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A Microsoft data platform MVP on the state of SQL Server today -- how it's evolved in Microsoft's Azure-first word, the best features to emerge in recent years and troubleshooting gotchas.
09/14/2021
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News
Microsoft warned thousands of Azure Cosmos DB users last week that their data may have been exposed through a recently discovered security flaw in Jupyter Notebook.
08/30/2021
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Joey on SQL Server
As Joey explains, Activity Monitor consumes a lot of resources and yields little usable data. Here are some third-party alternatives.
08/25/2021
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Joey on SQL Server
As of July 13, SQL Server 2016 no longer has mainstream support. Your next steps as a DBA include understanding Microsoft's support model, knowing the risks of upgrading and then biting the upgrade bullet.
07/20/2021
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News
Microsoft plans to release a "General Purpose" version of its Azure Arc-enabled SQL Managed Instance (MI) at the "general availability" (GA) commercial-release stage, "starting July 30, 2021."
06/30/2021
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
06/15/2021
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
05/19/2021
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News
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.
04/13/2021
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
03/15/2021
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
01/22/2021
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
11/16/2020
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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.
10/26/2020
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
09/29/2020
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
09/10/2020
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
09/08/2020
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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.
07/27/2020
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
07/22/2020
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There's another threat to consider when it comes to developing a backup strategy for static data on an active volume: bit rot.
06/23/2020
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News
Microsoft announced on Thursday that it bought ADRM Software Inc., a maker of data models for various industries.
06/18/2020
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Joey on SQL Server
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.
05/13/2020
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Beyond just crunching budgets, Microsoft's recent Excel overhaul will give it the intelligence to recognize over 100 new data categories and process information in ways that were previously unimagined.
05/11/2020