As I mentioned yesterday, we've shipped SQL Server 2008. I highly recommend you get it and install it on your testing machines right away. But before you do anything on your production systems, make sure you check out this free webcast: http://msevents...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio . Today I'm covering four reports at a time – the performance reports that are broken down by average and total times. The reason I’ll cover all four of them is that they...

This script counts all of your objects in the database, at least the ones stored in the sysobjects table. Some objects (such as jobs) don't show up there - one day I'll add those: /* usc_DBA_Count_Objects.sql Author: Buck Woody Purpose: Shows a quick...

I read a great book last night called "The Psychology of Everyday Things" by Donald Norman. It's actually an older book that explores what works and what doesn't from a usability perspective. That's interesting to my group since we are in charge of the...

Sure, you can get the number of processors fairly easily ffrom SQL Server. But did you know you can also get the number of actual cores as well? This little gem works with SQL Server 2005: SELECT cpu_count/hyperthread_ratio AS sockets FROM sys.dm_os_sys_info;...

Whenever you're developing a new application that hits SQL Server, make sure you design in security from the outset. In the new releae of the Community Tehcnal Preview (CTP) for SQL Server 2008, you'll notice that there are several new improvements in...

We have a lot of content out there - a LOT. But how do you find it all? We have a great new resource that one of our team members put together. It’s a customized Windows Live search, that limits results to Books Online. Check this out, and make sure you...

I spoke with a colleague yesterday and he wants to set up a meeting to talk about 3D interfaces. Inwardly I groaned, but the scientist in me says to go in to the discussion with an open mind. Don’t get me wrong – I’m one of the biggest geeks around...

I’m continuing a series on the Standard Reports you can find in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). (Note: These reports only work against SQL Server 2005 and higher. They don’t run against the lower versions because those don’t have all the management...

Steve Jones, my friend over at SQLServerCentral.com had a podcast the other day (Voice of the DBA) where he commented that blogs should be blogs - not a form of corporate communication. I agree. It's not that you can't have corporate content on an RSS...

We’re in the final server-level reports in this series of the Standard Reports that ship with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) . Don’t worry, there are plenty more reports coming in the database and other objects; but this one is the last of the reports...

OK - it's a little light in some of the hallways because of Christmas, so I had a few minutes to actually chat with some friends. We played one of those mental games where you ask "if you could only have one thing for X, what would it be". I was asked...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today I'm covering a report that shows more about locking activity, by transaction. Before I begin describing the columns and values in this report, it might make...

I’m working my way through the Standard Reports you get in SQL Server Management Studio. I’ve gone through several of them already, and today we finally move out of the locking and blocking reports. The next report in the list, and we’re still only on...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the database reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking a database name. From the menu that appears...

Much of the development work at Microsoft is a mystery to the rest of the world. People ask me all the time why my team is working on X , when clearly what is needed is Y. Of course, everyone's definition of Y seems to be different, but that's another...

If you have multiple systems in your organization, and especially if you use multiple kinds of systems (such as exchange, Forefront and SQL Server, for instance) then you might want to check out Microsoft System Center, and in particular, System Center...

I’ve spoken quite a bit about some of the processes and constraints we have in developing software here at Microsoft. I haven’t explained the actual tools or specific paradigms we follow. When some people come to work here, they are often surprised to...

The SQL Server 2008 Feature Pack for RC0 is now live - if you haven't downloaded this and played with it yet, shame on you! :) OK - just kidding - it's not like you don't have a day job. However, if you'll take a few moments and look this download over...

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with a DBA who was visiting us from Australia. He is an amazing fellow. He originally set out to be a doctor, but found that he was losing his sight. He switched to studying law, but found that he enjoyed technology...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the database reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking a database name. From the menu that appears...

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Real-World-DBA-Episode-1-SQL-Server-Editions/ The Zune(OK, iPod works too) link for subscription is here: http://edge.technet.com/Tags/Real+World+DBA/feed/ipod/ And the general RSS feed is here: http://edge.technet.com...

One of our Principal Architects, Eddy Bell, shared a great writeup with me that I think is a great way to leverage Windows 2008 and SQL Server 2008. It answers a need that I've seen over and over again - the ability to connect to SQL Server Management...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the Management reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking the Management node. From the menu that...

Well, it’s the first day of the SQL Connections conference in April of 2008 (yes, on a Sunday, although this will post on Monday) and my booth duties are pretty light. There are some great presenters, among them Kimberly Tripp and Paul Randall, who I...