Brent Ozar debunks the myth that NOLOCK is safe with index seeks, showing how it can still return incorrect data.
Why a successful SQL Server restore doesn't guarantee service recovery, and what to validate beyond database ONLINE status.
Learn why setting application names in SQL Server connection strings is crucial for monitoring and debugging, with practical examples and tips.
Discusses SQL Server workload placement, emphasizing workload analysis over platform labels for cloud vs on-premises decisions.
A retrospective on Microsoft SQL Server user requests from 10 years ago, checking which top-voted features were actually built.
![[Video] Office Hours in the Home Bar](https://crawljobs-blogs-media.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/alldevblogs/thumbs/article-c63d03f43319-full-0a35f5e5.webp)
Brent Ozar answers database and career questions from his home bar, covering SQL Server topics like MAXDOP, migration risks, AI tools, and more.
Learn to play multi-player Texas Hold'Em poker using T-SQL stored procedures in Azure SQL DB, with commands to join, bet, fold, and more.
A guide to SQL Server health checks, focusing on small operational gaps that can become costly issues over time.
Explains SQL Server row vs page compression with animations, covering how each works and when to use them.
A nostalgic review of the original SQL Server debugger hardware, its features, and why it was so beloved.
![[Video] Office Hours in Zhengzhou, China](https://crawljobs-blogs-media.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/alldevblogs/thumbs/article-e11585f81937-full-6e69cd24.webp)
Brent Ozar answers DBA questions on SQL Server, tempdb, AI, and career advice from Zhengzhou, China.
Testing AI with an Office Hours question: local models vs cloud for automated podcast answers, focusing on SQL Server DBCC CHECKDB performance.
Evaluates SQL Server 2025 native vector search for production, covering architecture, storage footprint, and testing needs.
Explains why higher MaxDOP in SQL Server increases TempDB spills due to memory grant division across parallel threads.
Brent Ozar explains when to use temp tables instead of CTEs in T-SQL, using a performance example with SQL Server 2025.
![[Video] Office Hours: Car in the House Edition](https://crawljobs-blogs-media.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/alldevblogs/thumbs/article-b6c22bc628b8-full-47d765bc.webp)
Brent Ozar answers SQL Server questions in a video office hours session, covering topics like plan cache bloat, in-memory OLTP, index tuning, and more.
Brent Ozar explains why wide columns in SQL Server tables may not increase logical reads, using database animations and sp_tableoption.
Explains how SQL Server Query Store helps investigate performance issues after they occur by analyzing historical query plans and runtime behavior.
Monthly job board for database professionals, August 2026 edition. Companies post data-related openings; readers can find roles and apply.
![[Video] Office Hours: Desert Database Q&A](https://crawljobs-blogs-media.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/alldevblogs/thumbs/article-0e79af01551b-full-097fc68a.webp)
Brent Ozar answers SQL Server questions on query plans, monitoring tools, AI, and more in a desert-themed Office Hours Q&A.
