Use IGNORE NULLS for forward-filled readings, find the next known value, and compare the older running-count grouping method carefully.
TOP N Sort: Why a Small TOP Still Reads the Whole Table
Explain TOP N Sort, compare an indexed ordered access path, and align filter and sort keys before adding indexes for frequent requests.
How Blogging Has Changed: From Online Diaries to Newsletters
How blogging has changed is the story of one garden. It grew from online diaries and hand-built pages into blog software, feeds, short updates and newsletters. Through all of it, the useful, honest and regular post stayed the same.
SQL SERVER – List All Available TimeZone
sys.time_zone_info lists timezone names and their current offsets. My SQL Server 2019 environment returned 141 rows.
CPU Running 100% – SQL in Sixty Seconds #185
I got lots of responses to this blog and people wanted me to create a video for this topic. Here, I have a video for CPU Running 100%.
SQL SERVER – Measure Index Performance
I measure index performance against the same workload before and after a change. A customer wanted to assess a new index.
Flush Authentication Cache: Who Can Run DBCC FLUSHAUTHCACHE
Flush authentication cache entries with DBCC FLUSHAUTHCACHE. This post tests the command on SQL Server 2025, shows who can run it and that on SQL Server 2025 it ends no open session, and says what it is documented to do on Azure SQL Database.
Last Used Stored Procedure in SQL Server: When Did It Last Run?
To find the last used stored procedure, read last_execution_time from sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats. This post tests it on demo procedures, shows why a NULL does not mean never, and adds Query Store for a longer memory.
Checking Last Good DBCC CHECKDB Time With LastGoodCheckDbTime
Inspect LastGoodCheckDbTime for each database, flag stale or unavailable checks, and compare metadata with retained integrity-job evidence.
SQL SERVER – Fix Error – Cannot execute as the database principal because the principal “dbo” does not exist
One of my clients recently sent me an email with the following error. The error was visible in the error log and was about the database principal.