Microsoft has just added support for query hints to Azure SQL Database, giving database administrators a powerful tool to manage the performance of ISV application code. Here's how it works.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 06/15/2021
Elaborate backups might seem like a good idea at first, but they add unnecessary complexity to your recovery process. Here are some things to keep in mind to make backup and recovery as smooth as possible.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 05/19/2021
Microsoft has commercially released its Data Loss Prevention Alerts Dashboard, which is used for viewing data loss prevention (DLP) policy violations in organizations, per a Monday announcement.
Microsoft announced a lot of Azure SQL news at Ignite this month, but few as critical to application development security than the public preview of Always Encrypted with secure enclaves. Here's how to get started with this new feature.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 03/15/2021
Knowing how to automate tasks in the cloud will make you a more productive DBA. Here are the key concepts to understand about cloud scripting and a rundown of the best tools for automating code in Azure.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 01/22/2021
Database protection goes far beyond backups; ensuring the quality and consistency of those backups is equally important. Here are the maintenance tasks that will make sure your databases stay in top shape.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 11/16/2020
One of the most useful features in Microsoft System Center Operations Manager is its reporting engine. Installing it can get a little tricky, though. Here's a step-by-step guide.
Ignite 2020 saw the public preview of Azure Arc enabled data services, the latest step in Microsoft's bid to demystify multicloud. Principal program manager Travis Wright explains how it works.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 09/29/2020
In the second part of this series, Joey describes the methods that Microsoft uses to manage code rollouts, and how it detects hardware and software problems on Azure SQL.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 09/10/2020
Microsoft promises 99.995 percent uptime for the Azure SQL platform, which is incredible. In the first of a two-part series, Joey takes an close look at the infrastructure that supports high availability in Azure database services.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 09/08/2020
With cloud suites like Microsoft 365 scattering user data across multiple apps and services, application-aware backups and restorations are due for a surge in renewed interest.
First introduced in SQL Server 2012, columnstore indexes can give you major performance gains -- provided you have the right workloads. Here's how columnstore indexes work and what types of data work best with them.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 07/22/2020
There's another threat to consider when it comes to developing a backup strategy for static data on an active volume: bit rot.
Microsoft announced on Thursday that it bought ADRM Software Inc., a maker of data models for various industries.
An open source project gives DBAs the ability to channel PowerShell for automating and scaling complex SQL Server tasks, starting with the most basic: database backups.
- By Joey D'Antoni
- 05/13/2020