: optimize for ad hoc workloads
SQL Saturday 840 in Edmonton next weekend
As I mentioned last month, I will be speaking at SQL Saturday in Edmonton Alberta next weekend. I have been selected to speak for three… Read More »SQL Saturday 840 in Edmonton next weekend
Using a home-grown Azure Blob Storage solution for SQL Server backups
I’m here for the small organizations, the shops that can’t afford expensive solutions to maintain their environments. I’m here for them because that’s me: the… Read More »Using a home-grown Azure Blob Storage solution for SQL Server backups
It’s a UNIX system. I know this.
Jurassic Park was a great film. Steven Spielberg brought technology into the film era in a major way with computer generated dinosaurs and some now-classic… Read More »It’s a UNIX system. I know this.