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SQL Server DBA Tips & Tricks

May
16

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Magnify SQL Text with SSMS 2012

Category: Syndication, Tips Leave a Comment

This is just a quick tip to help with folks who present SQL code at events such as SQL Saturday. While most presenters use tools like ZoomIt (which if you present, please please learn to use this wonderful, free tool) sometimes it can get nauseating for attendees to watch you constantly zooming in and out, especially on code.

A quick way around this is by using the magnification feature in SQL Server Management Studio 2012. To do this simply hold down the Ctrl button on your keyboard and with your mouse scroll the mouse wheel up to increase the magnification and scroll down to decrease it.  Alternatively you can simply click on the magnification dropdown, which is located at the bottom left of the query window (by default) and select your desired level of magnification.

That’s it! Now you can quickly magnify your code to make it easier for your audience to see and you can reserve the zooming to highlight other areas as needed.

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May
8

By

SQLSaturday #209 – Rochester

Category: SQL Saturday, Syndication Tags: , Leave a Comment

Welcome to the Roc!

Welcome to the Roc!

Just a quick note that I’ll be presenting this weekend, Saturday May 11th, at SQLSaturday in Rochester, NY. Exciting to return to Central New York as I graduated right down the road at Syracuse University. Go Orange!​If you’re in the area come on down, should be a great day of training. Check out the day’s schedule (link), I’ll be presenting two sessions this weekend:

 

You can follow the event along on Twitter using the #sqlsatroc hashtag as well. See you this weekend in the Roc!

 

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Apr
16

By

Necromancing the Chicken

Category: Syndication 1 Comment

First off, I’m sorry this space has been dead for so long. I’m sure I’ve dropped off many an RSS reader (as well as SQLRockstar’s Rankings) due to inactivity. Well, it’s high time I get back on the blogging wagon! So what’s happened since the last post (YIKES!) in September? Read on after the break to find out…

Zombie chicken

Rumors of my demise have been exaggerated…

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Jan
17

By

EPM Framework and SQL 2008 R2

Category: Policy Based Management, Syndication 3 Comments

This weekend at SQLSaturday 62 in Tampa, I presented my policy-based management presentation. During my presentation
one of the cool things I cover is how policy-based management can be extended utilizing Reporting Services and PowerShell
through the use of an amazing tool called the Enterprise Policy-Management Framework available on Codeplex.

Enterprise Policy Management Framework, or EPMF, is completely free and was developed by the folks at Microsoft who created
policy-based management. I absolutely love telling folks about this project because it really helps sell the idea of
policy-based management’s application within an organization. What’s cool about this project is the built in reports make it easy to see the health state of your environment at a glance as well as let you drill down further in to each report piece to find more granular information on policy states.

One caveat of EPMF is that in order to run on SQL Server 2008 it requires SP1 Cumulative Update 3 or higher installed on your Central Management server in order to function properly. This requirement is in place in order for EPMF to be able to properly handle policy evaluation on down level systems (e.g. SQL Server 2000, 2005). An interesting question was asked during the presentation: “Does EPMF support SQL Server 2008 R2 RTM (10.50.1600)?” The answer is YES, it does!

I tested this on my local install of SQL Server 2008 R2 at RTM level and it works. Even though it works at RTM, I highly recommend you update your SQL Server 2008 R2 instance to at least Cumulative Update 3 or higher. I know, you’re thinking “but you just told me it works at RTM!” Yes, it does, however the RTM edition of R2 came with quite a nasty little bug that wasn’t fixed until the CU3 patch. This bug is outlined in this Connect issue by Aaron Bertrand (Blog | Twitter). The bug is that SSMS will not allow you to edit or create a job step after you’ve created an initial one. How does this affect you? Well when you setup EPMF you need to create a new scheduled job that executes the PowerShell script that evaluates the policies against your environment. This particular bug will stop you from editing or creating new job steps which could severely affect you trying to fix things. There is a workaround wherein you can close/reopen SSMS to make the error disappear but this can become quite cumbersome very quickly.

Policy-based management is an extremely powerful and easy to use feature in SQL Server 2008 and EPM Framework extends its awesomeness even further. If you’d like to learn more about Policy-based management you can check out some webinars I’ve done over at Pragmatic Works (webinar link) or at SQLLunch (webinar link) on the topic.
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Jan
13

By

SQL University: Spring 2011

Category: SQL University, Syndication 4 Comments

The new SQL University Logo

Welcome back students! We’re very excited to start up a new semester and SQLU is back and better than ever! This semester we’re lucky to have 7 MVP’s, 7 Women in Tech (most ever!) and a Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) in SQL Server presenting topics. In addition to our regular lessons we have the SQL Rockstar himself, Tom LaRock (Blog | Twitter), hosting weekly DBA Coaching lessons on his blog as well. Our staff is also hard at work putting together an e-book compilation of the first two semesters-worth of content. We’re calling this compilation SQL University Vol 1: Freshman Year. As soon as we finish putting it together we’ll announce it via the mailing list along with communications on Twitter (Follow us @sqluniversity). What mailing list you ask? Well if you want to make sure you get all the latest news and updates for SQLU please sign up for our mailing list here.

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Jan
5

By

SQLSaturday #62: Tampa

Category: Events, SQL Saturday 1 Comment

We’re 10 short days away from SQLSaturday #62 event and I just wanted to remind everyone about some of the amazing stuff that will be happening that weekend!

First off we have an incredible deal with a pre-con we call Day of Data. We have two all-day training options for you at the incredible price of $99 (after today 1/5, price jumps to $109)! For the DBAs we have Denny Cherry (Blog | Twitter) presenting Storage and Virtualization for the DBA.  For the BI focus We have Stacia Misner (Blog | Twitter) presenting a Day of BI. This price includes coffee, juice and donuts, lunch, and course materials. To register click here and make sure to share this with co-workers and your boss! I guarantee the ROI on this training will be off the charts!

As for the main event we have an AMAZING lineup of speakers for this free (yes, I said FREE) training event. Check out the schedule (time/rooms subject to change):

Cafeteria Room A Room B Room C
8:30
- 9:30		 Introduction to SSIS Efficient Datawarehouse Design How SQL saved my Business Intelligence Platform DBA Repository Update 2010 Using SSIS and SSRS
9:45
- 10:45		 SSIS Cafeteria DBA 101 Developing Date and Role-Playing Dimensions Implementing auditing in SQL Server
11:00
- 12:00		 Cool Tricks to Pull from your SSIS Hat: Why I Use Stored Procedures Introduction to PowerPivot for Excel SQL Server Auditing 101
12:15
- 1:15		 Accelerating BI Development with BI xPress
1:30
- 2:30		 Do You Know the Data Flow? Zen and the Art of Writing SQL Query Indexing for performance Reporting Services 2008
2:45
- 3:45		 SQL Smackdown: SSIS vs. PowerShell Page And Row Compression How, When, and Why SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse Revive the code: refactoring for performance
4:00
- 5:00		 Iron Chef SQL Server Troubleshooting with the SQL Server 2008 DC & MDW Bad SQL SSIS and SSRS Better Together
More rooms below – keep scrolling
Room D Room E Room F Cantina
8:30
- 9:30		 Why Learn PowerShell? Policy-Based Management in a Nutshell To click or to type, that is the question
9:45
- 10:45		 SQL Server PowerShell Extensions (SQLPSX) Become a Bilingual DBA! Oracle for the SQL Server Sql Server Service Broker – An Overview
11:00
- 12:00		 Windows PowerShell 2.0 Best Practices for DBA’s Introduction to Transactional Replication ITIL V3 for the Database Administrator
12:15
- 1:15		 Lunch is served
1:30
- 2:30		 You inherited a database Now What? MDX 201 Find Performance Problems by Reading the Waits WIT Discussion
2:45
- 3:45		 Where should I be encrypting my data SQL Server Memory Deep Dive Spatial Data in SQL 2008 and Bing
4:00
- 5:00		 DR Availability,You’re Wanted in the Recovery Room SSIS Data Flow Buffer Breakdown Creating a Metadata Mart w/ SSIS – Data


And I guess it’s worth mentioning I’ll be there presenting my Policy-Based Management in a Nutshell talk so if you come to the event swing by and say hi (even stay for my session if you’d like!). So grab yo kids, grab yo wife, grab yo coworkers and get to SQLSaturday cuz everyone’s learning up in there!*

*I apologize for the horrendous addition to an internet meme to my post

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Dec
21

By

Pragmatic Works: The Transition

Category: Business Intelligence, Syndication 4 Comments

So if you know me via Twitter or my blog you probably know that as of about a month or two ago I joined the fantastic team at Pragmatic Works. This transition was rather significant for me as I would be moving from the world of administration to the development side of SQL Server in being a BI consultant. This series will be a kind of chronicle of my personal journey through the transition from a DBA (with a social media complex) to a BI developer in one of the top BI shops around.

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Nov
30

By

PASS Summit Magic: The Prestige

Category: Syndication 3 Comments

Ta-DA!!!!

So we started this show with the Pledge, got wowed with the Turn and finally we’ve come to the last step: the Prestige! During the last stage of our act we saw a glimpse of the magic of the Summit and we also saw a certain object near and dear to my heart disappear. So how did this all end? Let’s get to it.

As I’ve mentioned before this was my first Summit so I really had no idea what to expect going there. I’ve known from many others that have gone before me that there is ALWAYS something going on but you have no idea how true that is until you’re there! From the moment I touched down in Seattle there was something going on be it Brent’s Freecon session, the new attendee mixer, the Quiz Bowl, [insert any number of vendor's name here] party/dinner/event, the various lunches provided, the WIT luncheon, the Microsoft appreciation party, the volunteer appreciation party, the infamous karaoke sessions, or just the random awesome networking opportunities you create for yourself by just meeting up with an expert at breakfast/lunch/dinner/coffee house. Now think about this for just a second. I just rattled off all of those events and that DOESN’T include pre or post con events OR the actual conference sessions itself!

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Nov
19

By

Un-SQL Friday: Branding

Category: Syndication, Un-SQL Friday 2 Comments

So looks like we have another blog party on our hands, this time courtesy of Jen McCown (Blog | Twitter), one half of the MidnightDBA brand!  This is such a great topic especially coming from a couple who have built up quite a successful brand for themselves in the community and continue to grow it. Check out both their entries (Jen | Sean) on this topic as they both have really interesting views on this stuff.

Branding is a funny thing. It can go one of two ways: you can create a brand that resonates with your target audience, makes you memorable, and any continued associations with your brand and your audience are positive and meaningful. Or you can create a brand very much slanted the other way and any interactions or associations with your brand can bring negative results and damage you personally or professionally.

I’m going to make a quick confession here and tell you that I not only have watched the show “What Not To Wear” on TLC but I thoroughly enjoyed said show. Why confess that? Well on the show the hosts Clinton Kelly and Stacy London often tell their fashion-challenged targets that they need to realize that they’re trying to sell themselves. It’s all about image. This may sound a bit shallow but hear me out folks. You really are the image you project and this includes how you dress, how you act and in the world of blogging and presenting this directly relates to the brand you’re trying to sell: you!

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Nov
15

By

PASS Summit Magic: The Turn

Category: Events, PASS Summit, Syndication 3 Comments

Watch closely...

I mentioned in my last post that the Turn is the point in the act where the magician executes his illusion, leaving his audience captivated and in wonderment. Sometimes the magician will even make something disappear in to thin air. Funnily enough, this past week I had a little bit of everything I just mentioned!

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Nov
11

By

PASS Summit: Day 3 Keynote Live

Category: PASS, PASS Summit, Syndication 1 Comment

Well, it’s the final day of PASS Summit and the week’s final keynote! Today’s keynote will be delivered by Dr. David Dewitt! His speaking is the result of a user survey sent out by PASS earlier this year.

From Summit site:

You voted, and the results are in: Dr. David DeWitt will be speaking on Query Optimization 101 during the most anticipated keynote of PASS Summit 2010!

“In two short years, giving a keynote at the PASS Summit has become a highlight of my year,” noted Dr. DeWitt, Technical Fellow with Microsoft’s Jim Gray Systems Lab. “This year, I am excited to have the opportunity to talk about SQL query optimization, why it is hard to always produce good plans, and new technologies that offer the promise of better plans in future releases of SQL Server.”

Query optimization is the process of compiling a SQL query into an executable plan that is as efficient as possible. While the basic fundamentals for cost-based query optimization were first described in a seminal paper by Pat Selinger of IBM Research in 1979, optimizing complex queries continues to be very challenging 30 years later. In this talk, David DeWitt will describe the fundamentals of query optimization, why it remains a very hard problem today, and present several recent research results that promise to improve the quality of plans produced in the years to come.

David J. DeWitt is a Technical Fellow in the Microsoft Data and Storage Platform Division. DeWitt’s role is creating and leading the Microsoft Jim Gray Systems Lab, a new advanced development center in Madison, WI, for Microsoft, in association with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Computer Sciences Department. DeWitt came to Microsoft from the Computer Sciences Department at the University of Wisconsin, which he joined in September 1976 after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He served as department chair from July 1999 to July 2004 and held the title of John P. Morgridge Professor of Computer Sciences when he retired from the University of Wisconsin.

Click Here for live blog!

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Nov
10

By

PASS Summit: Day 2 Keynote Live

Category: PASS, PASS Summit, Syndication 1 Comment

It’s Day 2 of the PASS Summit and here we are again live blogging the event.

From the Summit site:

Today Tom Casey will discuss and showcase some of the exciting new and upcoming innovations in Business Intelligence and advances to the data platform, including the expansion into the cloud. Tom will also discuss Microsoft’s progress in the cloud, and the powerful role that SQL Azure and cloud computing will play in enabling the information platform.

Click Here for live blog!

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Nov
9

By

PASS Summit: Day 1 Keynote Live

Category: PASS, PASS Summit, Syndication 4 Comments

It’s the first day of the PASS Summit 2010 and I”ll be live blogging the first keynote here. Click on the link below to follow along!

From the Summit site:

Ted Kummert will open Day 1 of PASS Summit 2010 by highlighting continued innovation across Microsoft’s business and information platform. Kummert will explore Microsoft’s key technical investments that help solve the toughest issues for various roles across an organization, from IT Professionals to developers. Kummert will explore Mission Critical applications, getting the most out of your datacenter, and the accessibility of Business Intelligence in an effort to deliver on Microsoft’s vision of enabling data platform customers to be more efficient through integrated tools. Some exciting product announcements will also be shared exclusively with PASS attendees so you won’t want to miss out!

On a side note: I REALLY hope we hear announcement for SQL Server 11 :-D

Click Here for live blog!

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