Come See Me. I'll Probably Be Just Down the Street Soon!
Updated: 2012-07-31 16:02:00
Even though I've recently changed jobs, I'll still be speaking at a lot of SQL events across the country and internationally. There are still a few trips that I've yet to finalize, in particular with the fine folks in Houston, run by my friend Nancy Hidy ( blog | twitter ), and my friends in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, run by my friend Mark Ginnebaugh ( blog | twitter ). Also, do to some missed deadlines, it looks like I won't be speaking at the Nordic SQL Rally this fall. My bad! On the other...(read more)
DAX in Action
Updated: 2012-07-31 08:05:11SQL SERVER – Beginning NuoDB – Who will Benefit and How to Start
Updated: 2012-07-31 02:30:00
I finally got some time to play around with the beta 7 release of NuoDB that I downloaded a few weeks ago. Personally I don’t think NuoDB yet gives downloaders enough information on how to get started so I decided to tackle that here myself. Before I get into the details, why bother? Who will [...]The Seven Sins against TSQL Performance
Updated: 2012-07-31 01:00:00There are seven common antipatterns in TSQL coding that make code perform badly, and three good habits which will generally ensure that your code runs fast. If you learn nothing else from this list of great advice from Grant, just keep in mind that you should 'write for the optimizer'.Resource Governor in SQL Server 2012 technical article published
Updated: 2012-07-30 22:35:45A SQL Saturday in Cambridge – Buck Woody’s Ragtime Database Workshop
Updated: 2012-07-30 21:49:00Presenting at SQL Saturday NYC!
Updated: 2012-07-30 15:20:01Power View in SkyDrive
Updated: 2012-07-30 15:07:40
THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web Welcome to SQLblog.com The SQL Server blog spot on the web Sign in in SSIS Junkie Entire Site Search Home Blogs Downloads Opml SSIS Junkie This is the blog of Jamie Thomson , a freelance SQL Server developer in London Power View in SkyDrive Sean Boon has begun an interesting blog series where he is analysing data from the Olympics using using Power View in Excel 2013, his first post in the series is at Visualizing the Olympics with Power View in Excel 2013 : Day 1 While the capabilities of Power View itself are impressive this gives me an opportunity to highlight what I think is a massive failing in the whole Power View Excel in 2013 . story Sean provides a link to a SkyDrive folder , Power View Olympics where he is collecting his demo workbooks . IDAX Studio 1.0 beta available #dax #tabular #powerpivot
Updated: 2012-07-30 09:10:00
THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web Welcome to SQLblog.com The SQL Server blog spot on the web Sign in in SQLBI Marco Russo Entire Site Search Home Blogs Downloads Opml SQLBI Marco Russo SQLBI is a blog dedicated to building Business Intelligence solutions with SQL Server DAX Studio 1.0 beta available dax tabular powerpivot Are you waiting for a usable and interactive DAX editor Are you tired of using the MDX editor provided by SSMS as a temporary solution to write and execute a DAX query The wait is over DAX Studio is a free Excel add-in that enables you to write a DAX query in a small dialog box that offer a productive environment , with a tabular object browser and syntax highlighting . You can drag and drop table and column names from the object browser to the editor , getting a properSQL SERVER – Services Pack 2 for SQL Server 2008 R2 – Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2
Updated: 2012-07-29 02:30:22
Service packs are very critical and important. In the industry I have seen many people waiting for the first service pack to arrive before moving to opting the product. I often see it as a good practice because there are some unknown bugs or missed enhancements in original product which are later covered in the SP2. [...]SQL SERVER – Difference Between ORIGINAL_LOGIN() and SUSER_SNAME()
Updated: 2012-07-28 02:30:57
Today let us start today’s blog post with a simple start question which I was asked by reader of my latest book SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers. Indeed a good question warrants a good answer with a script associated with the same. Question: What is the difference between ORIGINAL_LOGIN() and SUSER_SNAME() and when will I [...]Using filestream, streaming I/O and SQL logins with impersonation
Updated: 2012-07-27 19:31:00, Home Syndication Log in Using filestream , streaming I O and SQL logins with impersonation A number of months ago , I wrote an article using the SQL Server filestream feature programmatically . I've gotten a number of inquiries since from folks who need to login to SQL Server using SQL logins often the same SQL login for everyone but want to access the stream using streaming I O e.g . SqlFileStream data type This doesn't ordinarily work , but how about using impersonation in SQL Server I have a SQL login named bob And a Windows login named ZMV03 Mary Mary is not a Windows Administrator . Neither one is sysadmin in SQL Server . Added users for each one to the filestream-enabled database with appropriate permissions . In the master database , I granted bob impersonate privilege . GRANTThe difference between Excel Services and the Excel Web App
Updated: 2012-07-27 12:07:17
THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web Welcome to SQLblog.com The SQL Server blog spot on the web Sign in in SSIS Junkie Entire Site Search Home Blogs Downloads Opml SSIS Junkie This is the blog of Jamie Thomson , a freelance SQL Server developer in London The difference between Excel Services and the Excel Web App If you follow Chris Webb’s blog and if you’re a BI practitioner in the Microsoft space why aren’t you following his blog you may know that I have an interest Chris calls it an obscure enthusiasm in developments surrounding Excel and its various online incarnations . One aspect of this that I have always struggled with is the difference between Excel Services” and the Excel Web App” . Today , while helping Chris test some of the forthcoming SharePoint Excel 2013 functionality , ISQL SERVER – Query to Get Unique Distinct Data Based on Condition – Eliminate Duplicate Data from Resultset
Updated: 2012-07-27 02:30:32
Seems like in T-SQL world the issue with Duplicate Records never an old topic. Today lets quickly go over another question which made it to my mailbox 3 times this week. Question: How do I display only unique records from my table? The natural reaction will be to suggest DISTINCT or GROUP BY. However, not [...]SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2 is available
Updated: 2012-07-26 19:50:00High-Availability White Papers and Resources for SQL Server
Updated: 2012-07-26 16:00:00
These resources detail five common high-availability and disaster-recovery architectures deployed by customers, along with a case study of each, plus FAQs about SQL Server high availability....(read more)Finally in stock: Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services: The BISM Tabular Model #ssas #tabular
Updated: 2012-07-26 11:32:00
: : THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web Welcome to SQLblog.com The SQL Server blog spot on the web Sign in in SQLBI Marco Russo Entire Site Search Home Blogs Downloads Opml SQLBI Marco Russo SQLBI is a blog dedicated to building Business Intelligence solutions with SQL Server Finally in stock : Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services : The BISM Tabular Model ssas tabular It has been a long wait , but finally our book about Analysis Services Tabular is available Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services : The BISM Tabular Model Amazon is already shipping it in US and it should be available soon also in Europe . However , the Kindle edition is already available everywhere If you like to order it on Amazon , here are the links for all the : shops Amazon.com : hardcopy kindle Amazon.ca :SQL SERVER – Answer – How to Convert Hex to Decimal or INT
Updated: 2012-07-26 02:30:29
Has it ever happened to you that you say something but forget to follow up due to any reason? It usually does not happen to me as I try to remember everything in my task list but there is always an exception. Last year I asked a question regarding about how to convert Hex to [...]Database Build and Release with Jenkins
Updated: 2012-07-26 01:00:00One of the frustrations of implementing a Continuous Integration (CI) system is understanding how the individual components of the workflow work together to contribute to the process. The software engineer for a successful system describes how his team designed and use a useful CI system based on Jenkins, Subversion and Red Gate Tools.Windows Azure Visio Shapes
Updated: 2012-07-25 14:44:23
THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web Welcome to SQLblog.com The SQL Server blog spot on the web Sign in in Buck Woody Entire Site Search Home Blogs Downloads Opml Buck Woody Carpe Datum Windows Azure Visio Shapes Normally when I diagram a solution for a customer , I use whatever they are comfortable with . I do most of my work these days in OneNote , especially when it’s an Architecture Design Session ADS since I can capture notes , handwriting , drawings , web pages , whiteboards , camera shots and even voice . In fact you can search on most of those . Simplicity is the rule I just want to capture enough data to move to the next phase of the project and ensure everyone understands what we are doing . When we get to that next phase , I like to use Visio . It’s a vector-based drawing andNew Article: Stairway to SSIS 7!
Updated: 2012-07-25 12:00:00SQL SERVER – How do I Record Video and Webcast – Milestone – 2200th Blog Post – SQL in Sixty Seconds #022 – Video
Updated: 2012-07-25 02:30:14Earlier I used to do Milestone blog posts where at the interval I used to celebrate achievements. However, as time passed the achievements changes their value and importance. We all grow more and more and our priorities are different. However, today I have come across a very interesting milestone! This is my 2200th blog post [...]Universal Computer Solution Diagram
Updated: 2012-07-25 01:59:13SQL Sentry is sponsoring a new blog : SQLPerformance.com
Updated: 2012-07-25 01:35:00Running Excel 2013 in a separate instance #excel #powerpivot
Updated: 2012-07-24 17:04:39SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1 CTP3 is available - but there's a catch
Updated: 2012-07-24 15:05:00SQL SERVER – Observation of Top with Index and Order of Resultset
Updated: 2012-07-23 02:30:02SQL Server has lots of things to learn and share. It is amazing to see how people evaluate and understand different techniques and styles differently when implementing. There are three different instances where I have come across a situation where I felt that proper understanding is important and something which looks evil may not be evil [...]SQLAuthority News – 2 SQL Server Documentations Updates
Updated: 2012-07-22 02:30:50SQL Server is a very fine product and the best part of it is documentation. What I do in weekend is just read the documentation or some weekend project. This weekend I decided to spend on reading documentation. Earlier I downloaded and installed SQL Server 2012 Install Kit during this weekend. Honestly, quite a lot [...]Presenting Designing an SSIS Framework at NoVaSQL Monday!
Updated: 2012-07-21 03:12:12SQL SERVER – Download SQL Server 2012 Developer Training Kit – Update July 2012
Updated: 2012-07-21 02:30:12I just came across newly updated SQL Server 2012 Developer Kit Setup. It is quite convenient and there are many prefers to download setup kit instead of web installer. Developer kit is my favorite feature because it it is a single resource which gives a complete overview of the product in a nutshell. A developer can [...]SQL SERVER – INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS and Value Character Maximum Length -1
Updated: 2012-07-20 02:30:10I personally use the sys schema and DMV to retrieve most of the information. However, I am not surprised see usage of Information_Schema. It has been very popular and works in most of the time. Though, I do not use any feature it does not mean everybody else should stop using the same feature. The [...]CASTs become CONVERTs in computed columns with implications for SSDT
Updated: 2012-07-19 11:03:00New Article: Stairway to SSIS 6!
Updated: 2012-07-19 05:31:48SQL SERVER – Find Column Used in Stored Procedure – Search Stored Procedure for Column Name – Part 2
Updated: 2012-07-19 02:30:28Earlier this week I wrote a blog about Find Column Used in Stored Procedure – Search Stored Procedure for Column Name. I received plenty of comments on the subject. One of the statements which I used in the story (Time: Any Day – usually right before developer wants to go home) was very much liked by [...]Execution Statuses [SSIS]
Updated: 2012-07-18 12:11:41
THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web Welcome to SQLblog.com The SQL Server blog spot on the web Sign in in SSIS Junkie Entire Site Search Home Blogs Downloads Opml SSIS Junkie This is the blog of Jamie Thomson , a freelance SQL Server developer in London Execution Statuses SSIS I have been doing development on SQL Server Integration Services SSIS 2012 for a few months and I have quite a lot of experiences to share on this blog . Sharing them will happen over time but I do want to begin with this particular . nugget Very simply , put this post-it note on your . monitor You’ll be glad you did . Trust me Alternatively you could just download my SSIS Reporting Pack UPDATE : I should also point out that the built-in reports do provide the same : information You will still find the post-it noteSQL SERVER – Generate Script for Schema and Data – SQL in Sixty Seconds #021 – Video
Updated: 2012-07-18 02:30:51The biggest request we keep on getting in SQL in Sixty Seconds is tricks with SQL Server Management Studio. It seems like SSMS is our favorite tool and we all want to share our neat tricks with everybody. Today I am going to share very popular and most requested SQL Server Tip. Sample data and [...]Exporting Master Data White Paper Published
Updated: 2012-07-17 21:25:00July 2012 : Cumulative Updates for SQL Server 2008 are available
Updated: 2012-07-17 18:48:00New Developments at SQLServerPedia.com
Updated: 2012-07-17 18:07:00
Kevin details how to join SQLServerPedia as a syndicated blogger and what's next for the popular website and wiki....(read more)SQL SERVER – 2012 Functions – FORMAT() and CONCAT() – An Interesting Usage
Updated: 2012-07-16 02:30:37Before continuing this blog post I would like to bring your attention to two of my earlier blog post where I have written in depth about FORMAT and CONCAT function. String Function – FORMAT() – A Quick Introduction String Function – CONCAT() – A Quick Introduction Read the above two blog posts if you are interested in [...]SQL SERVER – Find Column Used in Stored Procedure – Search Stored Procedure for Column Name
Updated: 2012-07-15 02:30:20Place: Any Developer Shop Scenario: A developer wants to drop a column from a table Time: Any Day – usually right before developer wants to go home The developer rushes to the manager and following conversation begins: Developer: I want to drop a column from one of the tables. Manager: Sure, just document it where [...]SQL SERVER – Example of Width Sensitive and Width Insensitive Collation
Updated: 2012-07-14 02:30:12
I had a great time writing blog post SQL SERVER – Effect of Case Sensitive Collation on Resultset. It was interesting to see lots of questions related to collation based on this blog post. However, one of the question, I find very interesting and though to share today here. Question: What is a width sensitive collation? Can [...]Extended Events in Windows Azure SQL Database
Updated: 2012-07-13 03:49:00Home Syndication Log in Using filestream , streaming I O and SQL logins with impersonation Extended Events in Windows Azure SQL Database Continued from the previous post , Some new upcoming Windows Azure SQL Database DMVs and diagnostics Read that one to find out who Vinod and Michal are . So , before you all run out and try it , this isn't working yet . But , like the WASD event log view , the pieces seem to be in place . So , standard disclaimer applies . I only saw it working in Vinod and Michal's demo . The stuff I'm looking at may bear no resemblance to the final product . On the other hand , it may . So , I went looking in WASD today . Some of the extended event views exist in every database today . This jibes with the demo that showed an XEvent node in SSMS Object Explorer in theSome new/upcoming Windows Azure SQL Database DMVs and diagnostics
Updated: 2012-07-13 03:44:00Home Syndication Log in Extended Events in Windows Azure SQL Database Some new upcoming Windows Azure SQL Database DMVs and diagnostics I didn't get to a whole lot of others' sessions at TechEd this year , but was pleasantly surprised by Vinod and Michal's session on SQL Azure Administration and Application Self-Servicing Although most of the really interesting stuff they showed wasn't in place yet they demo'd on a test portal and test Windows Azure SQL Database did I get the new name right servers , there are some things folks have been looking for that are available now . The near-future looks even better . Windows Azure SQL Database we gotta come up with an acronym for this , how about WASD for now has always contained a subset of DMVs from SQL Server . And the ones that are there don'tSQL SERVER – Switch Between Two Parenthesis using Shortcut CTRL+]
Updated: 2012-07-13 02:30:51Earlier this week I wrote a blog post about SQL SERVER – CTRL+SHIFT+] Shortcut to Select Code Between Two Parenthesis, I received quite a lot of positive feedback from readers. If you are a regular reader of the blog post, you must be aware that I appreciate the learning shared by readers. Here is another interesting [...]Optimizing tempdb configuration with SQL Server 2012 Extended Events
Updated: 2012-07-13 01:00:00One of the most obvious bottlenecks in the performance of tempdb is caused by PAGELATCH, in-memory latch contention on the allocation bitmap of each data file used. We can use one of the rules-of-thumb to choose what should be roughly the best number of files, but how then do you check to see whether you've got it right for your data and workload?Saving the contents of a SQL Server XML column to a file
Updated: 2012-07-12 19:41:00Home Syndication Log in Some new upcoming Windows Azure SQL Database DMVs and diagnostics Saving the contents of a SQL Server XML column to a file While preparing for my TechEd talk on filetables and full-text search , I came across this tidbit that I thought was interesting . With the advent of XML support in databases , specifically SQL Server's XML data type in SQL Server 2005, there has been two main ways to store XML in files on the file system , and in a database . SQL Server has a built-in way to move XML data from files to the database , namely the OLE DB BULK provider and OPENROWSET SINGLE BLOB CLOB NCLOB . It looks like this Load XML from a file DECLARE x XML SET x SELECT FROM OPENROWSET( BULK C : invoice1.xml' , SINGLE_BLOB AS x Or direct to table INSERT INTOSQL SERVER – Effect of Case Sensitive Collation on Resultset
Updated: 2012-07-12 02:30:09
Collation is a very interesting concept but I quite often see it is heavily neglected. I have seen developer and DBA looking for a workaround to fix collation error rather than understanding if the side effect of the workaround. Collation is a very deep subject. Earlier I wrote an article how one can resolve the [...]SQL SERVER – Remove Debug Button in SSMS – SQL in Sixty Seconds #020 – Video
Updated: 2012-07-11 02:30:49SQL in Sixty Seconds is indeed tremendous fun to do. Every week, we try to come up with some new learning which we can share in Sixty Seconds. In this busy world, we all have sixty seconds to learn something new – no matter how much busy we are. In this episode of the series, [...]NULL-Friendly: Using Sparse Columns and Column Sets in SQL Server
Updated: 2012-07-10 01:00:00Sparse columns and column sets in SQL Server 2012 provide a way of accomodating the less-structured data that has always proved to be tricky for the relational model. They can be used very effectively where the attributes are sparse for any given entity and very numerous across all entities. Seth Delconte shows how to use them.SQL SERVER – Monday Morning Puzzle – Query Returns Results Sometimes but Not Always
Updated: 2012-07-09 02:30:22The amount of email I receive sometime it is impossible for me to answer every email. Nonetheless I try to answer pretty much every email I receive. However, quite often I receive such questions in email that I have no answer to them because either emails are not complete or they are out of my domain [...]SQLAuthority News – 2 Whitepapers Announced – AlwaysOn Architecture Guide: Building a High Availability and Disaster Recovery Solution
Updated: 2012-07-08 02:30:19Understanding AlwaysOn Architecture is extremely important when building a solution with failover clusters and availability groups. Microsoft has just released two very important white papers related to this subject. Both the white papers are written by top experts in industry and have been reviewed by excellent panel of experts. Every time I talk with various [...]SQL SERVER – CTRL+SHIFT+] Shortcut to Select Code Between Two Parenthesis
Updated: 2012-07-07 02:30:56Every weekend brings creative ideas and accidents brings best unknown secrets in front of us. Just a day while working with complex SQL Server code in SSMS I came across very interesting shortcut which I have never used before and instantly fell in love with it. It is totally possible that you are familiar with [...]Proactive Data Growth Management: Reducing your Storage Footprint
Updated: 2012-07-05 01:00:00There are plenty of detailed step-wise ways in which you, as DBA, can reduce the escalating cost of data storage for your organisation, but to get a radical effect, you'll need to apply some powerful compression techniques. Brad explains more...Encrypting Your SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Availability Databases
Updated: 2012-07-04 01:00:00It is likely that you'll want to add a database with TDS Encryption to your AlwaysOn Availability Group. If you do so you'll find that you can't use the SSMS wizard to do so. So, how do you achieve it? Read on...