I read this interesting article on using PowerShell and the registry , and thought I would modify his information a bit to list the SQL Server Instances on a box. The interesting thing about listing instances this was is that you can touch remote machines...

I'm working on a PowerShell script to show me the trending durations of my backup activities. The first thing I need is the data, so I looked at the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio, and found a report that suited my needs, so I pulled...

Using the Server Management Objects (SMO) library, you don’t even need to have the SQL Server 2008 PowerShell Provider to read the SQL Server Error Logs – in fact, you can use regular old everyday PowerShell. Keep in mind you will need the SMO libraries...

I think many of us can say something right at the right time. But there’s a deeper skill: “Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.” - Benjamin Franklin

I'm unable to sleep tonight so I thought I would push this post out VERY early. When you don't sleep your mind takes interesting turns, which can be a good thing. I was watching a briefing today by a couple of friends as they were talking about various...

Some time back I posted a blog entry (mirrored here and here ) asking you how you design databases. Out of those responses, my own experience, studies I read, and interviews I conducted, I collected a wealth of data. Thanks for your responses. So what...

In my presentations for PowerShell I sometimes want to start a process (like a backup) that will take some time. I normally pop up a notification “balloon” at the start, and then do the bulk of the work, and then pop up a balloon at the end to let me...

I saw a post the other day that you should definitely go check out. It’s a cost/benefit decision, and although the author gives it a quick treatment and doesn’t take all points in the decision into account, you should focus on the process he follows....

"The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra." Jimmy Johnson

I’m writing a series of articles on how to migrate “departmental” data into SQL Server . I also hold workshops on the entire process – from discovering that the data exists to the modeling process and then how to design the Extract, Transform and Load...

Most of us know that there's a lot to learn. I'm teaching a class this morning, and even on the subject where I'm the "expert" (that word always makes me nervous!) I still have a lot to learn. To learn, sometimes I take a class, read a book, or carve...

SQL Server has a few mechanisms to reach out to another server (even another server type) and query data from within a Transact-SQL statement. Among them are a set of stored credentials and information (called a Linked Server ), a statement that uses...

There's already a post on this topic - sort of. I read this entry, where the author did a good job on a few steps , but I found that a few other tips might be useful, so if you want to check that one out and then this post, you might be able to put together...

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.” - Albert Einstein

Whenever you want to know something about SQL Server’s configuration, whether that’s the Instance itself or a database, you have a few options. If you want to know “dynamic” data, such as how much memory or CPU is consumed or what a particular query is...

I've been toying around with a script to create a special set of calendar objects in Outlook that show when my SQL Server Agent Jobs are scheduled to run. I haven't finished yet, but I thought I would share the part that creates the Outlook Appointments...

I have a presentation that I give on SQL Server Consolidation Strategies, and in that presentation I talk about a few links that are useful. Here are some that I’ve found – feel free to comment on more, or if these links go stale:   Consolidation...

I was working this weekend with a fairly simple Excel spreadsheet, and I had to decompose one cell in it out to three columns in a SQL Server table. There are tools within SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) that should be able to do that, but I just...

“Character is like a tree, and reputation is like its shadow.” Abraham Lincoln

I love them three-letter acronyms! An “ROI” is a Return On Investment – it’s a basic financial calculation that places investments in a standard number so that they can be compared. If the number is positive, then it has a “good” return on investment...

The older I get, the more I realize that there are few certainties in life. No, this isn’t one of those philosophical posts where I relate some newfound wisdom as if I’m the first one to discover it – I’m going somewhere practical with this. I deal not...

When we’re heads-down on a problem, it’s sometimes far too easy to relax the method we should follow for troubleshooting. We’re supposed to gather as much information as possible, freeze the system as much as possible, and then develop the plan for the...

Did you know that you already have a Server Master Key (SMK) generated for your system? That’s right – while a Database Master Key (DMK) is generated when you encrypt a certificate or Asymmetric Key with code, the Server Master Key is generated automatically...