SQL Server 2025: Simplifying Data Checks with RegEx

One of the new features in SQL Server 2025 is that you can now use regular expressions directly in your T-SQL queries. Now, regular expressions (or RegEx) have never been a syntax that's easy to read. There are a lot of brackets, dashes and other symbols that make no sense when you first see them. … Continue reading SQL Server 2025: Simplifying Data Checks with RegEx

SQL Server 2025: time-bound Extended Events explained

In a previous blog post, I discussed my initial impressions of SQL Server and the key features that are relevant to my work in Business Intelligence. This time, I want to focus on a specific and improved feature of SQL Server, namely extended events. What are they? To provide some context, let's begin by defining … Continue reading SQL Server 2025: time-bound Extended Events explained

Mastering Real-Time Analytics with Microsoft Fabric

When Microsoft Fabric was introduced in May 2023, one of its major promoted components was the Real-time Analytics part. We (that is, my coworkers and I from Axians) focused mainly on the batch processing of data. With the introduction of the DP-700 exam, I started to focus more on the real-time part of Microsoft Fabric. … Continue reading Mastering Real-Time Analytics with Microsoft Fabric

Azure Synapse Analytics performance, an analysis

Some time ago, a client came up with a very intriguing question. As I love a challenge, especially when you get to dig deep into a toolset, I jumped at the occasion and went for it. The following is a write up about the steps taken to analyse. Both for future me when I run … Continue reading Azure Synapse Analytics performance, an analysis

Microsoft Fabric Dataflow Gen2: In-depth Performance Evaluation and Capacity Insights

In my previous blogs, I've been hammering Fabric with data from some different angles. Either with the Copy dataflows, notebooks, Pipelines, Data Warehouse SQL scripts or in PowerBI.This time, I'm going to make the dataflow Gen2 work for it's money. As usual, I'm using the F2 capacity as it's the one that should break the … Continue reading Microsoft Fabric Dataflow Gen2: In-depth Performance Evaluation and Capacity Insights

Microsoft Fabric, comparing the F2 with the preview F64

If you've been having fun with Microsoft Fabric, chances are you've been playing around with the F64 capacity trial. This one is given to you by Microsoft for free but, since the GA data, the timer attached to it is counting down the days until you need to buy your own. Most blogs I've read … Continue reading Microsoft Fabric, comparing the F2 with the preview F64

SQL Server Common Table Expressions, a tale.

Or, how SQL Server behaved differently than I expected but managed to process quite a lot of rows before giving up. Let's begin We have a customer that would like to see the actual value of their stock in a table. They buy their stock at different times and at different prices. Calculating the stock … Continue reading SQL Server Common Table Expressions, a tale.

Microsoft Fabric, fooling around with TPC-H data

In my previous blog, I wrote about some first impression working with Fabric and mostly following the Lakehouse tutorial provided by Microsoft. Well structured as this one may be, the sizes are not like the sizes I'm seeing in the wild. So I decided to give Fabric a bit more of a challenge by letting … Continue reading Microsoft Fabric, fooling around with TPC-H data

Azure SQL Database Performance comparison part 2 of 9: Standard

Welcome to my blog series on Azure SQL DB performance. In this blog I'll write about my findings with the Azure SQL DB Standard tier. Click here for information about the set-upClick here for the scripts I’ve used Intro This tier is more expensive than the basic, but starting at 12 euro’s per month up … Continue reading Azure SQL Database Performance comparison part 2 of 9: Standard

Azure SQL Database Performance comparison part 0 of 9: setup

This is the starting point of a series of blogs regarding Azure SQL DB performance. This blog contains the setup and links to all the different database SKU's I've tested so you won't have to scroll endlessly to the part that is of interest to you. I hope you'll find this useful! Click here for … Continue reading Azure SQL Database Performance comparison part 0 of 9: setup