Test ZSTD backup compression in SQL Server 2025, compare recorded sizes and algorithms, and check restores before changing defaults.
SQL Server emergency? Email pinal@sqlauthority.com with URGENT in the subject line.
Checking Which Connections Use TDS 8.0 and Strict Encryption
TRUE in encrypt_option does not mean strict mode. Here is how to read the protocol value on your server and what to test before you enforce anything.
Log Shipping to a Readable Standby: Restores vs Report Users
Configure a readable standby for log shipping, balance restore jobs with report users, and measure copy and restore delay.
Temp Table Statistics: Why a #Table Plan Goes Stale
Inspect temp table statistics across procedure calls, compare estimates with loaded rows, and test targeted refresh and recompile fixes.
DROP IF EXISTS and CREATE OR ALTER for Iterative Deployments
Run your deployment script twice and see what survives. A short demo shows why CREATE OR ALTER keeps permissions and drop and create does not.
Change Data Capture Cost: Log, Storage and Cleanup Measured
Change Data Capture cost shows up in places a quick setup never checks. On SQL Server 2025, the same update wrote three times the log with CDC on, the log waited for the capture, and the change table grew to almost four times the table. Here is every number and the script that produced it.
A T-SQL Cheat Sheet for Everyday Work
This T-SQL cheat sheet gathers daily SELECT, JOIN, GROUP BY, window, TRY_CONVERT, and transaction patterns with short examples.
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