Top Ten Christmas Lists for SQL Server 2012
As 2011 winds down, I am looking forward to 2012. It’s another big year for Microsoft with SQL Server 2012 due to be released in the first half of next year. Looking at the Read more
new features, the glass is either half full or half empty. With this in mind, I have produced two lists this year, one for Santa and one for Scrooge.
Day 2 at SQL PASS Summit – SQL Server and the Private Cloud
After yesterday’s news with SQL Server 2012, what could we expect on Day 2 at the SQL PASS Summit 2011? How about SQL Server and the Private Cloud? Or SQL Azure and the Public Cloud? More real-life details on the AlwaysOn HA/DR solution? Deeper Dive into SSAS BISM Tabular Model Support? SSIS 2012 top 10 enhancements? I only have so many brain cells left so I am ordering the DVDs… Read more
Day 1 at SQL PASS Summit - SQL 11.0 “Denali” is now officially SQL Server 2012
Once again we find ourselves Sleepless in Seattle. Déjà vu all over again. We would be excused for feeling a little too comfortable with the Seattle Convention Center but the SQL PASS Summit is simply the best Microsoft SQL Server conference there is – it really doesn’t matter where it is. Any feeling of the “same old, same old” was quickly dispelled at the Key Note speech. Yes, the worldwide announcement of the release date of “Denali” was made here today – SQL Server 2012 will be released in the first half of 2012. Read more
SQL 11 Codename "Denali" Is Coming!
Microsoft SQL 11, code name Denali, has many new features that will allow you to develop higher performing, more scalable next-generation applications using more than just relational data. Although this release will be a little early for many customers, the features are largely incremental in nature, which should reassure users that Microsoft is building on the established foundation of SQL Server 2008. Read more
Need help with Online Page-Level Restores? SQL11 SSMS is your friend!
In SQL Server 2005, Microsoft introduced the Online Restore where parts of a database could be restored while other parts of the same database could remain available. In the same release, the Page-Level Restore was also introduced. The combination of the two technologies is the Online Page-Level Restore which allows one or more data pages to be restored while the database remains available. This is a great feature for 24x7 shops but takes more than a little skill and practice. SQL11 Denali makes it easy. Read more
Swiss Army Bootcamp for SQL Server - complete with toothpick!
As an MCITP DBA and MCT, I teach the latest and greatest regarding Microsoft SQL Server. Global Knowledge is a Microsoft Gold Partner, so we use the Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) for our courses, if available. If materials are not available, however, we develop custom materials ourselves to complement the MOC courses. The MOC SQL courses have varied in quality over the years. Thankfully, it looks like they are back on track with the latest revs. Read more
Denali Books Online…Online for real!
When Sybase invented Books Online to support Sybase SQL Server it was one of the first “online” help-systems available. Shipping a few CDs was always more earth-friendly than shipping hundreds of pounds of books that sat on the shelf gathering dust. At Sybase University, we did not print out student manuals; rather a CD was issued with all the materials stored electronically. This saved many trees and hundreds of thousands of dollars. Over 20 years ago, it made sense. It makes sense now. Microsoft has always delivered Books Online with the SQL Server product on the install media. Read more
Tablets mean Business!
OK, so I am testing out a new Lenovo Thinkpad X201 Tablet. I wanted the ease of use of an iPad but also a powerful laptop that runs my business software too. I don’t think Microsoft SQL Server tools run on the iPad2 – yet. Maybe after Apple supports Flash, it may consider SQL Server – not. There’s always the WinAdmin iPad Edition for running Windows RDP but that’s clearly cheating – way too simple. No, I want a convertible. Read more
Windows 7 and Virtual Server – jump through some virtual hoops!
Submitted by Brian Egler on Mon, 03/07/11 - 12:26pm.OK, as an instructor, I use virtualization as an educational tool. Virtual machines are perfect for training in that a student can experiment knowing that any mistakes can be quickly discarded for another try – the perfect safe environment far away from production systems. Now many production servers are becoming virtual machines providing flexibility, failover and efficient utilization. Microsoft’s Hyper-V hypervisor claims a “live migration” feature allowing a production VM to switch to new hardware without stopping the service. That’s new in Windows Server 2008 R2. Read more
Star vs Snowflake Schemas – what’s your belief?
Two common designs for a Data Warehouse are identified as a “Star Schema” and a “Snowflake Schema”. When we discuss the differences and individual preferences, usually the gloves come off and DBA’s will duke it out. It becomes a religious argument with plenty of passion and zeal. Let’s take a look at why…
Slowly Changing Dimension - More detail...
In a previous blog entry I discussed the concept of the Slowly Changing Dimension or SCD. A good example is how to handle the analysis of Sales by Customer Region when a customer moves from one Region to another. The way to solve this situation is with a Type 2 SCD design. Let’s take a look…
How Slow is Slow? Slowly Changing Dimensions in SSAS
An important subject that seems to be omitted in many Business Intelligence training courses is the Slowly Changing Dimension or SCD. When I teach BI classes, I make a point of covering the topic and it probably gets more students excited about BI more than any other topic. And believe me, that’s easier said than done. Excited and Business Intelligence don’t always fit in the same sentence. ..
SQL Server 2008 R2 – Master Data Services
When building a Data Warehouse, we have to go through a “Data Discovery” phase where the requirements of the Business Intelligence solution are mapped to the actual operational systems so that we can extract transform and load (ETL) the data into the Data Warehouse. This is a significant effort, especially if you have multiple application groups to contend with. Not all systems use appropriate and friendly naming conventions! Read more
Top Ten Scrooge List for SQL Server – “Polar Express” version
Last year, I listed my first annual "Top Ten Scrooge list for SQL Server". In the spirit of the season, I started thinking about those features that Microsoft charges top-dollar for with SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition that really should be included in the other editions. Well, now I know Bill Gates does not read my blog because only two of the items have been moved off the list. Let’s take a look at last year’s list and how they stack up today with SQL Server 2008 R2…
1. Data Compression - still Enterprise :( Read more
2. Data Driven Subscriptions - still Enterprise :(
Tricky SQL Server install on 64-bit machines – Use Switchback!
Most of my test servers are still 32-bit machines. It’s not until recently that I have started to use 64-bit machines for testing. The big reason for the 64-bit platform is better performance for large databases given that you can allocate up to 2TB of memory on these monster machines. Database servers love extra physical memory. The SQL Server architecture is essentially the same on either platform. One difference is that the new feature of SQL Server 2008 R2 named Master Data Services is only available with the 64-bit editions. This was my motivation for getting started with 64-bit. Read more
Instant File Initialization (IFI) for faster database creation
I have been testing out some interesting items that were mentioned in sessions at the PASS Summit in Seattle last month. One of these was the concept of Instant File Initialization (IFI) for large database files. Even though this feature has been around since Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2005, I decided to include it in my testing of SQL11 CTP1, code-named “Denali” that was handed out at the conference to see if IFI still works the same way. Read more
Understand DMVs…or should we say DMOs?
My favorite technical session at the PASS Summit conference last month was provided by Grant Fritchey, the “Scary DBA”. The subject was Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) and how to use them for troubleshooting under the title “SQL Server DMV's as a Shortcut to Procedure Tuning”. This Wednesday session was also on “SQL Kilt” day so Grant obliged by wearing a camouflaged kilt. Now there was one Scary DBA! Read more
Early Christmas Present – Data Collector Reports!
The Data Collector was introduced in SQL Server 2008 and provides some great functionality “out of the box”, with some cool interactive reports based on performance metrics. I spent much of the PASS Summit conference last month trying to track down the source code for these reports. Eventually, I tracked down Bill Ramos, Principal Program Manager at Microsoft who promised to provide the source within days of the conference finishing. Bill has kept true to his word… Read more
Day 2 at PASS Summit 2010 – Denali announced and available…
Submitted by Brian Egler on Thu, 11/11/10 - 10:47am.Yes, this really is the biggest PASS Summit ever. You can tell by the line of folks trying to get on the escalator to get downstairs after the keynote speech. We’ve been talking about locking and blocking all week regarding our databases and here was a human white-spot right before our eyes. The keynote was well attended and did not disappoint with further details on the next release of SQL Server codenamed “Denali”. Afterwards, CTP1 was handed out on CD. Maybe that created the deadlock. Read more
Day 1 at PASS Summit 2010 – SQL Server “Denali” in CTP
Almost 4000 people from 48 different countries congregated in Seattle to mark the beginning of the most attended PASS Summit ever. Thousands more attended via the first ever live-streaming of the keynote speech. The UK PASS Chapter had a live-streaming meeting for those who could not travel. The keynote marked the beginning of the annual conference that will feature 191 speakers and 44 MVP’s. And we were the first to hear about the new version of SQL Server code-named “Denali” for which CTP1 will be available tomorrow. Quite a day. Read more
- About Brian Egler's SQL Server Strategies
Brian D. Egler, MCITP/MCSE/MCT 2009, is currently an instructor with Global Knowledge, teaching various Microsoft training courses. He is a SQL specialist with a focus on SQL Server, Windows, .Net and XML. Egler has been a technical instructor for over 20 years and has more than 10 years experience with SQL Server, data modeling, database design, application development including IMS, DB2, Sybase. Every year he runs the Boston Marathon for cancer research.
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