Last Wednesday on Twitter, Abayomi Obawomiye (@SQLAmerica) wrote: https://twitter.com/SQLAmerica/status/819252286274695168 I just met someone with the last name NULL today. I really want to ask if they had issues with the last name but worried might…
I’m a huge fan of Temporal Tables in SQL Server 2016. I first wrote about them, in a four-part series in November 2015, before SQL Server was even released. I don’t always get this excited…
I am pleased to announce that I was awarded the Data Platform MVP Award by Microsoft on 1 January 2017. Nothing changes with my customers. I will continue to look after you with the same…
Recently, I presented my “Back up and Restore your Database with Azure Blob Storage” session to the Bellingham PASS Chapter. There are two components to the Azure Blob Storage Sync and Restore utility: Sync and…
Time flies. My father used to wear a t-shirt that claimed, “When you’re over the hill, you pick up speed.” I’m turning 40 in a few days. I still feel like a teenager in many…
I am very happy (and terrified) to announce that Calgary will host its very first SQL Saturday, #607, on 29 April 2017. Noel Tan and I are organising it (though Noel is doing all the…
Conventional wisdom tells us that when Microsoft releases a new version of any server product, we should wait until Service Pack 1 before deploying it to production. This hasn’t been true for a while now, since Microsoft…
Earlier this year I released a free T-SQL script that will calculate the correct amount of RAM you should allocate to SQL Server, assuming it is a standalone instance. After attending the PASS Summit in Seattle in…
Last week I demonstrated at least 30% performance improvement by switching to memory optimised table-valued parameters on SQL Server 2016. This week I will demonstrate the same test using Azure SQL Database, on the Premium…
Last week, I mentioned a feature in SQL Server, and now in Azure SQL Database, called Memory-Optimized Table-Valued Parameters, which makes use of In-Memory OLTP structures to work around a dependency on tempdb, and thereby…
November brings me back to my regular weekly posting schedule. I attended PASS Summit 2016 last week, and saw a lot of great sessions. Aside from the new stuff, what I also noticed is how…
When I’m interviewing a SQL Server DBA, I have three questions that I always ask. My favourite interview question is this: “What is the difference between a clustered and a non-clustered index?” My second favourite…
[Last updated February 27, 2020] Brent Ozar Unlimited runs a website called SQL Server Updates which comes in really handy for keeping your on-premises SQL Server up to date. Of interest is that extended support…
Next week, while blog posts are scheduled as expected, I will be attending my third PASS Summit. Summit 2014 In my first year, I attended every single event I could. The Monday night started with Steve Jones’ regular…
In the latest Microsoft Azure newsletter I received last week was this most excellent news: Azure SQL Database Temporal Tables generally available Temporal Tables let customers track the full history of data changes in Azure…