Encrypting SQL Server: Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
With the release of SQL Server 2008, Microsoft expanded the database engine’s security capabilities by adding Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), a built-in feature for encrypting data at rest. TDE protects the physical media that hold the data associated with a user database, including the data and log files and any backups or snapshots. Encrypting data … Read more
When a Single ASP.NET Client makes Concurrent Requests for Writeable Session Variables
The design of ASP.NET includes the valuable session variables that enable the application to keep track of individual sessions. Unfortunately the ASP.NET pipeline will not process requests belonging to the same session concurrently but queues them, and executes them serially. MVC locks session variables to ensure thread safety and concurrency control, but takes a conservative approach to polling for these locks. Do you always need this level of thread safety? If not, what can you do to improve performance when you need to use writeable session variables?… Read more
Printing from ASP.NET MVC
Even though we're less inclined to print web-pages nowadays, it often makes sense to save useful content from a website as a PDF file to read offline. Modern browsers give us everything we need to do that, and there is much that the website designer can do to improve the results. However, there are times that something more demanding is required, such as a properly-formatted invoice or chart, and then the web application needs a way of creating PDFs directly. … Read more
Introducing DevOps to Farm Credit Services of America
Identifying a need for better collaboration between teams is only the first step to introducing DevOps workflows into your organization. You also need to define a common DevOps goal, a strategy to achieve it, and then to break down this strategy into series of manageable tasks for each team. Bob Walker describes how Farm Services of America started to "do DevOps".… Read more
Bridging the DevOps Divide
What’s the main obstacle to implementing a DevOps approach in your organization? In a recent “State of DevOps” survey conducted by Redgate, the second most popular answer to this question, after “lack of skills”, was “lack of alignment between development and operations teams“. Hmm, so you can’t do DevOps until you have a DevOps culture. … Read more
Code Smells: Raw Strings and the Subtle Syntax Catastrophe
All sorts of complex data can be represented as a string but that doesn't mean you can treat them merely as strings. There are so many things that can go wrong if you assume that generic string operations such as concatenation can serve to create complex markup, expressions, codes and serialised objects. It pays instead to create dedicated builders for any such complex data that you may need to create. Michael Sorens explains some defensive coding to make for a more robust application.… Read more
Exploring Azure Storage for SQL Server DBAs
If you need to run SQL Server in an Azure Virtual Machine, your choice of Azure storage will have a great effect on its performance. If performance is important, you are likely to discover complications and barriers in the storage options when you come to provision the server. If you get it wrong, you could end up with an expensive service. Joshua explains the value of using a lab environment to allow you to make well-informed VM storage decisions when the time comes to provision your production system. … Read more
Securing Web Applications
If you are developing a web application, almost every design decision you make can introduce a security flaw if you get it wrong. Although attacks are becoming more common, and more widely reported, the same common errors continue to provide the most opportunities for hackers. OWASP provides a 'top ten' security problems. Vishwas here describes them and explains how to avoid them… Read more
Query Store and In-Memory OLTP
Once you have Query Store enabled on your databases, runtime statistics are generated for your queries; but what about the natively-compiled stored procedures and memory optimised tables that come with In-Memory OLTP? Do you get the full range of runtime statistics? This is an intriguing question that Enrico explores and answers.… Read more
Trouble with TLAs? Our Agony Aunt Advises
Dear Marjorie, I try my best to keep up with the latest technology. I even read “IT Trends Monthly” religiously, but still become embarrassed in meetings whenever the developers namedrop some hot new technology that has passed me by, or toss out another dizzying TLA. I try to stay quiet and just nod my head … Read more
DevOps and “Shift Left” for Databases
The easiest way of explaining how a DevOps approach to database deployment can dramatically speed up the process is to use the term ‘shift-left’. By performing, or at least preparing for, all the processes and tasks that are necessary for deployment as soon as possible in the development cycle, it is possible to move from big, infrequent releases to “little and often”. Stephanie Herr explains how ‘shifting left’ can get deployment pipelines moving.… Read more
Pragmatic Web Error Handling in ASP.NET MVC
There is a pragmatic approach to error handling in ASP.NET MVC. This is the idea of recovering gracefully from those unhandled exception errors where remedial action cannot be taken under the current context, by passing control to a specified URL that is designed to deal with a particular category of application-specific error. Dino Esposito elaborates on a pattern that prevents unhandled exceptions from bubbling up well beyond the intended sco… Read moreManaging Hyper-V VMs using PowerShell Direct
Virtual machines are easier to manage via PowerShell than with the the Hyper-V Manager console. PowerShell Direct takes this further by allowing you to interact easily with the virtual machines on the Hyper-V host without needing network access. With Windows Nano Server, PowerShell Direct is an essential because this OS requires you to use remote management via PowerShell scripts. … Read more
Encrypting SQL Server: Using an Encryption Hierarchy to Protect Column Data
SQL Server Encryption is an essential part of what is required for protecting data. Column-level encryption can be a very effective way of doing this. In the first in a series of articles on the theme of SQL Server Encryption, Robert Sheldon once more makes it all seem easy.… Read moreUsing SQL SERVER and Cloud Hosted Databases with OBIEE 11g
If your organisation is committed to using Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) 10g/11g /12c as their BI solution, you aren't thereby committed to using Oracle throughout your organisation. You can use a range of data sources including SQL Server, and save a great deal of money by doing so. Sadly, Oracle will only support the use of the venerable SQL Server 2008 R2. Zafar Ali demonstrates how to connect OBIEE to the world beyond Orac… Read more
Questions About the Use of PowerShell That you were Too Shy to Ask
Let's forget the actual PowerShell code for a moment: Why is PowerShell important? Why should I use it? Where did it come from? Why did it take so long to arrive? These and many other basic questions are answered in William Brewer's latest addition to the series that answers those seemingly simple questions that you were too shy to ask in public.… Read more
Lists With, or Without, Ranges in both T-SQL and PowerShell
Whether you are working in a procedural language like PowerShell or in T-SQL, there is something slightly bothersome about having to deal with parameters that are lists, or worse with ranges amongst the values. In fact, once you have a way of dealing with them, they can be convenient, especially when bridging the gulf between application and the database. Phil Factor shows how to deal with them.… Read more
LINQ Debugging and Visualization
LINQ is certainly extraordinarily useful. It brings the power of query expressions to C#, allowing an easy way of getting the data you need from a variety of data sources. Up to now, there hasn't been a VS debugger for LINQ that gives you the means to visualise the data at every point in the chain. Michael Sorens, a keen LINQ user, describes a third-party tool that now promises to make using LINQ something we can all participate in.… Read moreHow to Build Your First SQL Server Virtual Lab in Windows Azure
If you are a DBA who hasn't so far dived in head-first into using Azure, it is worth setting up an Azure 'Virtual Lab' environment the easy way, using a template. This will then allow you to experiment, try things out with SQL Azure, and get familiar with Resource Groups. Joshua shows how to build a virtual lab, from the ground up in the first of a series that aims to give you a grounding in Azure.… Read moreJoin Simple Talk
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