Install AdventureWorks and WideWorldImporters once, the right way. Which file to download for your SQL Server, where to put it so the service account can read it, the RESTORE FILELISTONLY step, restore scripts for T-SQL, SSMS, Docker and Linux, and the five errors people email me about. Every command was run on SQL Server 2025.
Full, Differential and Log Backups: A Practical Guide
Full, differential and log backups are easy to define and easy to get wrong at 2 AM. This animated guide shows which ones to restore, and in what order.
The Evolution of Accelerated Database Recovery in SQL Server 2022
A look at the evolution of Accelerated Database Recovery in SQL Server 2022, with better version store cleanup and scalability for long transactions.
SQL Server Maintenance Techniques: A Comprehensive Guide to Keeping Your Server Running Smoothly
This comprehensive guide explore into some essential maintenance techniques and best practices to ensure your SQL Server deployment.
Trace Flag 3226: Keeping Backup Messages Out of the Error Log
Check trace flag 3226, understand suppressed backup success messages, and use msdb history to monitor backups without log noise.
sp_delete_database_backuphistory: Prune msdb Backup History
The sp_delete_database_backuphistory procedure removes the backup and restore history of one database from msdb, and sp_delete_backuphistory does it by age. The demo counts the rows of a database before and after the delete and previews the delete by age. The last sections explain how to keep the history small.
SQL SERVER 2022 – Last Valid Restore Time – Improved Backup Metadata
One significant addition to the backup metadata is the inclusion of the last valid restore time. In SQL Server 2022, a new improved backup metadata feature.