Randy Dyess

I have been working with SQL Server for over 5 years as both a development and production DBA. Before SQL Server I spent time as both a Visual Basic developer and Microsoft Access developer. Numerous projects upsizing Access to SQL Server lead me to become a full-time SQL Server DBA. Currently I have the privilege of working on one of the world's largest SQL Server "read-world" production installations at Verizon Communications for Verizon's billing project. We have 11 main databases totaling over 9 Terabytes of data with the largest single database over 2.2 Terabytes. My current position is as a development DBA, developing
new Transact-SQL code and enhancing existing code. Before working at Verizon, I worked at one of the largest advertising firms in America: Rapp Collins. There I supported up to 60 SQL Server web databases at a time, with some Oracle thrown in, doubling as both a development DBA and production DBA. Clients before Rapp Collins include: Auto One (a leading auto loan lender), Realpage, Inc. (leader in multi-housing management software) and BlueCross BlueShield of Texas (a large insurance company).

You can find out more about me and my works by visiting my website.

SQLServerCentral Article

SQL Server 2000 Table Hints

As you advance in your skills as a Transact-SQL developer or SQL Server database administrator there will come a time when you need to override SQL Server's locking scheme and force a particular range of locks on a table. This article by Randy Dyess shows you how to optimize your queries using table hints.

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2002-04-15

21,938 reads

SQLServerCentral Article

Auditing Your SQL Server Environment Part I

Ever been placed into a new environment and couldn't
find an ounce of documentation? This article is the first in a series that will help you make an audit of your new environment
and determine if any SQL Server login does not have a password, has a password the same as the login name or a password that is only one character long.

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2002-04-02

10,441 reads

Technical Article

spAuditPasswords

This script is actually part of an article written about performing a simple password audit on SQL Server logins when you start to administor a new SQL Environment. The script will scan the sysxlogins table located in the master database for SQL Server logins with no passwords, passwords that are the same as the login […]

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2002-03-27

1,559 reads

Technical Article

Script to Find Locations of Specified Column

Use this script to find tables, views, stored procedures that directly reference a column in the SELECT statement or in a join. This script will also return stored procedure and view names that have SELECT * in them when the specified column exists in the table referenced by that SELECT statement.

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2002-03-15

1,059 reads

SQLServerCentral Article

Optimizing Stored Procedures To Avoid Recompiles

One of the most overlooked areas in optimizing SQL Server and Transact-SQL is the recompilations of stored procedures. A database getting thousands of recompiles an hour will suffer in performance and show short term blocking that will affect the database users. This article by Randy Dyess shows you some of the ways you can avoid stored procedure recompiles.

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2002-02-26

25,032 reads

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Question of the Day

Missing the Jaro Winkler Distance

I upgraded a SQL Server 2019 instance to SQL Server 2025. I wanted to test the fuzzy string search functions. I run this code:

SELECT JARO_WINKLER_DISTANCE('tim', 'tom')
I get this error message:
Msg 195, Level 15, State 10, Line 1 'JARO_WINKLER_DISTANCE' is not a recognized built-in function name.
What is wrong?

See possible answers