SQL Server 2016 adds two new string functions, COMPRESS – DECOMPRESS. Here is how they work, with examples, and the error you get on older versions.
Free Tools Worth Knowing for SQL Server Work
Free tools for SQL Server work include Microsoft editors, built-in diagnostics, and community scripts; learn the job each handles and its limits.
Readable Secondary in Standard Edition: Transactional Replication Setup
A secondary server sitting idle as a backup feels like a waste. In Notes from the Field #107, Kenneth Urena shows how to build a readable secondary in Standard Edition with transactional replication.
Error 598: SQL Server Fails to Start After Patching
Error 598 can stop SQL Server from starting right after a patch. In this case the script level upgrade failed because the service account could not create a temporary database file. Giving that account permission on the instance folder let the restart succeed.
Extracting the Folder and File Name From a Full Path in T-SQL
Split a path at the last backslash and handle the odd inputs. Bare names, empty values, trailing spaces and NULL all behave.
NUMA in SQL Server: A Lunch Chat About Local and Remote Memory
NUMA in SQL Server came up in a lunch break chat at SQLPass, during my 42 tips session. An attendee asked what NUMA is and when SQL Server got it. Here is the answer I gave, with the history.
SQL SERVER – Getting Started with Project Versions in the SSIS Catalog – Notes from the Field #106
Tim Mitchell shows a handy but overlooked feature: project versions in the SSIS catalog, which keep earlier deployments you can browse in SSMS.