I've been playing with the new SQL Server Data Tools, and I'm impressed by the way Microsoft has gotten the product out for review and is improving it with user-requested functionality. I've been ...

I've been playing around with the new SQL Server Data Tools, and although many have complained about missing features compared to the "Data Dude" Visual Studio projects and other tools that SSDT ...

Microsoft recently updated SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) with support for Visual Studio 2012, improved LocalDB functionality and new SSDT Power Tools. SSDT, if you're unfamiliar with it, is a ...

Microsoft's SQL Server toolbox is a morass of acronyms, from SMO to SSMS to SOS, and differentiating one from the other can be a challenge. I recently caught up with Vicky Harp, lead program manager ...

“Free” is a term rarely associated with Microsoft offerings, especially at the server end of the spectrum. Exchange Server, SQL Server, SharePoint, Hyper-V — IT admins know functionality comes at a ...

Database administration tasks can be time consuming so they require a comprehensive range of tools. Tasks can be error-prone, especially when they involve developing, testing, and maintaining custom ...

How Do I Add Business Intelligence To Visual Studio? The Visual Studio 2019 extension can be installed from the Extensions menu… Manage Extensions… Select Online ...

This November Patch Tuesday update offers a much reduced set of updates, with only 63 Microsoft patches and (only) one ...

In this second delve into data cleanliness (read the first, How clean is your data?, here), we’ll test-drive the data profiling tool provided with Microsoft SQL Server. Other profiling tools have ...

Microsoft's SQL Server Migration Assistant lets you move your data and schema to different SQL Servers. Here's what you need to know about the tool. Image: Dilok/Adobe Stock The Microsoft SQL Server ...