A fundamental skill for DBAs is to have a firm understanding of the SQL Server database engine’s system databases. Tim Chapman discusses these system databases. A fundamental skill for DBAs is to have ...

Knowing what you want from SQL Server is probably the biggest step toward running it successfully in business applications, according to consultant Koen Verbeeck. It's not just about knowing how SQL ...

SQL Server is primarily built around a row-based table structure that connects related data elements in different tables to one another, avoiding the need to redundantly store data in multiple places ...

In SQL Server 2000, we had a nifty little utility called rebuildm.exe which would rebuild the master database in emergency situations. This utility was removed in SQL Server 2005 and has not been seen ...

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 ...

In the beginning, there were files. Later there were navigational databases based on structured files. Then there were IMS and CODASYL, and around 40 years ago we had some of the first relational ...

One of the most useful features in Microsoft's System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) product is its reporting engine. Even though there is nothing overly difficult about its installation process, ...

Microsoft offers two paths for running enterprise databases: SQL Server, which you install and manage yourself, and Azure SQL, which Microsoft runs for you as a managed service. Both use the same ...