How Your Data Looks Like On Disk with Dynamic Data Masking and Always Encrypted in SQL Server 2016

Since the introduction of the new security features in SQL Server 2016, one of the most common question I get asked is around the performance impacts of these new features. Whenever someone asks a question about security in relation to performance, I tell them how someone would secure their house or any valuable items: A house is like […]

How My Visits to the Hospital Helped Me Become a Better SQL Server DBA

My personal calendar for the past few weeks have been filled with visits to hospitals, clinics and other medical professionals after what happened to my wife last March. Growing up, I hated visits to hospitals. It’s probably because of all the medications I have had to take to treat primary complex. Show me a syringe used for […]

3 Ways To Master A New SQL Server Feature

Very recently at the PASS Data Community Summit, announcements were made about SQL Server 2022 being available for the general public or what is commonly referred to as GA. With new releases come new features. And with the increased frequency of version releases, it’s hard to catch up with all the learning. This is one of […]

3 Types of Microsoft High Availability Technologies

Every now and then I get questions about how to implement load balancing with SQL Server databases. Because organizations want to maximize their IT investments, a standby server is almost always a red flag – it’s an idle asset. Hence, the questions about load balancing workloads on SQL Server databases to maximize the resource utilization on […]