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Creating Backups on SQL Server for Disaster Recovery

Backups are one key to a successful disaster recovery plan. Every database engine has its own backup commands and procedures, and Microsoft SQL Server is no exception. SQL Server has capabilities for full and differential backups as well as a backup process for transaction logs. These procedures can be used in combination to ensure limited downtime should your database suffer from an outage or critical, unrecoverable crash.

Full Backups vs. Differential Backups

Before creating a backup, it's important to know the different types. There are three types: full, differential, and incremental. SQL Server supports full and differential backups, but some administrators incorrectly call differential backups "incremental." There is a distinct difference between the two, however, and it affects the way databases see backup data.

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The 5 Pitfalls of Legacy Database Environments

Find out the 5 pitfalls of legacy DB environments.

Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, SAP HANA, PostgreSQL, MySQL. For many organizations, these databases, among others, are essential components of their success, but their potential is stunted. That’s because too many of these databases are still running on legacy IT infrastructure.

Riddled with silos and complexity in every corner, legacy IT is neither efficient nor scalable enough to continue running these databases. Beyond the poor performance and inefficiency of running relational databases on legacy infrastructure, your IT team is likely struggling with one, two, or all of the following pitfalls.

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7 Reasons Why Using SELECT * FROM TABLE in SQL Query Is a Bad Idea

I have read many articles on the internet where people suggest that using SELECT * in SQL query is a bad practice and you should always avoid that. Instead, you should always use an explicit list of columns. That's a good suggestion and one of the SQL best practices I teach to junior developers, but many of them don't explain the reason behind it. 

Unless you explain some reasons why one should not use SELECT * in queries, it's difficult to convince many SQL developers, many of whom have started learning SQL by doing SELECT * from EMP in the Oracle database.