BCP is a utility that is installed by default with SQL Server editions and is used for bulk import or export of a large volume of data in user-defined...
Table and index compression is a functionality that has been available in various SQL Server editions for a while. It has been available in all editions, including SQL Server...
Data masking is a feature that allows you to completely or partially mask selected data in a database. Access to unmask the data can also be granted or revoked...
For generating IDs (primary keys) in application databases or surrogate keys in data warehouses, there are several approaches. GUIDs or numeric IDs are mostly used. GUIDs are mainly used...
Aside from the standard method of installing SQL Server via the classic visual interface, there is also the option to install SQL Server from the command line or PowerShell....
Installation of MS SQL Server involves a lot of work before an IT specialist can actually start the installation process. Before we address the software and hardware requirements, we...
AdventureWorks databases from Microsoft are the most popular sample databases for developers, database administrators, or simply for students looking to learn something about SQL Server and database management. In...
In this short article I will introduce the possibility to run a sql script outside of SQL management studio using SQL server command line utility (sqlcmd for short). This...
I recently purchased a new Macbook Air with Apple Silicon M1 CPU architecture (ARM). From the first time everything was fine – super experience when unboxing, everything tuned to...
Table Indexes are a fundamental pillar of optimizing SQL queries in a database. They significantly speed up read operations. Unfortunately, over time, indexes get fragmented, and the order of...
A data warehouse is a centralized repository where information from the entire company is stored, and this information is stored in a format that allows for easy and understandable...
Resource Governor is one of the SQL Server enterprise features that are not available in any other edition. If you are interested in various limitations across editions, I have...
As SQL Server administrators, we might want to know what is happening on the server during the day and if any unwanted incidents are occurring. This is where Alerts...
Correct table indexing in SQL Server is a base for good database performance during querying. You need to understand how SQL Server stores data into tables/indexes if you want...
SQL Error “Login failed for user <user name>. The user is not associated with a trusted SQL Server connection” is quite common. The problem is that SQL Server cannot...
When working with database objects, we may sometimes get into a situation when we want to change property of an object. For example change of data type in column...
While installing SQL Server, one of the parameters that is needed to be set during installation is Server collation. It is a parameter influencing the way in which SQL...
I described plus and cons of SQL Server Express edition in the article SQL Server Express for Beginners. If you decided to try Express and you wonder how to...
A trigger is a database object (procedure) that works as a watchdog for certain event. Using database triggers we can catch this event and initiate some additional action –...
In SQL Server administration, there are two terms that can easily be confused: SQL Login and SQL User. In a previous article, we took a closer look at SQL...