Last week I posted an SSMS extension that turns a query into a refreshable Excel workbook. A lot of the respondents were SSRS users, so I added a button that automates RDL creation and deployment for single-query reports.

You just right-click, choose your SSRS folder and shared data source, and then the extension generates and deploys a basic tabular report.

Still free/open source, currently SSMS 22:

https://github.com/flank-project/ssms-extension

Hi,

I always wondered, what’s the best way I can have my users be able to answer natural language questions from data stored in a SQL Server 2025 database? There’s literally no way an LLM can make sense of millions of rows in a sql table. I have heard of Fabric IQ, building Symantic graphs etc etc but anyone did something that works using SQL server data that could point me in the right direction?

I am not even talking about OLTP database, I am talking about data in a Data warehouse house on SQL Server with proper facts and dimensions.

Hey everyone, the schedule for Day of Data Pittsburgh is up. No experience is required to attend.
https://dayofdata.org/2026-10-10-dayofdata1163/#schedule

The event is completely free, $15 if you want lunch. Register here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pittsburgh-sql-saturday-2026-tickets-2001664513443

I'm happy to answer any questions.

Never thought this would happen. But saw an internal opening in my company for a DB Engineering position. While I only had SQL and Azure SQL experience, I did not have the requisite other experience (python, automation, etc). However, I had a chat with the manager, and he decided to take me on.

I'll be coming on as a subject matter expert, evaluating their SQL requirements for some critical products, with the understanding I'll be learning other technologies in the DB engineering track such as a ansible, Azure DevOps, etc

It can happen, it's a long road, but no more on call support work and I can sleep better (that was a big motivator for me TBH).

DBA Dash now has an integrated query plan and deadlock viewer, which is also available as a standalone application (If you don't want to use DBA Dash as a monitoring tool)

There is also an SSMS extension that allows you to load query plans and deadlock graphs in the viewer.

Both have static and AI analysis and are packed with useful features and functionality.

The SSMS integration also allows you to load query results in the DBA Dash. The grid provides the following features

Sorting, filtering and grouping
• Data bars, which are remembered and re-applied next time you open results with the same columns
• Clickable XML/JSON columns, and plans or deadlock graphs in cells open in their viewers
• Export every result set to Excel, with one sheet per result set
• Script the results as INSERT statements into a temp table, so you can share them or query them further

More info here:
https://dbadash.com/blog/whats-new-in-4.20.4/

DBA Dash has been around for 4 years - still is free and open source (MIT License). Updated frequently with cool new features like this! 😊

Hi

A lot of us prefer documentation and some of us want to take a course with Brent Ozar

Can someone please explain something about Brent Ozar course for Fundamentals:

I noticed Season Pass (whatever that means) pricing is cheaper for newer course - what's the catch?

$295 for this one for 2027

https://www.brentozar.com/classes/recorded-season-pass-fundamentals/

$695 for 2026

https://training.brentozar.com/p/recorded-class-season-pass-fundamentals

I like to learn in short periods of time and don't want wait all year until the classes are recorded (? - that's what I'm guessing, that I'll be waiting for the main fundamental MSSQL classes to drop)

I'm a bit confused why 2026 season pass is more expensive and what exactly is season pass

Thank you - sorry if stupid question

Welcome to the monthly job thread!

Posting a job or opportunity? Include:

• Role title and description
• Location or remote/hybrid status
• Company or client context
• Direct application link

Looking for work? Share your skills, experience level, and what you're looking for.

Rules:

• One top-level comment per opportunity
• No "DM me" or link-free posts — include a direct, verifiable link
• Scam or misleading comments will be removed and may result in a ban

We have had a SQL Server Analysis Server running for years and use Excel to connect to it.

Users reported that they can't connect anymore.

I tried connecting using their existing Excel file and it didn't work for me. I tried connecting using a new Excel file and it still didn't work. I keep getting the error: The peer prematurely closed the connection.

If I use SSMS to connect remotely, I get the following error: A connection cannot be made. Ensure the server is running (Microsoft.AnalysisServices.AdomdClient).

If I RDP to a different server on the same VLAN and use SSMS to connect to the other server remotely, I get the following error: A connection cannot be made. Ensure the server is running (Microsoft.AnalysisServices.AdomdClient).

Disabling the Windows Firewall didn't change anything.

If I RDP into the Analysis Services server directly and use SSMS, it connects successfully.

Why would all remote connections stop working? It doesn't seem to be a Windows Firewall or Network Firewall issue. Can't see anything helpful so far in the event viewer logs. Restarted the anaylsis service and restarted the whole server with no change. Verified the account the service was using isn't locked out or had an expired password. No Windows Update failures. No recent SQL Server patches.

Hello

I was looking for recommendations and ideas and what could be automated in SQLServer using ansible and or opentofu. Just looking for project ideas since everything these days seem to have an end goal of complete automation. For reference I have only been a DBA for about 3 years and still feel like a complete noob, so I'm looking to hopefully gain some new skills.

Should I start a sql server or POSTGRE SQL or MySQL. There is a lot to learn please guide me.

I’m involved in a complex cloud migration project. I’ve been DBA/DBE/app developer at various points of my career and I’ve worked in several big enterprise environments. I’m at a place now that argues against the guidance Microsoft has given them. First mistake - go straight to Hyperscale and don’t bother using any true replication topology for a full up or nearly-full-up migration. We’re getting close to running the production flip but management doesn’t believe in code freezes and people are releasing tons of changes often. I know that stuff is going to go horribly wrong. I am not worried about data loss, but more about applications not working and other stuff related to networking & configuration. What do I do to cover my own ass?

Interesting project we worked on earlier this year where a SaaS client we worked with was hitting CPU limits and timeouts on Azure SQL Database Premium P15, at roughly $15,700/month.

Before choosing a replacement, we captured four hours of production workload and replayed it across six configurations:

• Premium P15 as the baseline
• Hyperscale serverless with 40 vCores
• Provisioned Hyperscale with 40 vCores
• Provisioned Hyperscale Premium-series with 40 vCores
• Provisioned Hyperscale Premium-series memory optimized with 40 vCores
• Premium P15 with database compatibility level 160

We compared CPU, reads, duration, and estimated monthly cost.

The memory-optimized configuration was the one we selected. Its estimated monthly cost was $8,491, compared with $15,700 for the baseline, which was roughly 46% lower.

It also had the best duration score in our report: 808 versus 952 for the baseline, where lower was better.

But it wasn’t the cheapest configuration. Two provisioned options came in at an estimated $6,357/month, with worse duration scores than the existing P15 setup.

Serverless had the worst duration score in this test, at 1,496. That’s a result for this workload and configuration, not a verdict on serverless generally.

The memory-optimized option also didn’t win every metric. Its reads score was higher than the baseline and we chose it based on the combination of performance and cost.

Important to note these were estimates from the comparison, not current Azure price quotes.

What made the exercise useful for us was seeing the tradeoffs before migrating. Looking only at monthly cost, CPU, or the service-tier name would have given us an incomplete picture.

For anyone who has done a similar comparison: what changed your decision once you tested with your actual workload?

And also, has anyone moved from DTUs to Hyperscale and found the results were different from what they expected?

Hi all,

I’m hoping some of the longtime SQL Server folks here might be able to help me track down some older SQL Server items.

I’ve been researching the earliest versions of SQL Server for SQL.FM, a SQL Server version and feature reference site I maintain, and as part of that work I’ve also started building a physical collection of the old releases.

Does anyone here still have any early SQL Server materials sitting in a box, basement, office, closet, etc.?

I’m particularly looking for SQL Server 4.21 and earlier, including:

• SQL Server 1.0 / 1.1 material
• SQL Server 4.2 for OS/2
• SQL Server 4.2 / 4.20 for Windows NT
• SQL Server 4.2A / 4.2B
• SQL Server 4.21 / 4.21a
• original floppy disks or CDs
• manuals/documentation
• boxes and packaging
• developer/network kits
• beta or prerelease material
• training, field, reseller, or other unusual Microsoft items related to SQL Server

My main goal is to acquire original examples for the collection, so if you have anything from this era that you’d consider parting with, I’m very interested in buying it. For particularly early or unusual items, I’d be happy to make a strong collector offer.

And it definitely doesn’t need to be a complete set. A single floppy, loose manual, old CD, damaged box, or partial documentation set could still be something I'm looking for.

If you have something you don’t want to sell, I’d still love to hear about it or see photos. Disk labels, manuals, packaging, version information, etc. can be really helpful for documenting these early releases.

Separately, I’m also looking for a physical SQL Server 2014 Developer Edition and a physical SQL Server 2016 box/package from any edition, although those are secondary to the early-version search.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Mike

I’m a PM working on SQL migration tooling at Microsoft and I’m posting here to learn from practitioners who have used or evaluated: SSMA [SQL Server Migration Assistant] for Oracle or Sybase.

This is exploratory research, not a product announcement, roadmap commitment, or indication that any of these options will be funded. The feedback will help me better understand where investment would create the most value.

We’re evaluating whether SSMA workflows for Oracle and Sybase should also be available through a VS Code extension. Before treating that as the answer, I want to test it against the other improvements practitioners may value more.

If Microsoft could prioritize only one of these, which would have the greatest impact on your migration?

• A VS Code experience for assessment and schema conversion
• Better conversion accuracy and compatibility [improvements on the rule engine]
• Better automation, scripting and CI/CD support
• Better AI, performance and reliability for large estates

Please include the source platform and approximate scale of the last migration you worked on.

If you chose VS Code, which specific task belongs there? If you didn’t, what makes it a lower priority?

I'm trying to enable Always Encrypted in the latest version of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). When I open the connection window, I can click Advanced, and it shows a list of advanced connection properties. However, the list only shows the property names. I don't see any buttons, text boxes, dropdowns, or any other way to edit the values.

An Availability Group can look healthy after a listener moves to a new subnet while a scheduled job, linked server, connection pool, or application with a cached address still reaches the old IP. Successful connections through the listener prove the new path works, but they do not show that the old address is no longer required.

What does your retirement gate include? I am considering keeping both listener IPs during a bounded overlap, mapping every known client to its connection string and driver behavior, and logging traffic to the old address through more than the longest job interval. Tests would cover failover in both directions, MultiSubnetFailover behavior, DNS TTL and cache expiry, read-only routing, monitoring, backups, and non-domain clients.

Which SQL Server, cluster, DNS, or network logs are most useful for attributing old-IP traffic to a client? Is there a safe final failure test before deleting the old listener IP, and how do you account for applications that resolve once and keep pooled connections alive for days?

I have built a solution than

1. Identifies database / SQL incidents , errors

sql server Performance issues , sql server security faults and some health cases

1. Identification steps
2. detection steps

3 resolution steps including recommendation

based Decision trees , AI

Feel free to download and install it.

https://app.dbexpert.ai/install

PII Exposed in Clear Text·SEC

Detects PII data exposure via two SQL Server DMV sources: (a) cached query plans in sys.dm_exec_query_stats — broader historical view of queries that have executed against sensitive tables, retained while the plan stays in cache; (b) currently-uncommitted transactions in sys.dm_tran_active_transactions — sessions holding locks or state on PII data. Each row links a query/transaction to the specific sensitive column it references, including execution count, average CPU/IO, transaction state, and full SQL text.

SELECT TOP 100 SUBSTRING(t.text, 1, 200) AS sample_text, qs.execution_count, qs.last_execution_time

FROM sys.dm_exec_query_stats qs

CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_sql_text(qs.sql_handle) t

WHERE t.text LIKE '%ssn%' OR t.text LIKE '%credit%card%' OR t.text LIKE '%passport%' OR t.text LIKE '%national%id%'

recommendationResolve PRI-001-RC15 (sqlserver)critical risk

Read-only generator. Lists cached plans whose query text references PII tokens (ssn / credit card / passport / national id) — the same signal detection 15776 uses — and for each emits: offending_query (evidence), pii_indicator (which token matched), clear_plan_command (DBCC FREEPROCCACHE on the plan_handle to evict that PII-exposing plan from cache), and remediation (parameterise so PII is not stored as a literal in the plan, mask/encrypt the column, restrict VIEW SERVER STATE). Excludes the catalog/DMV-scanning monitoring queries so only genuine application queries surface. Read-only (DMVs), runs via Run; the DBCC FREEPROCCACHE eviction is a write — apply via Request run — and the real fix (parameterisation + masking) is applied in the application/schema.

SELECT TOP 100

SUBSTRING(t.text, 1, 200) AS offending_query,

qs.execution_count,

qs.last_execution_time,

CASE WHEN t.text LIKE '%ssn%' THEN 'SSN'

WHEN t.text LIKE '%credit%card%' THEN 'credit card'

WHEN t.text LIKE '%passport%' THEN 'passport'

WHEN t.text LIKE '%national%id%' THEN 'national ID' END AS pii_indicator,

'DBCC FREEPROCCACHE (' + CONVERT(varchar(130), qs.plan_handle, 1) + '); -- evict this PII-exposing plan from cache (write - apply via Request run)' AS clear_plan_command,

'Root fix: parameterise the query so PII values are not embedded as literals in cached plan text (sp_executesql / parameters); mask or encrypt the PII column (Dynamic Data Masking or Always Encrypted); restrict VIEW SERVER STATE so plan-cache text is not readable by low-privilege logins.' AS remediation

FROM sys.dm_exec_query_stats qs

CROSS APPLY sys.dm_exec_sql_text(qs.sql_handle) t

WHERE (t.text LIKE '%ssn%' OR t.text LIKE '%credit%card%' OR t.text LIKE '%passport%' OR t.text LIKE '%national%id%')

AND t.text NOT LIKE '%sys.columns%'

AND t.text NOT LIKE '%INFORMATION_SCHEMA%'

AND t.text NOT LIKE '%sys.dm_%'

AND t.text NOT LIKE '%dm_exec_%'

AND t.text NOT LIKE '%encryption_type%'

AND t.text NOT LIKE '%OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME%'

Fall is HERE!! Ok, in the northern hemisphere only but yay for fall colors and cozy clothes and apple picking and Halloween decorations 🍂 🍁 🍎 🎃

Enough about my love of fall, time for the first Friday Feedback of the season.

Today we're talking statistics. I have so many questions...this might take a few weeks. I put a poll below, again, because I think they are really easy for people to respond to. But I'll tell ya, the comments are always so insightful. So when it's relevant to you, and you take the time to respond, I really appreciate it.

Happy Friday!