Data Files and Log Files are the two kinds of file every SQL Server database needs. This post explains what lives in each, why the log is written first, and how to list both with a query on sys.database_files.
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.
Recycling the Error Log on a Schedule and Keeping Enough History
Keep SQL Server logs readable by recycling the error log weekly, retaining enough archives, setting a size cap, and checking history.
Designing a Simple ETL Framework
An ETL framework in SQL Server needs a small set of configuration, run logs, restart checkpoints, and alerts that operators can trust.
CHECKPOINT Behavior Quiz: What Lets the Log Be Reused?
This CHECKPOINT Behavior Quiz asks what lets SQL Server reuse transaction log space under the SIMPLE and FULL recovery models. The answers differ, and a tested script shows both. It also shows how one open transaction keeps the log from being reused.
Logging ETL Runs in a Table
Logging ETL runs in SQL Server gives each step start and end times, row counts, and errors so the next morning’s investigation has facts.
HADR_SYNC_COMMIT Wait Stats: Availability Group Commits
HADR_SYNC_COMMIT wait stats measure how long a commit waits for a synchronous secondary replica to harden the log. On Night 22 at the Clipboard Diner, every sale is phoned to a sister diner before the plate can leave. Learn what the wait includes, how to read the send and redo queues, and the fixes from the secondary’s log disk to asynchronous commit.