Michael Otey

The T-SQL ALTER TABLE statement is used to modify the structure of a table. Using the T-SQL ALTER TABLE statement you can add new columns, delete columns, change the data type of existing columns, or create indexes or constraints. ALTER TABLE can also reassign and rebuild partitions and/or disable and enable constraints and data compression….

Microsoft 365 is one of today’s most widely used SaaS (Software-as -a-Service) applications. However, Microsoft 365 backup is a topic that often misunderstood. Many businesses mistakenly believe that because Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based product that there’s no need for any type of backups. They mistakenly think that Microsoft will handle all of that and…

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a set of on-premises tools and services that enable you to create, deploy, and manage printed, web, email and mobile reports from SQL Server databases. Let’s look at its evolution and capabilities in more detail. When SQL Server was first released it was a simple relational database but as…

In this article we’ll cover the essential SQL Server data types and discuss their common usage. Data is at the core of all relational database systems and SQL Server supports many different types of data and each data type represents a specific category of data. Each of the different data types have different uses and…

In this article you’ll learn how to install SQL Server Reporting Services 2022 (SSRS) and configure it. It’s important to realize that you must have a previously installed instance of SQL Server running in order to install and use SSRS. Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services, along with SQL…

Protecting your organization’s strategic resources from data loss due to user error, system failure, malware or natural disasters is critically important. Today’s businesses have two main backup method options to consider when they are choosing a backup strategy: cloud backup vs local backup. In this article, I will explain the differences between cloud and local…

In this article, Michael Otey shows you how to use SQL Server Report Builder. SQL Server Report Builder and Reporting Services Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) enables you to create, deploy, and manage printed, web, email, and mobile reports using data from SQL Server databases and Analysis Services (SSAS) as well as other relational…

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…

In this article, we’ll examine some of the main challenges of today’s backup and disaster recovery procedures. Then, we’ll dive into the top five most important features to look for in an on-premises Veeam storage solution for your backups. Data protection is one of the most critical tasks for IT administrators, and there is no…

A Windows Server Active Directory (AD) forest is the topmost logical container in an AD configuration. In this article, Michael Otey explains the role forests play in an AD configuration and why it is necessary to consolidate Active Directory forests and domains to improve security and management. Every Active Directory deployment contains at least one forest, the parent container in…

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…

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…