I spoke yesterday at a large user group meeting, and we had a prize offered for the best PowerShell script. One question that was asked is how to script out Replication Objects using PowerShell - but that question was answered here already, on our very...

SQL Server has the ability to create a central location where you can push out certain SQL Agent Jobs to run on other servers. This feature is called a MSX/TSX arrangement, and it's been around for a while. In SQL Server 2005, you didn't want to use SQL...

It's a fairly common practice to set the SQL Server Services (Engine, Agent, OLAP, RS, etc.) to automatically start when the server does. But is this a good idea? I don't set my services to start automatically. If the server is unexpectedly rebooted,...

Wow - long title.   Anyway, my good friend Bill Ramos and I were chatting just the other day. He's a the guy at Microsoft that took my old responsibilities for SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), and we were swapping tips and tricks. He showed me...

"People who exaggerate just kill me." Dani Haviland

Normally the Technical Solution Provider (TSP) role I'm currently in does not do a lot of work outside of his or her territory. I'm dedicated to my clients here in Washington state, Alaska, Oregon and Idaho, so I spend a lot of time with them making sure...

If you've ever tried to design a new database diagram and gotten a "cannot create objects" error, you've probably noticed the correction steps to use the ALTER AUTHORIZATION statement to change the owner. This happens a lot to me - I'll be on...

In a previous post , I started the process of my study for the 70-432 exam. I'm working on that (as I have time) and I promised to post my notes here. My notes aren't totally inclusive, they are just things I found interesting as I was doing my reading...

I don't normally advocate hitting the system tables in any database with direct queries, preferring instead to use views or functions that the vendor provides. But so far I haven't been able to find the view or function that would return the list of servers...

This one is (not) an original. I made it when a team I was leading was complaining loudly that they didn't like the direction we were headed on a project, even though months earlier I had asked (in vain) for their input during the planning process: ...

When I was on the product team, I was asked by a few of you from time to time to make a change in SQL Server. Now that I'm in the field, I get asked to "chat with the development team" to make one change or another. But you actually have more...

SQL Server uses the file system on a computer, just like all database platforms. Whenever you create a database, there are always at least two files that are created - one for the data (MDF files) and another for the logging function (LDF files). But...

The other day I chatted with a gentleman who needed a second copy of his backup for a remote reporting system. Most of us need a copy or two of the backups, sometimes for a reporting or development refresh, or sometimes we want a second copy for safety...

Some folks don't have SQL Server 2008 installed - shame on you! If you're in that sad state, you can still run a query against a SQL Server. You will still need the client connection software installed on your system - you'll have that with any 2005 edition...

"Money doesn't make you happy. I now have $50 million but I was just as happy when I had $48 million." - Arnold Schwarzenegger

Yesterday, along with several hundred other folks, I told you that SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 was out, and where to download it. I also mentioned that one of the big advantages in it was that you could now do "slipstream" installations....

SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 is now available for download at the following location: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=66ab3dbb-bf3e-4f46-9559-ccc6a4f9dc19&displayLang=en As always, read the release notes before you install...

I was reading a story early this morning about a failed database project in the UK - and it was a big failure. The basic gist was that the project was managed badly - so badly that a Member of Parliment made the statement that "they delivered a master...

As many of you know, I used to work on documentation like whitepapers and Books Online for SQL Server. One of the main problems I've found with our documentation isn't that there is not enough content - we have over 65,000 pages in BOL alone - but that...

"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genius hits a target no one else can see." - Arthur Schopenhauer

I ran across this package today: http://www.cleardata.biz/cleartrace/default.aspx I'm playing with it now. It basically reads a SQL Server Trace file and shows you the longer running processes so you can do more performance tuning. It's a freebie,...

From time to time I post some of the things I do to check my systems each day. Sometimes I use PowerShell, sometimes the Management Data Warehouse, and sometimes I use a Policy from Policy Based Management (PBM). For the backup checks, I use a combination...