A SQL Server health check becomes useful when its findings lead to a clear, justified next step. I start with recovery and access risks before tuning preferences. A warning deserves investigation, but it does not automatically justify a server change.
ROWS vs RANGE in Window Frames: Why Running Totals Differ
Compare ROWS vs RANGE for running totals, handle tied sort values, write explicit frames, and check worktable reads on your server.
XML sql:column: Compare XML With a Relational Value
XML sql:column passes a typed relational value into XQuery. Keep node existence separate from a missing document and a scalar Boolean.
Migrating From MySQL to SQL Server: AUTO_INCREMENT, LIMIT and Other Differences
Plan migrating from MySQL with clear translations for identity values, paging, dates, booleans, string functions, and upserts.
SQL SERVER – CTAS – Create Table As SELECT – What is CTAS?
CTAS stands for Create Table As Select. In SQL Server you do it with SELECT INTO, which creates the new table and fills it with data in one step.
Finding the Slowest Stored Procedures With sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats
Find the slowest stored procedures with cache statistics, compare CPU and reads, and use two snapshots to isolate one busy hour.
SQL SERVER – How to Use Decode in SQL Server?
CASE expresses the DECODE mapping in this SQL Server example. I keep the named matches and default value explicit.