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Curated SQL Posts

SQL Server Index Included Columns and Log Bloat

Published 2024-04-09 by Kevin Feasel

Forrest McDaniel explains that TANSTAAFL:

Let me share the conclusion now: included columns in an index always get included in the log record, even if they weren’t modified. The same is not true for the clustered index. This can really matter if log generation is important to your environment, e.g. using an AG.

Click through for the proof. We often think of included columns on indexes as being nearly free performance gains, but “nearly” is carrying a bit of water here. This shouldn’t dissuade you from using included columns on indexes, but is a valid reason not to include all 50 non-index columns in a table “just in case.”

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Microsoft Fabric Workspace Soft Deletion and Retention

Published 2024-04-09 by Kevin Feasel

Marc Lelijveld fills us in on the details:

This morning, I was looking for a specific tenant setting in the Fabric admin portal. While scrolling through a few of the tenant settings, I came across a specific one, which I like to elaborate on a bit more in detail, given I recently also had some questions around this topic from customers.

What happens if you delete a Fabric workspace? Is there a way to recover? How and for how long? Well, we now have a tenant setting to control this!

Click through for the details.

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Comparing Direct Lake and Import Mode in Power BI

Published 2024-04-08 by Kevin Feasel

Marco Russo compares and contrasts:

What is the right choice between Direct Lake and Import mode in Power BI?

At SQLBI, we do not publish content until we have had enough time to experiment with and collect data about new features. We usually don’t break the news unless we have enough time to test a feature in preview and consider the released service solid enough. This did not happen with Direct Lake, and we have not published any Direct Lake content yet, but it seemed not urgent for reasons we will see soon. However, the feedback collected from many attendees of SqlBits 2024 and the first Microsoft Fabric Conference raised the alarm: too many people have an incorrect perception of Direct Lake, which should be addressed as soon as possible to avoid architectural mistakes and unnecessary additional implementation costs.

Click through for the tl;dr version, followed by the explanations.

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Failover Groups in Azure SQL Database

Published 2024-04-08 by Kevin Feasel

Josephine Bush sets up a failover group in Azure SQL Database:

In today’s fast-paced digital world, keeping your data safe and accessible is more important than ever. That’s where Azure SQL Database steps in, offering a suite of tools to ensure your information is always within reach. Among these tools, failover groups shine, ready to jump into action whenever there’s a hiccup. So, let’s explore how failover groups in Azure SQL Database work their magic, ensuring your data stays safe and sound despite unexpected challenges.

Read on for the step-by-step instructions.

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Accessibility Features in Power BI

Published 2024-04-08 by Kevin Feasel

Elena Drakulevska takes us through some of the accessibility features in Power BI:

As data professionals, we’re constantly striving to create reports that effectively communicate insights to our audience. Did you know that within Power BI, there are hidden accessibility features that can enhance the usability for all users—with minimal effort on your part? Today, we’re digging into this overlooked aspect of Power BI and exploring how these features can elevate your data visualization projects.

Click through for three features.

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Migrating Power BI Semantic Models to Direct Lake

Published 2024-04-08 by Kevin Feasel

Nikola Ilic performs a migration:

Here is my scenario: there is an existing Power BI semantic model in import mode (in reality, there are many of them, but for the sake of keeping things simple for this blog post, let’s pretend that there is only one semantic model to be migrated).

Click through to see what the current state of the semantic model looks like, as well as the way to migrate. It’s not trivial, but Nikola does take us through it step by step.

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Displaying Azure Maps within a Power BI Paginated Report

Published 2024-04-08 by Kevin Feasel

Chris Webb shows a map in a paginated report:

The built-in mapping functionality in Power BI paginated reports is fairly basic. However the integration of Power Query into Power BI paginated reports gives you an interesting new way of creating maps in paginated reports: you can call the Azure Maps API using Power Query and display the image returned in an Image report item. In this blog post I’ll show you how.

Click through for the demo.

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Roles and Privileges in PostgreSQL

Published 2024-04-08 by Kevin Feasel

Muhammad Ali explains quite a few of the security terms in PostgreSQL:

PostgreSQL has a fine grained system for for managing user roles and privileges. This helps admins decide who can access certain data and what they’re allowed to do with it. It’s about managing permissions, where you can create different roles and roles can be a member of other roles.

In this blog, we will dive into PostgreSQL user roles and permissions, covering databases, schemas, and other objects level privileges, following a FAQ format.

Most of this is similar to security in SQL Server, though there are some differences to watch out for.

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