SQL Server Tips, Articles and Training

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An introduction by Microsoft to the new SQL Server 2022 backup and restore options

SQL Server backup and restore are the life blood of a production DBA. Doing it fast and doing it well are as important as ever, in today’s data climate. In this webinar Microsoft PM Melony Qin, will explain and demonstrate the new S3 object store features

Author: Melony Qin and Anthony Nocentino

Calculating Costs for Microsoft SQL Server

This white paper looks at how costs can be controlled with sufficient understanding of the Microsoft SQL Server licensing process, and how you can use some of the requirements to your advantage.

Author: SIOS

Managing schema drift within the ADF copy activity

In this article we look at an approach in Azure Data Factory to handle unexpected schema changes without the data flow breaking and creating runtime issues.

Author: John Miner

Enterprise SQL Server Performance Tuning and Management with dbWatch

We need to transition our team from single instance management and monitoring to managing the overall environment and addressing our most pressing needs to support the organization. How can we move from managing the trees to managing the forest in an efficient and automated manner with a small team?

Author: Jeremy Kadlec

Model and Log Trend Reversals for Time Series Data in SQL Server

This tip demonstrates models for detecting the start of periods of rising or falling financial securities prices based on exponential moving averages. The demonstration is simplified because it relies on a log to keep track of time series values as well as exponential moving averages with different period lengths.

Author: Rick Dobson

Add Last Step to SQL Agent Jobs for Failure Notification

In this article we look at how to automatically add a final custom notification step to all existing SQL Agent jobs using PowerShell by reading and adjusting jobs steps as needed.

Author: Jeffrey Yao

C# Application for Azure SQL Database

In this article we look at how to create a simple C# application to retrieve data from Azure SQL Database.

Author: Daniel Calbimonte

SQL Convert Function Examples and Alternatives

In this article we take an in depth look at the SQL Server CONVERT function as well as discuss possible alternatives to convert to different datatypes.

Author: Ben Snaidero

Use MACD to Predict When to Buy and Sell Securities with T-SQL

In this article we look at using TSQL to create MACD moving average convergence/divergence indicators to predict buy and sell indicators for stocks.

Author: Rick Dobson

Implement Dimension Denormalization Using Synapse Mapping Data Flow

In this tip we are going to discuss dimensional denormalization when working with Azure Synapse Analytics to reduce joins and improve performance.

Author: Fikrat Azizov

More Reasons to Enable SQL Server Indirect Checkpoints

In this article we look at indirect checkpoints for SQL Server databases and why you should enable this setting for your SQL Server databases.

Author: Aaron Bertrand

How to Use the SSIS Profiling Output File to Generate SQL Server Sparse Columns Script

In this article we look at how to identify columns that are candidates to be SQL Server sparse columns as well as automatically generating the scripts to make the change.

Author: Svetlana Golovko

How to use Factless Fact Tables in a Data Warehouse Business Intelligence Solution

Learn about factless fact tables and how to use them to enhance the data in your data warehouse to build better business intelligence solutions.

Author: Haroon Ashraf

SQL Server Sparse Columns Identifying Columns For Conversion

In this article we look at SQL Server sparse columns and how to identify columns that are good candidates to be sparse columns.

Author: Ken Simmons

Deep SQL Query Optimization with SQL Grease

Learn how to conduct deep SQL Query optimization with SQL Grease with the Enterprise dashboard, historical data, troubleshooting SQL Server Wait Stats, capturing anomalies and intelligent notifications.

Author: Jeremy Kadlec

Choosing Between Azure General Purpose or Business Critical Tiers

In this article we look at the Azure General Purpose tier and the Business Critical tier and some ways to keep your cloud costs in check.

Author: Maria Zakourdaev

Import multiple Excel Worksheets into multiple SQL Server Database Tables

This article shows how to load multiple Excel sheets into multiple SQL Server database tables using C# code along with code samples.

Author: Mircea Dragan

How to Get Started Using Python using Anaconda, VS Code, Power BI and SQL Server

Learn how to get started with Python by setting up your environment using Anaconda, VS Code, Power BI and SQL Server.

Author: Hristo Hristov

Collect SQL Server Services Accounts, Versions, Ports and more

This article includes a PowerShell script that can help you quickly inventory all of your SQL Servers in your environment to get service accounts, version, ports and more.

Author: Bernard Black

Using Windows Task Scheduler to Run a Python Script at Prescribed Times

In this article we look at how to use Windows Task Scheduler to run Python scripts on a scheduled basis along with examples.

Author: Nai Biao Zhou

11 Ideas for Increasing Employee Retention

Here are some suggestions that can be part of your Retention Recommendations to help retain key employees and not lose them to other employers.

Author: Erica Woods

SQL SELECT INTO Examples

In this article we look at different ways to create new SQL Server tables using the SELECT INTO construct along with several examples.

Author: Koen Verbeeck