5 Reasons You Must Start Capturing Baseline Data

Erin Stellato from SQLServerCentral.com

It is widely acknowledged within the SQL Server community that baselines represent valuable information that DBAs should capture. Unfortunately, very few companies manage to log and report on this information, and DBAs are then forced to troubleshoot from the hip and scramble to find evidence to prove that the database is not the problem. This article will make a compelling argument for why DBAs must start capturing baseline information, and will create a roadmap for subsequent posts. More »

SQL Saturday #179 - Kharkov, Ukraine

Press Release from SQLServerCentral.com

SQL Saturday in the Ukraine. If you want a free day of training, sign up and attend. More »

Create SQL Server Analysis Services Partitions using AMO

Additional Articles from MSSQLTips.com

When you have SSAS cubes with millions of rows of data, it is very helpful to create partitions. If you have a few cubes you could probably do this manually, but if there are many or if you want to automate this process you should look for smarter solutions such as programming the creation of partitions dynamically.  More »

From the SQLServerCentral Blogs - Quick Tip – Speed a Slow Restore from the Transaction Log

Here’s a quick tip for you: During some restore operations on Microsoft SQL Server, the transaction log redo step might be... More »

This editorial was originally published on Mar 20, 2008. It is being re-run as Steve is on vacation.

I actually got this from my Mom, and thought it was amazing. A look at how you can move rocks. Now this aren't just any rocks, these are Stonehenge-sized rocks. And the guy moving the rocks isn't any bigger than I am.

The process is amazing, but to me the most amazing is that this is this is a relatively ordinary person, a retired worker, that engineered this process. He had a passion for moving things, and built a hobby that has provided a very plausible solution to a problem, or at least a question, that many people have thought about for a long time and not gotten better ideas.

The power of the human mind, as diverse and varied as we all think, is amazing. To me, this is a great argument for why we should constantly invest of all types of basic research, use the power of the Internet to distribute the workloads to those people that are interested, and allow them to correspond with each other.

I can even see corporations getting involved and helping people to move forward. I think the X-Prize that I've mentioned in my car updates, is another great example of just how far we can move forward when a variety of people tackle a challenge that they have a passion for.

So if you have a passion, pursue it. And share your knowledge with others. With the power of so many minds working on problems and sharing their accomplishments, who knows what we will accomplish?

Steve Jones from SQLServerCentral.com

» Join the debate, and respond to today's editorial on the forums

The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

The podcast feeds are now available at sqlservercentral.podshow.com to get better bandwidth and maybe a little more exposure :). Comments are definitely appreciated and wanted, and you can get feeds from there.

Overall RSS Feed: or now on iTunes!

• Windows Media Podcast - 21.9MB WMV
• iPod Video Podcast - 18.2MB MP4
• MP3 Audio Podcast - 3.9MB

Today's podcast features music by Everyday Jones. No relation, but I stumbled on to them and really like the music. Support this great duo at www.everydayjones.com.

I really appreciate and value feedback on the podcasts. Let us know what you like, don't like, or even send in ideas for the show. If you'd like to comment, post something here. The boss will be sure to read it.

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Today's Question:

declare @x float, @y float

set @x = 3.65
set @y = 3.75

--What values are returned by the following statements?
select 'x = ' + str(@x,10,1) 
select 'y = ' + str(@y,10,1)

By Charles Rutter

Think you know the answer? Click here, and find out if you are right.

This question is worth 1 point in this category: T-SQL. We keep track of your score to give you bragging rights against your peers.

We'd love to give you credit for your own question and answer. To submit a QOD, simply log in to Contribution Center.

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Security Cookbook 

Each recipe comprises step-by-step instructions followed by an analysis of what was done in each task and other useful information. The book is designed so that you can read it chapter by chapter, or look at the list of recipes and refer to them in no particular order. Each example comes with its expected output to make your learning even easier thus enabling you to successfully secure your SQL Server 2012 database. This book is for SQL Server administrators, developers, and consultants who want to secure their SQL Server database with cutting edge techniques for data and code encryption, user authentication and authorization, protection against brute force attacks, denial-of-service attacks, and SQL Injection, securing business intelligence, and more. Working knowledge of SQL Server is expected.

Get your copy from Amazon today.

What is returned from #tblTrans when you run the below code.

CREATE TABLE #tblTrans(RowId TINYINT)
GO
BEGIN TRAN
	DECLARE @getId TINYINT 
	SET @getId=100
	INSERT INTO #tblTrans (RowId) VALUES(@getId)
	IF @getId >10
	RAISERROR('RowId should not be greater than 10',11,16)
	PRINT @@ERROR
IF @@ERROR = 0
BEGIN
	COMMIT TRAN 
	PRINT 'I am here at commit!'
END
ELSE
BEGIN 
	ROLLBACK TRAN
	PRINT 'I am here at rollback!'
END
GO
SELECT * FROM #tblTrans

By Raj

Answer: 100

Explanation: @@ERROR Returns the error number for the last Transact-SQL statement executed. In this example, though error is generated using RAISERROR the next immediate statement is PRINT @ERROR which resets the error number to "0". It is best practice to remove the PRINT statement when you move your code to production environment.

Ref: Using @@Error - http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190193%28v=SQL.105%29.aspx

» Discuss this question and answer on the forums

SQL Server 2012 T-SQL Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach

SQL Server 2012 T-SQL Recipes is an example-based guide to the Transact-SQL language that is at the core of SQL Server 2012. It provides ready-to-implement solutions to common programming and database administration tasks. Learn to create databases, insert and update data, generate reports, secure your data, and more. Tasks and their solutions are broken down into a problem/solution format that is quick and easy to read so that you can get the job done fast when the pressure is on. Get your copy from Amazon today.

SQL Server Documenter

Rudy Panigas from SQLServerCentral.com

This script was designed to provide you with all the information needed to rebuild your server in case of a disaster. Current version work with 2005, 2008, 2008R2 and 2012. More »

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