Plan a Query Store upgrade comparison with a captured baseline, matched workload periods, regression review, and carefully monitored plan forcing.
Learning SQL Server on a Budget
Learning SQL Server on a budget is possible with free development editions, official documentation, samples, and community practice.
Striped Backups: Writing One Backup to Several Files
Use striped backups across several files, inspect media families, restore every stripe, and test resource settings on your own server.
Fiscal Years That Do Not Start in January
Compute fiscal years and quarters from an April start, build indexed date boundaries, and store a fiscal calendar for repeatable reports.
Restoring to a Newer SQL Server Is a One-Way Trip
Plan a restore to newer SQL Server with the version boundary in mind, preserve the original backup, and understand options for moving data back.
geometry Collections: Read Members With STGeometryN
geometry Collections hold member shapes that STGeometryN can return individually. I extract a point and a line from one fixed collection. A third request deliberately exceeds its member count.
How to Check Your SQL Server Version, Edition and Patch Level
Check your SQL Server version, edition and patch level with one query. How to read the build number, why ProductLevel still says RTM on a patched server, and the edition surprise a health check finds most often.