Unveil the data platform of the future with SQL Server 2025—guided by one of its key architects . With built-in AI for application development and advanced analytics powered by Microsoft Fabric, SQL Server 2025 empowers you to innovate—securely and confidently. This book shows you how. Author Bob Ward, Principal Architect for the Microsoft Azure Data team, shares exclusive insights drawn from over three decades at Microsoft. Having worked on every version of SQL Server since OS/2 1.1, Ward brings unmatched expertise and practical guidance to help you navigate this transformative release. Ward covers everything from setup and upgrades to advanced features in performance, high availability, and security. He also highlights what makes this the most developer-friendly release in a decade: support for JSON, RegEx, REST APIs, and event streaming. Most critically, Ward explores SQL Server 2025’s advanced, scalable AI integrations, showing you how to build AI-powered applications deeply integrated with the SQL engine—and elevate your analytics to the next level. But innovation doesn’t come at the cost of safety: this release is built on a foundation of enterprise-grade security, helping you adopt AI safely and responsibly. You control which models to use, how they interact with your data, and where they run—from ground to cloud, or integrated with Microsoft Fabric. With built-in features like Row-Level Security (RLS), Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), Dynamic Data Masking, and SQL Server Auditing, your data remains protected at every layer. The AI age is here. Make sure your SQL Server databases are ready—and built for secure, scalable innovation . What You Will Learn [if !supportLists] · [endif]Grasp the fundamentals of AI to leverage AI with your data, using the industry-proven security and scale of SQL Server [if !supportLists] · [endif]Utilize AI models of your choice, services, and frameworks to build new AI applications [if !supportLists] · [endif]Explore new developer features such as JSON, Regular Expressions, REST API, and Change Event Streaming [if !supportLists] · [endif]Discover SQL Server 2025's powerful new engine capabilities to increase application concurrency [if !supportLists] · [endif]Examine new high availability features to enhance uptime and diagnose complex HADR configurations [if !supportLists] · Use new query processing capabilities to extend the performance of your application [if !supportLists] · [endif]Connect SQL Server to Azure with Arc for advanced management and security capabilities [if !supportLists] · [endif]Secure and govern your data using Microsoft Entra [if !supportLists] · [endif]Achieve near-real-time analytics with the unified data platform Microsoft Fabric [if !supportLists] · [endif]Integrate AI capabilities with SQL Server for enterprise AI [if !supportLists] · [endif]Leverage new tools such as SQL Server Management Studio and Copilot experiences to assist your SQL Server journey Who This Book Is For The SQL Server community, including DBAs, architects, and developers eager to stay ahead with the latest advancements in SQL Server 2025, and those interested in the intersection of AI and data, particularly how artificial intelligence (AI) can be seamlessly integrated with SQL Server to unlock deeper insights and smarter solutions

Ace the DP-300 Exam with this essential study companion, chock-full of insights and tips you cannot find online. This book will help you build a comprehensive understanding of Azure SQL systems and their role in supporting business solutions, and it will equip you with the mental models and technical knowledge needed to confidently answer exam questions. Structured to align with Microsoft’s published study guide, the book spans five major sections that correspond to the skills measured by the exam, covering topics vital to modern cloud operations and including HA/DR, security, compliance, performance, and scalability. [if !supportAnnotations]You’ll also learn about the ways cloud operations have changed the focus of operating database systems from task execution to platform configuration—and how to configure your data platforms to meet this new reality. [if !supportAnnotations] By the end of this book, you’ll be prepared to navigate exam scenarios with finesse, pass the exam with confidence, and advance in your career with a solid foundation of knowledge. What You Will Learn Maximize your ability to benefit from the online learning tools for Exam DP-300 Gain depth and context for Azure SQL technical solutions relevant to Exam DP-300 Boost your confidence in Azure SQL Database skills Extend your on-premises SQL Server skill set into the Azure SQL cloud Enhance your overall understanding of Azure SQL administration and operations Develop your Azure SQL skill set to increase your value as an employee or contractor Adopt a new mindset for cloud-based solutions versus on-premises solutions Who This Book Is For Anyone planning to take the DP-300: Administering Microsoft Azure SQL Solutions exam, and those who wish to understand Azure SQL and how to successfully migrate and manage SQL solutions using all Azure SQL Technologies

Prepare for Microsoft Exam DP-300 and demonstrate your real-world foundational knowledge of Azure database administration using a variety of methods and tools to perform and automate day-to-day operations, including use of Transact-SQL (T-SQL) and other tools for administrative management purposes. Designed for database administrators, solution architects, data scientists, and other data professionals, this Exam Ref focuses on the critical-thinking and decision-making acumen needed for success at the Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate level. Focus on the expertise measured by these objectives: Plan and implement data platform resources Implement a secure environment Monitor, configure, and optimize database resources Configure and manage automation of tasks Plan and configure a high availability and disaster recovery (HA/DR) environment This Microsoft Exam Ref: Organizes its coverage by the Skills Measured list published for the exam Features strategic, what-if scenarios to challenge you Assumes you have subject matter expertise in building database solutions that are designed to support multiple workloads built with SQL Server on-premises and Azure SQL About the Exam Exam PD-300 focuses on core knowledge for implementing and managing the operational aspects of cloud-native and hybrid data platform solutions built on SQL Server and Azure SQL services, using a variety of methods and tools to perform and automate day-to-day operations, including applying knowledge of using Transact-SQL (T-SQL) and other tools for administrative management purposes. About Microsoft Certification Passing this exam fulfills your requirements for the Microsoft Certified: Azure Database Administrator Associate certification, demonstrating your ability to administer a SQL Server database infrastructure for cloud, on-premises, and hybrid relational databases using the Microsoft PaaS relational database offerings. See full details at: microsoft.com/learn .

Conquer SQL Server 2022 and Azure SQL administration from the inside out! Dive into SQL Server 2022 administration and grow your Microsoft SQL Server data platform skillset. This well-organized reference packs in timesaving solutions, tips, and workarounds, all you need to plan, implement, deploy, provision, manage, and secure SQL Server 2022 in any environment: on-premises, cloud, or hybrid, including detailed, dedicated chapters on Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance. Nine experts thoroughly tour DBA capabilities available in the SQL Server 2022 Database Engine, SQL Server Data Tools, SQL Server Management Studio, PowerShell, and much more. Youll find extensive new coverage of Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance, both as a cloud platform of SQL Server and in their new integrations with SQL Server 2022, information available in no other book. Discover how experts tackle todays essential tasks and challenge yourself to new levels of mastery. Identify low-hanging fruit and practical, easy wins for improving SQL Server administration Get started with modern SQL Server tools, including SQL Server Management Studio, and Azure Data Studio Upgrade your SQL Server administration skillset to new features of SQL Server 2022, Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance, and SQL Server on Linux Design and implement modern on-premises database infrastructure, including Kubernetes Leverage data virtualization of third-party or non-relational data sources Monitor SQL instances for corruption, index activity, fragmentation, and extended events Automate maintenance plans, database mail, jobs, alerts, proxies, and event forwarding Protect data through encryption, privacy, and auditing Provision, manage, scale and secure, and bidirectionally synchronize Microsofts powerful Azure SQL Managed Instance Understand and enable new Intelligent Query Processing features to increase query concurrency Prepare a best-practice runbook for disaster recovery Use SQL Server 2022 features to span infrastructure across hybrid environments ...

Use this practical guide to analyze and troubleshoot SQL Server performance using wait statistics. You'll learn to identify precisely why your queries are running slowly. And you'll know how to measure the amount of time consumed by each bottleneck so you can focus attention on making the largest improvements first. This edition is updated to cover analysis of wait statistics current with SQL Server 2022. Whether you are new to wait statistics, or already familiar with them, this book provides a deeper understanding on how wait statistics are generated and what they mean for your SQL Server instance’s performance. The book goes beyond the most common wait types into the more complex and performance-threatening wait types. You’ll learn about per-query wait statistics and session-based wait statistics, and the types of problems they can help you solve. The different wait types are categorized by their area of impact, including CPU, IO, Latching, Locking, and many more. Clear examples are included to help you gain practical knowledge of why and how specific wait times increase or decrease, how they impact your SQL Server’s performance, and what you can do to improve performance. After reading this book, you won’t want to be without the valuable information that wait statistics provide regarding where you should be spending your limited tuning time to maximize performance and value to your business. What You'll Learn Understand how the SQL Server engine processes requests Identify resource bottlenecks in a running SQL Server instance Locate wait statistics information inside DMVs and Query Store Analyze the root cause of sub-optimal performance Diagnose I/O contention and locking contention Benchmark SQL Server performance Improve database performance by lowering overall wait time Who This Book Is For Database administrators who want to identify and resolve performance bottlenecks, those who want to learn more about how the SQL Server engine accesses and uses resources inside SQL Server, and administrators concerned with achieving—and knowing they have achieved—optimal performance

This practical book provides a comprehensive overview of troubleshooting and performance tuning best practices for Microsoft SQL Server. Database engineers, including database developers and administrators, will learn how to identify performance issues, troubleshoot the system in a holistic fashion, and properly prioritize tuning efforts to attain the best system performance possible. Author Dmitri Korotkevitch, Microsoft Data Platform MVP and Microsoft Certified Master (MCM), explains the interdependencies between SQL Server database components. You'll learn how to quickly diagnose your system and discover the root cause of any issue. Techniques in this book are compatible with all versions of SQL Server and cover both on-premises and cloud-based SQL Server installations. Discover how performance issues present themselves in SQL Server Learn about SQL Server diagnostic tools, methods, and technologies Perform health checks on SQL Server installations Learn the dependencies between SQL Server components Tune SQL Server to improve performance and reduce bottlenecks Detect poorly optimized queries and inefficiencies in query execution plans Find inefficient indexes and common database design issues Use these techniques with Microsoft Azure SQL databases, Azure SQL Managed Instances, and Amazon RDS for SQL Server

Get a performance-oriented introduction to the T-SQL language underlying the Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL database engines. This fourth edition is updated to include SQL Notebooks as well as up-to-date syntax and features for T-SQL on-premises and in the Azure cloud. Exercises and examples now include the WideWorldImporters database, the newest sample database from Microsoft for SQL Server. Also new in this edition is coverage of JSON from T-SQL, news about performance enhancements called Intelligent Query Processing, and an appendix on running SQL Server in a container on macOS or Linux. Beginning T-SQL starts you on the path to mastering T-SQL with an emphasis on best practices. Using the sound coding techniques taught in this book will lead to excellent performance in the queries that you write in your daily work. Important techniques such as windowing functions are covered to help you write fast-executing queries that solve real business problems.The book begins with an introduction to databases, normalization, and to setting up your learning environment. You will learn about the tools you need to use such as SQL Server Management Studio, Azure Data Studio, and SQL Notebooks. Each subsequent chapter teaches an aspect of T-SQL, building on the skills learned in previous chapters. Exercises in most chapters provide an opportunity for the hands-on practice that leads to true learning and distinguishes the competent professional. A stand-out feature in this book is that most chapters end with a Thinking About Performance section. These sections cover aspects of query performance relative to the content just presented, including the new Intelligent Query Processing features that make queries faster without changing code. They will help you avoid beginner mistakes by knowing about and thinking about performance from day 1. What You Will Learn Install a sandboxed SQL Server instance for learning Understand how relational databases are designed Create objects such as tables and stored procedures Query a SQL Server table Filter and order the results of a query Query and work with specialized data types such as XML and JSON Apply modern features such as window functions Choose correct techniques so that your queries perform well Who This Book Is For Anyone who wants to learn T-SQL from the beginning or improve their T-SQL skills; those who need T-SQL as an additional skill; and those who write queries such as application developers, database administrators, business intelligence developers, and data scientists. The book is also helpful for anyone who must retrieve data from a SQL Server database.

Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2019 is the must-have guide for database professionals eager to leverage the latest advancements in SQL Server 2019. This book covers the features and capabilities that make SQL Server 2019 a powerful tool for managing and analyzing data both on-premises and in the cloud. What this Book will help me do Understand the new features introduced in SQL Server 2019 and their practical applications. Confidently manage and analyze relational, NoSQL, and big data within SQL Server 2019. Implement containerization for SQL Server using Docker and Kubernetes. Migrate and integrate your databases effectively to use Power BI Report Server. Query data from Hadoop Distributed File System with Azure Data Studio. Author(s) The authors of 'Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2019' are subject matter experts including Kellyn Gorman, Allan Hirt, and others. With years of professional experience in database management and SQL Server, they bring a wealth of practical insight and knowledge to the book. Their experience spans roles as administrators, architects, and educators in the field. Who is it for? This book is aimed at database professionals such as DBAs, architects, and big data engineers who are currently using earlier versions of SQL Server or other database platforms. It is particularly well-suited for professionals aiming to understand and implement SQL Server 2019's new features. Readers should have basic familiarity with SQL Server and RDBMS concepts. If you're looking to explore SQL Server 2019 to improve data management and analytics in your organization, this book is for you.

Master SQL Server’s Concurrency Model so you can implement high-throughput systems that deliver transactional consistency to your application customers. This book explains how to troubleshoot and address blocking problems and deadlocks, and write code and design database schemas to minimize concurrency issues in the systems you develop. SQL Server’s Concurrency Model is one of the least understood parts of the SQL Server Database Engine. Almost every SQL Server system experiences hard-to-explain concurrency and blocking issues, and it can be extremely confusing to solve those issues without a base of knowledge in the internals of the Engine. While confusing from the outside, the SQL Server Concurrency Model is based on several well-defined principles that are covered in this book. Understanding the internals surrounding SQL Server’s Concurrency Model helps you build high-throughput systems in multi-user environments. This book guides you through the Concurrency Model and elaborates how SQL Server supports transactional consistency in the databases. The book covers all versions of SQL Server, including Microsoft Azure SQL Database, and it includes coverage of new technologies such as In-Memory OLTP and Columnstore Indexes. What You'll Learn Know how transaction isolation levels affect locking behavior and concurrency Troubleshoot and address blocking issues and deadlocks Provide required data consistency while minimizing concurrency issues Design efficient transaction strategies that lead to scalable code Reduce concurrency problems through good schema design Understand concurrency models for In-Memory OLTP and Columnstore Indexes Reduce blocking during index maintenance, batch data load, and similar tasks Who This Book Is For SQL Server developers, database administrators, and application architects who are developing highly-concurrent applications. The book is for anyone interested in the technical aspects of creating and troubleshooting high-throughput systems that respond swiftly to user requests.

Improve your ability to develop, manage, and troubleshoot SQL Server solutions by learning how different components work "under the hood," and how they communicate with each other. The detailed knowledge helps in implementing and maintaining high-throughput databases critical to your business and its customers. You'll learn how to identify the root cause of each problem and understand how different design and implementation decisions affect performance of your systems. New in this second edition is coverage of SQL Server 2016 Internals, including In-Memory OLTP, columnstore enhancements, Operational Analytics support, Query Store, JSON, temporal tables, stretch databases, security features, and other improvements in the new SQL Server version. The knowledge also can be applied to Microsoft Azure SQL Databases that share the same code with SQL Server 2016. Pro SQL Server Internals is a book for developers and database administrators, and it covers multiple SQL Server versions starting with SQL Server 2005 and going all the way up to the recently released SQL Server 2016. The book provides a solid road map for understanding the depth and power of the SQL Server database server and teaches how to get the most from the platform and keep your databases running at the level needed to support your business. The book: Provides detailed knowledge of new SQL Server 2016 features and enhancements Includes revamped coverage of columnstore indexes and In-Memory OLTP Covers indexing and transaction strategies Shows how various database objects and technologies are implemented internally, and when they should or should not be used Demonstrates how SQL Server executes queries and works with data and transaction log What You Will Learn Design and develop database solutions with SQL Server. Troubleshoot design, concurrency, and performance issues. Choose the right database objects and technologies for the job. Reduce costs and improve availability and manageability. Design disaster recovery and high-availability strategies. Improve performance of OLTP and data warehouse systems through in-memory OLTP and Columnstore indexes. Who This Book Is For Developers and database administrators who want to design, develop, and maintain systems in a way that gets the most from SQL Server. This book is an excellent choice for people who prefer to understand and fix the root cause of a problem rather than applying a 'band aid' to it.

This book brings SQL Server administration into the modern era with strong coverage of hybrid cloud environments, In-Memory OLTP, and installation on Server Core. This comprehensive guide to SQL Server Administration for today’s DBA helps you to administer the new and key areas of SQL Server, including Columnstore indexes and the In-Memory OLTP feature set introduced in 2014. You will also be guided through the administration of traditional areas of SQL Server, including how to secure your instance, monitor and maintain your instance, and to use features such as AlwaysOn to make your instance highly available. Also covered is the use of SQL Server features to scale out read-only workloads. Pro SQL Server Administration is an all-new book taking up-to-date and modern approach that you'll want and need to further your career as a SQL Server database administrator. In this book, you'll find: • Extensive coverage of hybrid cloud environments involving Azure SQL Database • Detailed discussions on all new, key features, including AlwaysOn and in-memory support • Comprehensive coverage of key skills, such as monitoring, maintenance and indexing

The industry’s most complete, useful, and up-to-date guide to SQL Server 2014. You’ll find start-to-finish coverage of SQL Server’s core database server and management capabilities: all the real-world information, tips, guidelines, and examples you’ll need to install, monitor, maintain, and optimize the most complex database environments. The provided examples and sample code provide plenty of hands-on opportunities to learn more about SQL Server and create your own viable solutions. Four leading SQL Server experts present deep practical insights for administering SQL Server, analyzing and optimizing queries, implementing data warehouses, ensuring high availability, tuning performance, and much more. You will benefit from their behind-the-scenes look into SQL Server, showing what goes on behind the various wizards and GUI-based tools. You’ll learn how to use the underlying SQL commands to fully unlock the power and capabilities of SQL Server. Writing for all intermediate-to-advanced-level SQL Server professionals, the authors draw on immense production experience with SQL Server. Throughout, they focus on successfully applying SQL Server 2014’s most powerful capabilities and its newest tools and features. Detailed information on how to… Understand SQL Server 2014’s new features and each edition’s capabilities and licensing Install, upgrade to, and configure SQL Server 2014 for better performance and easier management Streamline and automate key administration tasks with Smart Admin Leverage powerful new backup/restore options: flexible backup to URL, Managed Backup to Windows Azure, and encrypted backups Strengthen security with new features for enforcing “least privilege” Improve performance with updateable columnstore indexes, Delayed Durability, and other enhancements Execute queries and business logic more efficiently with memoryoptimized tables, buffer pool extension, and natively-compiled stored procedures Control workloads and Disk I/O with the Resource Governor Deploy AlwaysOn Availability Groups and Failover Cluster Instances to achieve enterprise-class availability and disaster recovery Apply new Business Intelligence improvements in Master Data Services, data quality, and Parallel Data Warehouse

" " Beginning T-SQLis a performance-oriented introduction to the T-SQL language underlying the Microsoft SQL Server database engine. T-SQL is essential in writing SQL statements to get data into and out of a database. T-SQL is the foundation for business logic embedded in the database in the form of stored procedures and functions. Beginning T-SQLstarts you on the path to mastering T-SQL,with an emphasis on best-practices and sound coding techniques leading to excellent performance. This new edition is updated to cover the essential features of T-SQL found in SQL Server 2014, 2012, and 2008.Beginning T-SQL begins with an introduction to databases, normalization, and to SQL Server Management Studio. Attention is given to Azure SQL Database and how to connect to remote databases in the cloud. Each subsequent chapter teaches an aspect of T-SQL, building on the skills learned in previous chapters. Exercises in most chapters provide an opportunity for the hands-on practice that leads to true learning and distinguishes the competent professional. Important techniques such as windowing functions are covered to help write fast executing queries that solve real business problems.A stand-out feature in this book is that most chapters end with a ""Thinking About Performance"" section. These sections cover aspects of query performance relative to the content just presented. They'll help you avoid beginner mistakes by knowing about and thinking about performance from Day 1.

Harness the powerful new SQL Server 2012 Microsoft SQL Server 2012 is the most significant update to this product since 2005, and it may change how database administrators and developers perform many aspects of their jobs. If you're a database administrator or developer, Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Bible teaches you everything you need to take full advantage of this major release. This detailed guide not only covers all the new features of SQL Server 2012, it also shows you step by step how to develop top-notch SQL Server databases and new data connections and keep your databases performing at peak. The book is crammed with specific examples, sample code, and a host of tips, workarounds, and best practices. In addition, downloadable code is available from the book's companion web site, which you can use to jumpstart your own projects. Serves as an authoritative guide to Microsoft's SQL Server 2012 for database administrators and developers Covers all the software's new features and capabilities, including SQL Azure for cloud computing, enhancements to client connectivity, and new functionality that ensures high-availability of mission-critical applications Explains major new changes to the SQL Server Business Intelligence tools, such as Integration, Reporting, and Analysis Services Demonstrates tasks both graphically and in SQL code to enhance your learning Provides source code from the companion web site, which you can use as a basis for your own projects Explores tips, smart workarounds, and best practices to help you on the job Get thoroughly up to speed on SQL Server 2012 with Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Bible.