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  • SQL Server Builds: Complete Version List and Support Lifecycle

    🔖 Living reference Every build number, KB and support date on this page comes from Microsoft’s official build and lifecycle pages, and the page is regenerated after each patch release. ✓ Data checked: 21 October 2026 Filed under Server & Configuration This is the reference I keep open for every SQL Server environment I touch.…

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  • How to Check if Query Store Is Enabled in SQL Server

    Query Store is one of the most useful features for troubleshooting query performance in SQL Server, but it is not always enabled or usable in the way people expect. In practice, Query Store might be: This post walks through how to check whether Query Store is enabled, how to see its current state, and how…

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  • Hidden Log Performance Problem: High VLF Counts

    VLF count is one of those checks that doesn’t show up in most performance reviews, doesn’t raise an alert, and doesn’t slow down any single query you can point to. What it does is make the work that reads the transaction log take longer than it should: database startup, crash recovery, restores, and redo on…

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  • Forcing Encrypted Connections in SQL Server Using Certificates

    You want every TCP connection to SQL Server encrypted, every time, with no client able to opt out. That is Force Encryption, and it is a server-wide change that stands or falls on the certificate SQL Server loads and whether clients trust it. Done properly it is stable; done casually it breaks every client at…

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  • Difference Between DELETE and TRUNCATE in SQL Server

    When someone asks: “What’s the difference between DELETE and TRUNCATE?” Most answers stop at: That is technically correct. It is also not enough. In production environments, choosing between DELETE and TRUNCATE is not about syntax. It is about: This post focuses on the production impact, not the textbook answer. Quick Technical Comparison Feature DELETE TRUNCATE…

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  • Backing Up a SQL Server Database with Encryption

    Encrypted backups are no longer optional in most environments. If backups leave the server, land on shared storage, or are retained long-term, unencrypted backups are a data leak waiting to happen. SQL Server has supported native backup encryption since SQL Server 2012, but the mechanics still catch DBAs out. usually during a restore, not a…

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  • Troubleshooting Database Mirroring Issues in SQL Server

    Database Mirroring is deprecated, but you will still see it in many production environments. It was officially marked deprecated in SQL Server 2012 and has remained in that state for well over a decade. In my own career as a DBA, it has been “deprecated” the entire time, yet still widely deployed and fully supported.…

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  • Get Current Date & Time in SQL Server

    There is no NOW() in SQL Server. Bring the habit over from MySQL or PostgreSQL and you get this: Msg 195  ·  Level 15  ·  State 10 ‘NOW’ is not a recognized built-in function name. TODAY() fails the same way (SQL Server 2025 adds CURRENT_DATE). These are the equivalents that work on every version, for…

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  • Creating SQL Logins on an Availability Group (AG) Environment

    In an Availability Group, the databases fail over. Your SQL logins do not. For Windows domain logins, the SID is owned by AD, so you just create the login on each replica and it syncs up. For SQL logins, the SID is generated inside SQL Server. If the SID differs between replicas, the database user…

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  • Grant VIEW SERVER STATE in SQL Server

    🚨Part of the SQL Server Errors series, the exact messages and what actually causes them.Related pillar: Security Msg 300  ·  Level 14  ·  State 1SQL Server 2022 and later VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE permission was denied on object ‘server’, database ‘master’. Msg 297, Level 16, State 1 The user does not have permission to perform…

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