14Feb 2011 by Grant Fritchey 6 Comments

DBA 101: Why Don’t People Run Backups

SQL Server, T-SQL
It happened multiple times this week. It happens multiple times every week. Some poor soul is posting on a message board, usually with the heading “URGENT” (why that one word so frequently, I just don’t know), that they deleted production data/dropped a production table/updated production data/dropped a database/received a data corruption error/whatever. Now, they need to get the data back. “URGENT, What do I do now?” And so you ask, as you should, what kind of backups do you have? Over and over the answer is: “Backups? What’s a backup” or “Oh, the system guys backup of the MDF files every night” or “We don’t really need those” or “We don’t have room to back up our databases” or some other excuse that simple comes down to, we didn’t set…
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08Feb 2011 by Grant Fritchey 8 Comments

TSQL Tuesday #15–Automation in SQL Server

SQL Server, T-SQL
Automation is the separation point for the professional DBA from the amateur. That makes this a very important topic. Thanks to Pat Wright (blog|twitter) for coming up with something great to write about and hosting the event. I recently wrote an article for the SQL Spackle series over on SQL Server Central on how to “Set Up and Schedule a Server Side Trace.” That covers well what to do to set up a trace on your system so that you can automate it. But I think I left out a few details that I think are worth pointing out here. The basics on creating the Server Side Trace using Profiler and scheduling it using SQL Agent are well covered in the article. The extra areas I want to address are…
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07Feb 2011 by Grant Fritchey 13 Comments

SQL Saturday #60: The Saga

PASS
First, let me thank Erin Stellato (blog|twitter) and all the volunteers for running such a great event. Nicely done. This event was to be my very first walk on to the public stage as a Red Gate employee, so I was excited about getting there. About 10 minutes before I left for the airport, I got a call from the airline. My flight had been cancelled, but no worries, they rescheduled everything for me. Instead of flying to LaGuardia and then on to Cleveland, I would fly past Cleveland to Chicago and then back to Cleveland, getting there at 7:30PM instead of 4:30PM. Ah well. What are you going to do. I’d prefer not to go to Chicago, but everything should be fine… The plane was supposed to leave Chicago…
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02Feb 2011 by Grant Fritchey 25 Comments

PASS Summit Location

PASS
Andy Warren has posted another one of his excellent summaries of what’s going on at the PASS Board. Andy, thanks for what you do. Those of us who care about what goes on at PASS really appreciate your posts. The discussion under consideration this time is the location of the PASS Summit. As you may be aware, it’s been held in Seattle for several years now and will be there for at least two more years going forward. It seems that the board is leaning, extremely heavily, towards making it a permanent fixture in Seattle. I can see why they might do this. First, and biggest, it’s next door to Microsoft. That means the Summit gets tons and tons of Microsoft Employees in attendance, which is a huge draw and…
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31Jan 2011 by Grant Fritchey 7 Comments

Powershell to Automate SQL Compare

Tools
A question came up on the SQL Server Central Forums, how could you use Red Gate SQL Compare to automate creating scripts for all your databases at once. What’s the first thing that popped into my head? Yep, Powershell. SQL Compare Pro comes with a command line utility that allows you to automate just about everything you can do with the GUI. I like to use it when I’m setting up deployment mechanisms for systems because it makes one click deployments possible. I won’t go into all the methods of that type of automation here. For a lot more information on that topic, check out the Team-Based Development book. If you’re interested in exploring how you can use the command line, just type this: sqlcompare/? Now is a good time…
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25Jan 2011 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

SQL Saturday #71: Call For Speakers

PASS
The SQL Saturday #71/New England Data Camp #3 call for speakers has been open for quite a while. But, we had not yet sent out an official request. That email has now gone out the door. Here it is for those who might be interested in presenting. Please consider this your personal email: Let me tell you a little bit about our event. Last year we had over 300 attendees. We plan on doing that well again this year. That’s a guaranteed audience for your presentation. We’re holding the conference in the Microsoft offices on Jones Road in Waltham. The venue is well appointed and set up for presentations. We’re already gathering sponsors from all over the country and the region. It’s going to be a great event. Please submit…
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21Jan 2011 by Grant Fritchey 63 Comments

A Friend of Red Gate No More

Misc
Don’t get me wrong. It’s been great. The beta tests. The advanced notices. The opportunity for feedback. It’s been a great relationship, a fantastic friendship. Look, it’s not you, it’s me. I want more. I want to take our relationship to the next level. That’s why I’m excited as can possibly be to announce that I’m no longer in the Friends of Red Gate program because I’m now a Red Gate employee. That’s right, I’m colored Red! This is an amazing opportunity to step up my game to a whole new level and I’m thrilled to be able to take advantage of it. I have a fascinating title: Product Evangelist. I’m going to be traveling around the country to various events, SQL Saturdays (Cleveland & Chicago already booked), SQL Rally,…
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21Jan 2011 by Grant Fritchey 2 Comments

Deprecation, Trace and Execution Plans

SQL Server, T-SQL
As I’m sure you know, Microsoft occasionally changes it’s mind. Or, it makes bad decisions and then rectifies them. Or, it even reinforces bad decisions. Regardless of the purpose, the means by which these changes are implemented when they involve taking things away is deprecation. Usually in SQL Server the deprecation process is supposed to be over three releases. So while seeing something on the deprecation list can be cause for concern if it’s something you like, you certainly don’t need to panic. I’ve finally had a chance to start working with Denali and the place that concerned me most was in the areas of deprecation. I want to make sure that when I suggest a particular approach, that the approach isn’t going to disappear in a version or two.Which…
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18Jan 2011 by Grant Fritchey 19 Comments

DBA 101: Why is my log file full?

SQL Server
This question comes up constantly in different venues. I see it sometimes 2-3 times a day on SQL Server Central. I know it pops up at least once a week on Ask SSC. I’m sure I’ve seen it on Twitter #sqlhelp. “Why is my log file growing?” and “Why is my log file full” are heard regularly. Or, the variation, “I ran a full backup but the log file is still full/growing.” occasionally comes up. The people asking these questions are frequently, even appropriately, frantic. I’m writing this blog post for two reasons. First, to try to add a little bit of weight to what must surely be one of the most searched for phrases on the internet when it comes to SQL Server. Second, just to have a shorthand…
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14Jan 2011 by Grant Fritchey 11 Comments

Failed Blog Posts

Misc
Over the last week I've started and trashed two blog posts. Let me tell you, that's painful. You get some great idea and then it all goes south. For example, I was going to explain the difference between a table/heap scan and a clustered index scan. The problem was, I ran into gaps in my knowledge, some outright errors in my beliefs on how data was stored, and really faulty conclusions drawn from those facts and a less than thorough set of tests. I'm not even going to tell you what went wrong with the other notion. Luckily, all this was behind the scenes so I didn't post my ignorance for all to see.  Since I'm not offering you a chance to point & laugh (in this instance), you might…
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