SQL Server Still Wins

Posted on June 29, 2026 by way0utwest

Is it worth continuing to run SQL Server when PostgreSQL licensing is zero? Rebecca Lewis has a well written post on why that looks at some of the pros and cons of paying for SQL Server instead of moving to PostgreSQL. She starts with some of the things PostgreSQL does well, of which I think the Extensibility is really cool. SQL Server has some of this in CLR and the non-SQL language support, but those seem kludgy and complex to me. They aren’t really integrated into the SQL Server platform.

They’re good, but I do wish vendors or the community could add some extensions in a way PostgreSQL does. Of course, I also worry about stability, so maybe this is a wish that isn’t really a great idea.

The pros list for SQL Server is quite a good list, at least for existing users. Tooling isn’t close, both for DBAs and developers, and inside the platform. At Redgate, we support both SQL Server and PostgreSQL with Redgate Monitor, and there is so much more information that we can gather from SQL Server on what’s happening. It’s truly amazing when I compare them. We constantly are looking to add to our PostgreSQL monitoring solution and ensure admins see as close a view in PostgreSQL as SQL Server, but the reality is so much information is available.

On the dev tool side, while SSMS can be slow, it’s still way better than any other database development tools I’ve seen.

The innovation argument for SQL Server over PostgreSQL isn’t a great one, as PostgreSQL continues to evolve, but I’m glad Microsoft continues to work on the engine. I wasn’t enamored with SQL Server 2022, but I do like 2025 and look forward to what comes in 2028 (my guess). What I really wish, however, is that Microsoft marketed SQL Server more, with a little less Fabric in the way.

That being said, I am continually grateful for the SQL Server marketing team’s support of SQL Saturday/Day of Data events.

It is interesting to think that the Microsoft-stack gravity is Rebecca’s third argument. It certainly makes a lot of work convenient if you use Microsoft tools, and I completely agree that ripping this out is a major reason why people stick with SQL Server. Across the last 5-6 years, I’ve had many customers tell me they’re moving to PostgreSQL and abandoning SQL Server. They constantly ask Redgate for more PostgreSQL tools (and we’ve built some), but the reality is that a year, or two, or three later, they still have those ambitious plans. They haven’t moved.

It’s really, really hard to change database platforms.

That might not seem like a pro, but it is a reason why SQL Server still wins in many organizations. It’s comfortable, effective, performs well under a variety of situations, and quite frankly, there are millions of people who are more comfortable with it than many other platforms.

I like other platforms, but I love SQL Server. It’s been good for my career and I look forward to spending the next 10-15 years continuing to help others get the most out of their installations.

Steve Jones

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Monday Monitor Tips: Virtual Machine Usage and Cost

Posted on June 29, 2026 by way0utwest

One of the things I’ve been requesting for a number of years is cost information. I could see this coming in 2015 with the move to the cloud and need to justify the resources provisioned along with sizes. Doing that effectively needs cost information.

Redgate Monitor has added a bit of cost information, and the virtual machine section in the Estate tab contains this. This post looks at what is available (as of June 2026).

This is part of a series of posts on Redgate Monitor. Click to see the other posts.

Virtual Machines

When I first started managing VMs and moving database loads to them, one of the things that I was concerned about was the CPU and RAM usage. CFOs and lots of admins wanted these are 100% to get the most out of their investments.

I wanted something less to prevent my phone from ringing constantly.

When you pick select the Estate tab, you see a number of items, but since v143.0.2906, there is a Virtual Machines item.

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If you select that, then you see all your virtual machines, along with the resource name, group, and various metrics. This is a quick overview of what’s running.

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If you look at the list, some are local and some are in the cloud. In addition, to the right, I see the metrics that help me understand average usage in a few ways: CPU, memory, storage allocated and used, and costs.

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There aren’t any costs above as we filter that on the demo site, but if you provide cloud credentials, we use this to get some cost information. Here’s a shot from the doc site, which shows the costs in local currency (pounds Sterling for RG) and USD, which helps normalize the costs. You can read more about this on the doc page.

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If you select a machine, a blade slides out with more details on usage. Here you can see the primary SSC server. This helps me decide if this is over or under provisioned based on data. I see CPU usage across a month, along with memory and storage (not shown).

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If I click the “compare with” toggle, I see the last two months overlaid, which is useful info. This helps me decide if last month was normal or an outlier. It does seem like June was a busier month than May, which is good. My boss likes busier.

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As far as data, I have choices for the period, going from the last day to 6 months.

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It’s up to me to keep this data, and I have an entry as well in the Data Retention settings for this data.

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There’s more coming, and I know there are plans to add PaaS data as well, but if there are things you’re interested in, please contact your account rep and let them know what needs you have and why. I think this is an important aspect of monitoring that will grow over time.

Summary

This post showed the first slice of work on costing information, with an emphasis on virtual machines. There is performance as well as cost data, so you can evaluate whether you are appropriately sized for your systems.

I’m looking forward to more information, including custom costs being added for on-premises machines, as well as PaaS services.

Redgate Monitor is a world-class monitoring solution for your database estate. Download a trial today and see how it can help you manage your estate more efficiently.

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Is Fabric a Reliable Service or a Ripped Resource?

Posted on June 27, 2026 by way0utwest

Over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed a few complaints from different friends and customers about issues with Microsoft’s Fabric service. I had assumed these were isolated incidents in just a few places, and customers were being refunded according to an SLA. Then I saw Joey D’Antoni’s post this week about Fabric going down. It lists quite a few of the incidents in June, including a few global ones.

However, the most surprising thing in the post was this link, noting Fabric doesn’t have a dedicated SLA. Instead, it’s under the general Microsoft support agreement, meaning your organization needs to have a support plan to get help. I think that makes some sense, but I’d really expect that a data service in the cloud, including an analytic service that touts itself as real-time, would have a high SLA. Some agreement on the order of 4 9s at least, if not 5.

For those of you who think you can do better on premises, I’ll remind you that four 9s mean you get 52 minutes of downtime a year, or 1 minute a week (roughly). Five 9s is 5 minutes a year, and the weekly calculation doesn’t matter. I’ve had systems run for a year, but a lot, and not a lot of databases, especially with patching 6 times a year. This year, with AI (my guess) finding lots of holes and GDR releasing quite often, I would guess that three nines is out the window for most SQL Server systems that aren’t HA clustered in some way.

As a point of reference, Denny notes that Azure SQL database, Business Critical, has a four-and-a-half 9s level of reliability and financial refunds for costs if that’s exceeded. You will need some sort of business insurance if you worry about revenue issues, but my guess is that most of us live with the downtime and work around it (and hopefully, plan for it).

I’ve been skeptical of Fabric (outside of Power BI). It feels cobbled together, so many issues are reported, and I feel like it’s immature. If I were working on a new analytics project, and we didn’t have a solution, I might PoC it, but I’d be more likely to consider Databricks, Snowflake, or Redshift rather than Fabric.

Perhaps you have a different view, or you have had success with Fabric. I know some people who have, but it seems one-sey two-sey and not commonplace. There seem to be so many workarounds and issues; it makes me skeptical that Fabric is really ready for primetime if Microsoft won’t stand behind it. Databricks only gives credit up to three 9s, but if they fall below 95%, they issue a 100% credit. Snowflake offers four 9s.

I feel that if Microsoft were confident in their reliability, they’d offer refunds if they didn’t perform.

Steve Jones

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I Want to Use My Brain

Posted on June 26, 2026 by way0utwest

I had a very interesting conversation recently with a longtime DBA who was worried about using AI in their database work. The Redgate State of the Database Landscape 2026 report showed that the vast majority of you (99%) are getting value from AI, so clearly it’s being used. However, this individual was concerned that using AI for tasks would not engage their brain, and they might lose some of their SQL skills.

And they want to use their brain at work.

I would hope most of you want to use your brains and accomplish things. That’s a lot of the reason I continue to work and enjoy what I do. It engages me, and I find the challenge of solving problems to be interesting work. Whether that’s simple T-SQL queries, architecture for an application, or the culture challenges of changing teams. It’s exciting to move anything forward.

I would hope most people want to use their brains at work and not just get through the day without straining their mental faculties. It’s fun to solve a problem, puzzle, or challenge. The thing I’ve learned is that AI doesn’t preclude that.

I use AI to tackle tedious things. Small things. Minute-saving things. The number of times I use an AI to do something that saves me minutes is surprising. Those minutes add up across the week and let me avoid some of the tedious work and focus on the things I enjoy: deciding if something works and if it is the appropriate solution.

I might ask an LLM to generate some code, summarize some text, or give me a first draft. I might use a lot of what I get, or just a little. I might throw everything away and do it myself, but often that little kickstart gets me moving quicker than I might otherwise get started, and it’s lower stress for me when I’m on a deadline.

I enjoy PowerShell, but sometimes the tedium of getting the syntax right and formatting things is annoying. Scaffolding around an algorithm can be a pain. An AI can do a lot of that stuff and I can evaluate the result. I never type > instead of -gt anymore because the LLM does it. I decide if I like the approach or not, or if I want to write a little code inside the scaffolding.

I still use my brain. AI hasn’t changed that. It’s just that I avoid some of the tedious things. And if I need a break, I can go for a walk or cook or play guitar rather than slogging through a chore that isn’t interesting.

Steve Jones

Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

Note, podcasts are only available for a limited time online.

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