SQL Server

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What Is SQL Server?: Understanding SQL Server and its Different Editions

SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBM) developed by Microsoft that competes with Oracle, IBM DB2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and other RDBMs. In this article, I’ll explain in detail what SQL Server is and go through its release history over the past three decades. I’ll also detail what are the different SQL Server versions...

Last Update: Mar 12, 2024

About SQL Server

SQL Server, developed by Microsoft, stands as one of the industry's leading relational database management systems (RDBMS). Introduced in the late 1980s in partnership with Sybase, SQL Server has undergone significant transformations to become an integral solution for various businesses worldwide. With a primary function to store, retrieve, and manage large volumes of data, SQL Server integrates seamlessly with numerous applications, making it a prime choice for different enterprise requirements. Its features encompass advanced analytics, business intelligence, data warehousing, and robust transaction processing, ensuring data integrity and security.

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Datacenter networking servers

SQL Server Essentials: What Is a Relational Database?

SQL Server is a relational database. But what is a relational database exactly? Mike Otey, our resident SQL Server expert, explains in this article. What is a relational database? A relational database is a type of data storage mechanism that organizes data into tables where each table consists of rows and columns. It is typically…

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Cloud Computing

String Data Types in SQL Server: VARCHAR vs. CHAR

Last Update: Mar 11, 2024

Your database is made of data; data is defined by data types. Data types are so fundamental yet they’re often overlooked. In this article, Jennifer McCown answers a few of the most common questions on VARCHAR, CHAR and choosing string data types for your database.

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Datacenter networking servers

SQL Server Essentials: Create a SQL Database

Last Update: Dec 20, 2023

Databases are the primary containers for your SQL Server relational database objects. Some of the main relational database objects that are contained in SQL Server databases include: tables, schema, indexes, views, logins, security and roles. You can create a SQL database plus there are a number of built-in SQL system databases including the master, model, msdb and tempdb databases. Technically, SQL Server supports a…

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Azure Cloud Hero

Getting Started with Microsoft SQL Server

Last Update: Nov 08, 2023

Michael Simmons serves up five simple steps for getting started with SQL Server as an IT administrator in his new article series.

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Datacenter networking servers

SQL Server – How to Add a Table Using SQL CREATE TABLE

Once you have created a user database, you can begin to create tables using the SQL CREATE TABLE statement. Databases typically have many different tables. If you haven’t yet created your first database in SQL Server, check out this article on Petri about how to create a SQL database using the SQL CREATE DATABASE statement. Tables are structures…

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Security

SQL Server Essentials: Modifying Table Data With SQL Insert, SQL Update, SQL Delete and Truncate

Last Update: Nov 02, 2023

Tables are one of the core components of every relational database system and SQL Server is no different. Tables store the data that the relational database engine uses for queries, reports, and other operations. In this article, I’ll show you how to modify data from a SQL Server table using T-SQL INSERT, T-SQL UPDATE, T-SQL…

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Network Security

New Features in SQL Server 2022

Last Update: Nov 02, 2023

SQL Server is Microsoft’s premier enterprise database platform. But in today’s world of rapid-fire releases and continuous updates, the new SQL Server 2022 release seems like it has been a long time in coming. But it includes some great new features. SQL Server 2019 was the last major release of SQL Server. With every release,…

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Datacenter networking servers

Master SQL Server: SQL Server Management Studio Tutorial

Last Update: Oct 17, 2023

In this SQL Server Management Studio tutorial (SSMS), I will show you the primary database management and development capabilities provided by the tool. Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is the primary management and development tool for SQL Server and has been since its release back with SQL Server 2000. SSMS provides a graphical interface…

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DevOps code

SQL Server Essentials: SQL Server Sample Databases

Last Update: Oct 04, 2023

SQL Server sample databases can be very useful for learning new techniques or trying out various samples of code. In this article, I’ll detail what you can do with the main SQL Server sample databases including Northwind, AdventureWorks, and WideWorldImporters. I’ll also show you how to find these SQL Server sample databases and install them….

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