In SQL Server, the database can be stored in different files and filegroups. If your database is small (100 MB or less), you do not need to worry too much about files and filegroups. But if you have a ...

SQL Server backups cannot be restored to older versions directly. Use Export and Import Data-Tier Application for cross-version database migration. Reconfigure permissions, logins, and connection ...

SQL Server 2016 and Azure SQL Database both give you tables that automatically keep track of changes to your data. Here's how to both create those tables and alter existing tables so they track the ...

Are you ready to unlock the power of Microsoft SQL Server 2014? In this blog entry I will examine my 3 favorite new features that show how SQL Server 2014 provides high-performance OLTP, optimization ...

While SQL Server 2008 was little more than a service-pack level upgrade, the 2012 version of Microsoft’s database has a boatload of new features and delivers solid performance improvements.

I've installed Horizon View, VMware's Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) product, dozens of times over the past decade. With each release, for the most part, the installation process gets easier and ...

There’s a very handy new tool from Microsoft called the Database Experimentation Assistant (DEA). The DEA makes it very easy to conduct A/B testing for SQL Server upgrades, providing quantitative ...

SQL Server 2016 and Azure SQL Database both give you tables that automatically keep track of the history of your data. Here's how to retrieve that historical data. In an earlier column, I showed how ...

As SQL Server 2016 approaches end of support in July 2026, a look back at its groundbreaking innovations reveals how it reshaped Microsoft's data platform and why it's time to move forward. As I've ...