SQL Server management, tutorials, scripts, coding, programming and tips for database administrators

MS SQL

Introduction to Azure Cosmos DB Global Distribution 07/05/2018

Global distribution of updatable data stores is one of the more challenging goals that software designers and architects have been struggling with over the years. Addressing this challenge has become increasingly pressing as the rapid growth of cloud technologies increased the need for deployments capable of spanning multiple geographical areas. In this article, we will provide an introduction to global distribution-related functionality in Cosmos DB.

Placing a Mark in SQL Server's Transaction Log for Fall Back 07/02/2018

How many times have you had a programmer come to you and say they want you (the DBA) to restore their database to sometime prior to when they accidentally corrupted it? If you are doing FULL transaction logging you can do a point in time recovery to restore the database to just prior to when the corruption occurred. But in order to do that you need to know exactly when the programmer corrupted the data, which in a lot of cases is not known down to the second.

Using SQL Server's Default Trace to Identify Autogrow Events in tempdb 07/02/2018

We all know that you should try to size tempdb appropriately, so it doesn’t need to autogrow shortly after starting up SQL Server. It isn’t always easy to do this. Therefore, when you first implement a new server and/or add new databases you should monitor the autogrowth events on tempdb. By monitoring the autogrowth events you can easily determine if you have sized tempdb appropriately.

Automatic Query Performance Tuning in SQL Server Database 06/28/2018

SQL Server's Automatic Tuning provides insight into possible query performance problems, recommends solutions, and provides options to fix identified problems either manually or automatically.

Azure SQL Database and GDPR Compliance 06/07/2018

In recent years, technology landscape has undergone dramatic changes, driven primarily by cloud computing and a continuously increasing level of attention dedicated to security, privacy, and compliance. One of the more significant initiatives that attempts to address these challenges is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR. In this article, we will explore how Azure SQL Database could help with addressing the GDPR requirements.

Databases with MAXSIZE Set 06/04/2018

When a database grows to the MAXSIZE the database will not grow anymore and if someone tries to add more rows they will get an error saying the database is full. Greg Larsen shows you how to find all database files that have their max_size set.

Indexes That Have Not Been Used but Are Being Updated 06/04/2018

We all know indexes are important for improving your query performance, but to store and maintain indexes SQL Server requires disk space and compute resources. If you have indexes that are not being used, they are costing you valuable resources and causing your update statements to run longer. Those updates run longer because they have to maintain those unused indexes. If your application is not using an index, then there is no value in having that index. Read on to learn more.

Adaptive Query Processing in SQL Server 05/21/2018

Adaptive query processing is the latest query processing feature introduced in the SQL Server database engine, available in SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2017 (14.x)) and Azure SQL Database. Read on to learn more.

Introduction to Azure Cosmos DB Security 05/07/2018

Deployment of cloud-based technologies introduces a wide range of challenges; however, few of them are scrutinized to the same extent as security. When analyzing security-related challenges, it is important to note that they encompass several distinct but interrelated technologies, including authentication and authorization, network isolation, as well as data integrity and confidentiality. In this article, we will explore how these concepts apply to the Azure Cosmos DB offering.

Tables Without Clustered Indexes 05/03/2018

Do all of your tables contain clustered indexes? Some say every table should have a clustered index. Greg Larsen shares a simple script to identify those tables in your database that don’t have a clustered index.

Why Are You Dropping and Recreating Your Indexes? 05/03/2018

Why are you dropping and recreating your indexes, when you could just disable and then rebuild them? By disabling an index, you have basically turned off the index, but have allowed SQL Server to retain the index definition in the database metadata. If you want the index back all you need to do is rebuild the index.

Kafka Integration with HDInsight 04/23/2018

Microsoft HDInsight is the cloud service that deploys and provisions Hadoop clusters on the Azure cloud. It's a completely managed, open source analytics service to support enterprise needs and supports a wide variety of scenarios with the help of open source frameworks like Hadoop, Storm, Spark, R Server and Hive. Read on to learn more.

Introduction to Azure SQL Managed Instance 04/05/2018

Microsoft currently offers two built-in methods of running production SQL Server databases in Azure. The first relies on the ability of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) Azure virtual machines to host a variety of on-premises workloads, including SQL Server instances. The second one leverages Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS)-based Azure SQL Database. With the introduction of the Azure SQL Managed Instance service, you have a third option, which combines the benefits of its two predecessors.

How to Programmatically Identify When Your SQL Server Was Last Started 04/02/2018

Greg Larsen shows you a quick trick to programmatically script a way to identify when SQL Server was last started.

How to Show the Execution Plan of a Running Query 04/02/2018

By looking at a query execution plan, you can determine which steps are used to resolve the query. But what if you just want to find out what the query plans are for only the queries that are currently running?