Useful links
A curated set of references we use and recommend — for SQL Server, Azure, Databricks and modern data warehousing.
SQL Server
Documentation and learning resources for Microsoft SQL Server.
- SQL Server docs — Official Microsoft Learn hub
- T-SQL reference — Complete T-SQL language reference
- Brent Ozar — Performance tuning blog and free scripts
- SQLServerCentral — Community articles, forums and Q&A
- Erik Darling — Deep query tuning content
Microsoft Azure
Cloud data platform documentation and architecture guidance.
- Azure docs — Official Azure documentation
- Azure Architecture Center — Reference architectures and design patterns
- Azure SQL — Azure SQL Database & Managed Instance
- Azure Data Factory — Cloud ETL/ELT pipelines
- Synapse Analytics — Cloud analytics platform
Databricks & Lakehouse
Lakehouse architecture, Delta Lake and Spark.
- Databricks docs — Official Databricks documentation
- Delta Lake — Open table format powering the lakehouse
- Medallion architecture — Bronze / silver / gold layered design
- Apache Spark docs — Spark API and tuning reference
- Unity Catalog — Lakehouse governance
Modelling & Warehousing
Dimensional modelling and warehouse design.
- Kimball Group — The Kimball Group archive of design tips
- The Data Warehouse Toolkit — The reference text on dimensional modelling
- Snowflake vs Star schema — Microsoft guidance on schema choice
- Data Vault 2.0 — Alternative modelling approach for raw vault layers
Power BI & Tableau
Reporting, semantic models and DAX.
- Power BI docs — Microsoft Power BI documentation
- DAX Guide — Comprehensive DAX function reference
- SQLBI — Authoritative DAX and tabular modelling articles
- Tableau Help — Official Tableau documentation
Tools we like
Day-to-day tools we recommend.
- SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) — The classic SQL Server IDE
- Azure Data Studio — Cross-platform data IDE
- dbatools — PowerShell module — the DBA Swiss Army knife
- SQL Server First Responder Kit — sp_Blitz and friends — free health-check scripts
- DAX Studio — Query and tune Power BI / SSAS Tabular models
Have a resource we should add? Let us know — drop us a line.