Procure SQL’s Weekly Digest – February 28, 2024!


Here are some news, videos, tips, and links the Procure SQL team would like to share!

Scan vs. Seek

The most straightforward example explains the difference between a scan and a seek in execution plans.

Data Engineering with Notebooks

Watch Justin’s seven-minute video on loading and transforming data in Microsoft Fabric.

Is Tableau Dead?

Yes and No. The future looks mixed.

Most Recent Issues

The work done by DBAs and Data professionals is all over the map.

Apple Electric Car

Apple pulled the plug on their Apple electric vehicle.

Should you always listen to data?

The answer is a resounding NO!

The Wheel of Misfortune

Skyscanner used this game to increase engineers’ confidence in incident management with Open Telemetry. Learn how to ingest your application’s telemetry data into Azure Monitor.

Performance Testing

Ensure a consistent and reliable user experience with Azure Load Testing.

Maximize Your Savings with SQL Server

Are you using these options to develop or test for free or with substantial cost savings?

Free Azure and SQL Server Training in Austin, Texas!

On Saturday, March 9, 2024, SQL Saturday will be coming to Austin, Texas. SQL Saturday is a free training day around SQL Server, Azure, and the Microsoft Data Platform. If you want lunch, it’s $20. We will also have two all-day deep dive training classes on performance tuning and Microsoft Analytics on Friday, March 8, 2024, for $125.

Need a Remote DBA or Data Architect?

Have you got questions? Need some help? Are you curious to know the cost of procuring a Remote Data Architect?

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Procure SQL’s Weekly Digest – February 21, 2024!

Procure SQL - Data Architect as a Service - Weekly Newsletter


Here are some news, videos, tips, and links the Procure SQL team would like to share!

Near Zero Downtime Migrations

Near zero downtime migrations are why Azure SQL Databases can be a subscriber for transactional replication.

Habits of Effective Data Leaders

How many of these seven effective habits do you see at your job?

AI Coming for Your Job?

Maybe. Regardless, let your skills, quality of work, and service to others define who you are.

Air Canada Chatbot Lawsuit

Air Canada lost a lawsuit claiming the airline should not be liable for their chatbot’s misleading information.

Testing and Bug Fixes

We hope this is different from how you do testing or bug fixes.

Offload Workload to Availability Group Replicas

Learn about temporary statistics on your secondary replicas. See how to enable Query Store for secondary replicas with SQL Server 2022.

Serverless for Hyperscale in Azure SQL Database

These are things to know before you jump into Serverless for Hyperscale. Serverless auto-pausing and resuming in Hyperscale are not currently available. The provisioned compute tier may be less expensive if CPU or memory usage is high enough and sustained long enough.

Free Azure and SQL Server Training in Austin, Texas!

On Saturday, March 9, 2024, SQL Saturday will be coming to Austin, Texas. This is a free training day around SQL Server, Azure, and the Microsoft Data Platform. If you would like lunch to be provided, it’s $20. We will also have two all-day deep dive training classes on performance tuning and Microsoft Analytics on Friday, March 8, 2024, for $125.

Need a Remote DBA or Data Architect?

Have you got questions? Need some help? Are you curious to know the cost of procuring a Remote Data Architect?

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Procure SQL’s Weekly Digest – February 14, 2024!

Procure SQL - Data Architect as a Service - Weekly Newsletter


Here is some news, videos, tips, and links the Procure SQL team would like to share!

Procure SQL made it out to their first trade show of 2024! Justin, Kon and John were at SQL Saturday Atlanta BI on February 10th.

Justin Cunningham gave a talk on Data Catalog: Visualizing Your Data Sprawl. John Sterrett gave a talk on Things to Know Before Going Independent.

The team is excited to be back on April 20th for SQL Saturday Atlanta. You can also catch them at SQL Saturday Austin on March 10th.

Procure SQL Sponsored SQL Saturday Atlanta BI on February 10, 2024. Justin Cunningham talked about Data Sprawl and Managing Your Metadata.
Justin Cunningham talked about Data Sprawl and Managing Your Metadata.
Procure SQL Team sponsored SQL Saturday Atlanta BI on February 10, 2024. Kon Melamud, John Sterrett, and Justin Cunningham had a great time meeting everyone.
Procure SQL Team sponsored SQL Saturday Atlanta BI on February 10, 2024. Kon Melamud, John Sterrett, and Justin Cunningham had a great time meeting everyone.

Someone’s Dream Job

Dream of being a researcher for the Microsoft data systems? Good, they’re hiring.

NASA’s Computer Glitch

ever wonder what it’s like to troubleshoot 1970’s tech that’s 15 billion miles away…

Data Sprawl

Interesting editorial about managing your metadata. This challenge gets harder when only 3% of company’s data meets data quality standards.

Power BI Desktop Projects

Martin Schoombee shares how DevOps and Report sharing gets easier with Power BI Desktop Projects. Power BI Desktop projects are going to open up many possibilities.

Microsoft Analytics Overview in Five Minutes

Justin created this video about the personas and tools behind Microsoft’s new shiny analytics tools.

Developers, Developers, Developers…

It’s time to make data the first choice in the technology stack, not an afterthought. Developers’ words not ours. We do agree with them though. 🙂

Working With Others

Aaron Bertrand has a very simple but great tip. Leave it better than you found it.

Free Azure and SQL Server Training in Austin, Texas!

On Saturday, March 9, 2024, SQL Saturday will be coming to Austin, Texas. This is a free training day around SQL Server, Azure, and the Microsoft Data Platform. If you would like lunch to be provided, it’s $20. We will also have two all-day deep dive training classes on performance tuning and Microsoft Analytics on Friday, March 8, 2024, for $125.

Need a Remote DBA or Data Architect?

Have you got questions? Need some help? Are you curious to know the cost of procuring a Remote Data Architect?

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Procure SQL’s Weekly Digest – February 7, 2024!

Procure SQL - Data Architect as a Service - Weekly Newsletter


Here are some videos, tips, and exciting links the Procure SQL team would like to share!

MLB’s Databases

Have you ever wondered about what MLB teams name their databases? We like “the fish bag,” “ground control,” and “MITT.” What is your favorite one?

Cloud Failures

Most cloud failures are traced back to human mistakes. Have you experienced or seen these top five mistakes?

SQL Server 2022’s New Disaster Recovery Solution

Daniel Taylor from Tales from the Field shares his video on how to set up bidirectional failover for SQL Server 2022 to Managed Instance using the MI Link for free.

State of Database Landscape in 2024

Data management is more complex, and people struggle to support multiple data platforms.

Microsoft Analytics Overview in Five Minutes

Check out this video about the personas and tools behind Microsoft’s new shiny analytics tools.

Win A Free Registration to PASS Conference

Everyone loves to win free stuff. More importantly, this is your opportunity to improve the best Microsoft Data Platform conference!

Power BI Performance Tuning

Eugene Meildinger (Speaking at SQL Saturday Austin) just released his new class. You can watch the first module for free and get the complete course for $100.

Free Azure and SQL Server Training in Austin, Texas!

On Saturday, March 9, 2024, SQL Saturday will be coming to Austin, Texas. This is a free training day around SQL Server, Azure, and the Microsoft Data Platform. If you would like lunch to be provided, it’s $20. We will also have two all-day deep dive training classes on performance tuning and Microsoft Analytics on Friday, March 8, 2024, for $125.

Need a Data Architect?

Have you got questions? Need some help? Are you curious to know the cost of procuring a Remote Data Architect?

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Procure SQL’s Weekly Digest – January 31, 2024!

Procure SQL - Data Architect as a Service - Weekly Newsletter


Here are some videos, tips, and exciting links the Procure SQL team would like to share!

Xbox and SQL Server

Learn how Xbox reduced patching downtime significantly in their SQL Server environment.

Fabric Common Tasks with Python

Are you building complex fabric orchestrations in Python? Microsoft Spark Utilities can be your best friend. It’s like DBATools for Python and Fabric.

Time Series Data

Need to work with Time Series data?  The new Generate_Series and Date_Bucket functions can make your life a lot easier!

State of Database Landscape in 2024

Data management is more complex, and people struggle to support multiple data platforms.

Toys We Always Wanted

Do you remember the number one toy you always wanted but never could have as a kid? Allen’s favorite is the Millennium Falcon. What was the toy you always wanted? Did it make the list?

AI + Microsoft = 3 Trillion Valuation

Microsoft is riding AI to new record heights. See how they became the second company to reach a three trillion valuation.

Free Azure and SQL Server Training in Austin, Texas!

On Saturday, March 9, 2024, SQL Saturday will be coming to Austin, Texas. This is a free training day around SQL Server, Azure, and the Microsoft Data Platform. If you would like lunch to be provided, it’s $20. We will also have two all-day deep dive training classes on performance tuning and Microsoft Analytics on Friday, March 8, 2024, for $125.

Need a Data Architect?

Have you got questions? Need some help? Are you curious to know the cost of procuring a Remote Data Architect?

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Procure SQL’s Weekly Digest – January 24, 2024!

Procure SQL - Data Architect as a Service - Weekly Newsletter


Here are some videos, tips, and interesting links we have viewed at Procure SQL.

Comparing NULLS

Struggling to compare many columns that contain null values? Here is a great way to do so before SQL 2022; here is a newer way with SQL Server 2022.

Azure SQL Database Limiting Resources

Like life with Azure SQL Databases, you get what you pay for. Here is an overview of why the Azure SQL Database team has resource governance around providing a balanced service. Are you being throttled down due to your tier of Azure SQL Database?

Optimized Locking with Azure SQL Database

Aaron Bertrand writes about long-running transactions leading to fewer lock escalations with optimized locking enabled with Azure SQL Database.

Tesla’s caught out in the cold.

Who knew you needed a high-availability plan for using your car? Not all batteries like subzero temperatures.

Christmas Tree Closet

Is Daniel McCutchen the only one to slide his Christmas tree in and out of his closet?

Finding Changes with Cumulative Updates

John describes why cumulative updates are needed. You can also see why he predicts that external data governance sources will come to SQL Server 2022 soon!

Free Azure and SQL Server Training in Austin, Texas!

On Saturday, March 9, 2024, SQL Saturday will be coming to Austin, Texas. This is a free day of training around SQL Server, Azure, and the Microsoft Data Platform. If you would like lunch to be provided, it’s $20. We will also have two all-day deep dive training classes on performance tuning and Microsoft Analytics on Friday, March 8, 2024, for $125.

Need a Data Architect?

Have you got questions? Need some help? Are you curious to know the cost of procuring a Remote Data Architect?

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Procure SQL’s Weekly Digest – January 17, 2024!

Procure SQL - Data Architect as a Service - Weekly Newsletter


Hopefully, everyone is back into the swing of things as we are in the middle of week three of 2024! Here are some videos, tips, and interesting links we have viewed at Procure SQL.

The Feature That Should Have Been Scrapped

If you take anything away from reading this newsletter, please make sure you don’t have xp_cmdshell enabled. Once again, it was used in multiple attacks!

What’s New in SQL Server 2023

Anna Hoffman shares an amazing list of everything that changed last year in Azure SQL Database, Managed Instance, SQL Server in VM’s.

A New Word: Candling

Steve Jones provides an insightful daily editorial. Last week he introduced a new word, Candling.

AI’s Greatest Accomplishment to Date

AI cooks the perfect steak in 90 seconds or less. Yes, we are foodies at Procure SQL!

Cruises + Power BI Training = A Great Time

Do you like cruises? Do you want to learn Power BI? If so, this training opportunity is for you!

Future of Your Database Ecosystem

Gardner Magic Quadrant for databases is out. Are you also concerned about the complexity of Microsoft DBMSs ecosystem capabilities? If so, we would love to chat to see if we can help make it easier for you.

Free Azure and SQL Server Training in Austin, Texas!

On Saturday, March 9, 2024, SQL Saturday will be coming to Austin, Texas. This is a free day of training around SQL Server, Azure and the Microsoft Data Platform. If you would like lunch to be provided, it’s $20. We will also have two different all-day deep dive training classes on performance tuning and Microsoft Fabric on Friday, March 8, 2024, for $125.

Need a Data Architect?

Have you got questions? Need some help? Are you curious to know the cost of procuring a Remote Data Architect?

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Procure SQL’s Weekly Digest – January 10, 2024!

Procure SQL - Data Architect as a Service - Weekly Newsletter


Hopefully, everyone is back into the swing of things as we are in the middle of week two of 2024! Here are some videos, tips, and interesting links we have viewed at Procure SQL.

Free Government Data

Russ Loski helps us understand why data that has changed in 2023 might relate to data you do not have.

Understanding Fabric

Can you learn Fabric in 30 days? Microsoft will also be doing a weekly series.

Are Your PowerPoint Accessible?

Microsoft provides excellent tips for making your presentations accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities.

Crawfish?!?!?

Allen and John love themselves some crawfish. See why they are sad that crawfish will go from $5 per lb to $8 per lb.

SSMS + Lakehouse = More DBAs Data Engineers

Did you know you could query a lakehouse with Management Studio?

Soggy Chips

Can you really put fluid into chips?

Procure SQL’s Video Tip of the Week!

This week, we focus on how to query a Microsoft Fabric Lakehouse with SSMS.

Need a Data Architect?

Have you got questions? Need some help? Are you curious how much it costs to procure a Remote Data Architect?

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Procure SQL’s Weekly Digest – January 3rd, 2024!

Procure SQL - Data Architect as a Service - Weekly Newsletter


Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a happy holiday season. Here are some videos, tips and links we found interesting at Procure SQL.

Developer’s Still Love Free Stuff!

Stack overflow’s 2023 survey shows that developers like free databases. Maybe this is why Microsoft made a Free version of Azure Managed Instances?

Why are SQL Server Queries slow!

Identify, Analyze and Fix database bad coding practices. FYI, this feature doesn’t come with the free open-source database platforms. 🙂

The Cost of Downtime

ITIC’s Global Server Hardware and Server OS Reliability Survey found 91% of respondents estimate that one hour of downtime costs over $301,000. How much does your business loose if it’s down for an hour?

Atari 2600

Now including simulated wood grain finish faceplate.

Do you know this SQL Pioneer?

If you work with SQL, you’ve likely interacted with Stonebraker’s work.

Video Series for Program Management

Matthew Roche also known as BI Polar is working on completing a 52-video series on Program Management.

Procure SQL’s Video Tip of the Week!

This week we focus on how you can utilize a new extended event in Azure SQL and SQL Server 2022 to find query anti-patterns.

Need a Data Architect?

Got questions? Need some help? Curious to see how much it cost to procure a Remote Data Architect?

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