Connecting SSMS to Azure storage failed with 400 Bad Request: authentication failed for account and the provided key. Here is the cause and the fix.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
SQL SERVER – Always On Availability Group Listener Missing in SSMS but Working Fine in Failover Cluster Manager
My client’s AG listener worked fine in Failover Cluster Manager, yet SSMS showed nothing. Here is what causes a listener missing in SSMS and the fix.
Find the Data Type of an Expression in SQL Server
To find the data type of an expression in SQL Server, pass it to SQL_VARIANT_PROPERTY or describe the whole query with sys.dm_exec_describe_first_result_set. This post tests both on a percentage calculation, shows how precision and scale come out, and explains why 2147483647 plus 1 fails.
Columnstore Bulk Load: Why Batch Size Decides Where Rows Land
Review columnstore bulk load batch sizes, inspect delta and compressed rowgroups, and measure the cost of forcing small groups to compress.
SQL SERVER – FCB::Open Failed – TEMPDB Files Fail to be Created with Error: “CREATE FILE Encountered Operating System Error 3”
SQL Server would not start: FCB::Open failed because TempDB files could not be created, with operating system error 3. Here is how I fixed it.
Does NOLOCK Really Applies No Lock? – Interview Question of the Week #209
Does NOLOCK really applies no lock? No. NOLOCK takes a Sch-S, or schema stability, lock. Here is a simple script to see it for yourself.
sp_executesql Output Parameters: Getting Values Back From Dynamic SQL
Dynamic SQL runs in its own scope, so a value only comes back if you ask twice. Here are the two mistakes that leave you with NULL.
SQL Server slow? Let's fix it together in about four hours.
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Who We Are
Pinal Dave is an SQL Server Performance Tuning Expert and independent consultant with over 24 years of hands-on experience. He holds a Masters of Science degree and numerous database certifications.
Pinal has authored 19 books and 125 Pluralsight courses. To freely share his knowledge and help others build their expertise, Pinal has also written more than 5,800 database tech articles on his blog at https://blog.sqlauthority.com.
Pinal is also a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer (CF-L1) and CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2).
Nupur Dave is a social media enthusiast and an independent consultant. She primarily focuses on the database domain, helping clients build short and long-term multi-channel campaigns to drive leads for their sales pipeline.
Shaivi Pinalkumar Dave is a book author and a women’s artistic gymnast.

