It’s easy to do with this query. That’s all I have to say on this topic for now.
Click through for the query, which includes examples of concatenation, size with units (e.g., KB, MB, GB), and more.
Comments closedCurated SQL Posts
Koen Verbeeck takes a peek at what’s coming in SQL Server 2025:
We have data coming into our database from a REST API endpoint. The data is formatted as JSON documents. Is there an efficient way to handle JSON data within the SQL Server ecosystem? In this article, we look at the new JSON data types for SQL Server.
The end result is not particularly clear-cut here: reads slightly faster, writes considerably slower. There aren’t any indexes on the data type at this time, so no opportunity for improvement there.
Comments closedAndy Yun is speaking my language:
One of SQL Server 2022’s new features is something called Data Virtualization. It enables T-SQL to directly query files that reside in Azure object storage or S3-compatible object storage. In my opinion, since SQL Server 2022’s release, it’s one of those underrated capabilities that I think many have glossed over. But I strongly believe that it is insanely useful and you should take a few minutes to learn more!
Read on to learn more. Also, Andy mentions using S3-compatible local storage with PolyBase for local storage. As a spoiler, I have a video coming out on January 28th that covers exactly that same topic, though without the benefit of snappy all-flash storage arrays.
1 CommentMonitoring SQL Server databases is one of the main responsibilities of DBAs, both in on-premises and on the public cloud platforms. Continuing from my previous post, where I reviewed the various options of SQL Server PaaS offerings from major hyperscalers, I’ll now focus on the monitoring solutions they provide.
While I always prefer commercial tools that come packed with features, it’s not the only way to go. Whether you’re using AWS, Azure, or GCP, each platform offers unique tools and features to help you keep an eye on your managed SQL Server database services.
Read on for information about what’s available in each.
Comments closedTeo Lachev finds three things of note:
I had the privilege to participate in the early preview program of the new TMDL View in Power BI Desktop which is currently in public preview in the latest January release of Power BI Desktop. Without reiterating what was said in the announcement, I’d like to mention three main benefits of this feature:
Click through for those benefits.
Comments closedYvonne Vanslageren explains a solid feature in SQL Server 2019:
When SQL Server runs a query, it needs memory for operations like sorting and joining data. It also relies on memory during query compilation to hold intermediate plans while the Query Optimizer finds the best execution strategy. In parallel processing scenarios, the memory requirement grows even further.
SQL Server manages this by pre-allocating memory for each query through the SQL Server Operating System (SQLOS). This process ensures that no single query can monopolize the server’s memory.
Read on to learn more about memory grants, problems you can run into with memory grants, and one way SQL Server 2019 has improved to reduce the risk of bad memory grant estimates.
Comments closedIn SQL Server, data is stored in tables. Behind the scenes, however, these tables are divided into 8-kilobyte (8 KB) units called pages. Each page is 8,192 bytes in size, and this is a fixed value that cannot be changed.
Out of the 8,192 bytes, the first 96 bytes are reserved for the page header, which stores metadata about the page. This leaves 8,096 bytes for storing rows of data. However, a single row can only use up to 8,060 bytes, as 36 bytes are reserved for additional metadata, such as the slot array, versioning tags, and forwarded record pointers.
Read on for more information about the fundamental unit of storage in SQL Server.
Comments closedIn this video, I show you how to take a deployed AutoML classification model in Azure Machine Learning and generate probability predictions.
I originally expected this to be an easy process, but it turns out to be slightly more convoluted than that. Fortunately, the process was not an outright ordeal or anything.
Comments closedVlad Drumea fixes an installation problem:
I’ve needed to run the repair process in the following cases:
- An instance or some of its components become corrupted or missing after OS patching.
One of the most common examples I’ve ran into is SQL Server Configuration Manager being gone from the machine.
Not to be confused with database corruption.- A failed or cancelled SQL Server instance upgrade or patching.
- SQL Server failing to uninstall.
From what I’ve seen, this tends to be a side-effect of the first scenario in this list going undetected.
Read on to see what you need to have and how to perform the task.
Comments closedTemidayo Omoniyi likes a good pattern:
This article is divided into three major sections—each showing the different abilities and use cases of performing incremental load with Azure Data Factory. This process can also be done in an Azure Synapse Pipeline and Fabric Pipeline.
The document contains the following:
Section 1: Copy Data Based on Last Modified Date or Latest File
Section 2: Incremental Copy Using Dataflow
Section 3: Incremental Copy Using Lookup and Stored Procedure Activities
Click through for each of these three patterns, with plenty of screenshots and step-by-step instructions.
Comments closed