The DMV for Day 28 is sys.dm_io_pending_io_requests, which is described by BOL as:

Returns a row for each pending I/O request in SQL Server.

That is a pretty straightforward, if terse description.  This DMV works with SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008, and 2008 R2. It requires VIEW SERVER… Read more

I just posted a new blog entry on how I automate the shutdown and startup of Windows services.

Check it out at http://www.sqlmag.com/blogs/tool-time.aspx.  Be sure to let me know what you think and if you have your own unique methods for automating the control of Windows services!

Many thanks, Read more

For the April T-SQL Tuesday, I blogged about a report to find information on the BLOBs in a database.  I have since seen a request to add to that script.  The addition would add some good information concerning the columns involved in a BLOB index.  This information is to… Read more

Since SQL Server 2008 R2 has gone RTM, and will be available on MSDN Subscribers on May 3, I thought it was time to post an updated version of the Diagnostic Information queries. This has updated build lists for SQL Server 2008, SQL Azure, and SQL Server 2008 R2,… Read more

I’ve just started watching The Big Bang Theory so I figured I’d borrow a naming convention from their episodes with this blog post. This is a quick post as the problem itself is small and doesn’t have an application (yet).

A co-worker of mine… Read more

Over the last several months I’ve had a look at IN, Exists, Join and their opposites to see how they perform and whether there’s any truth in the advice that is often seen on forums and blogs advocating replacing one with the other.

Previous parts of this series can be… Read more

The DMV for Day 27 is sys.dm_tran_locks, which is described by BOL as:

Returns information about currently active lock manager resources. Each row represents a currently active request to the lock manager for a lock that has been granted or is waiting to be granted. The columns in the…

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Last year at the PASS Summit we held a silly little event called Kilt Wednesday. Only three people took part, but it was very popular nonetheless. Here’s a sample of what it looked like. This year is looking to be a lot bigger. Keep an eye on Twitter for… Read more

SQLSaturday #49 will be held in Orlando on October 16th, 2010, and our call for speakers is now open. We’re looking for diversity of topics and speakers; don’t be afraid to submit a niche topic! This year we’re trying two new things:

• We’re going to do have one set of…

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Tia thinks I’m crazy to book early, but I like to have a choice of flights, and I like to get things off my plate. I heard back from someone about TechEd today, so I decided to just book the trip. One less thing for me to worry about.

SQL… Read more

For my next series of blog posts I intend to document and write about SQL Server replication. This is a pretty large topic and I make no claims to an expert in replication but over the last couple years I have been working with replication more and more and I… Read more

I had the opportunity to go present at SQLSaturday #41-Atlanta this past weekend (April 24, 2010) and I had a great time. Stuart Ainsworth (@stuarta) and crew did a great job putting together the event and as a presenter/attendee I would say that everything ran very smoothly.

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This is the official announcement that we are officially scheduled for holding a SQL Saturday in Columbia, SC, on October 2, 2010. We have a bit of information to track down with regards to sponsorship, recommended hotel,  and the like and then we'll be ready to turn on the SQL… Read more

Available for download by all PASS members (membership is free), this issue has Techies Talking to Non-Techies by Don Gabor. Don talks about the various conversation styles and how sometimes you have to adjust your style to have a worthwhile (reasonable) conversation.

I totally agree on this, it took me… Read more

I hope there will be more surveys, so I’ll tag this as 2010. The results were released recently, and there were some write-ups on the results. There was the release by PASS, and then a great interpretation (and debate) by Brent Ozar. There are others as well ( Read more

Since SQL Server 2008 R2 has gone RTM, and will soon be available for purchase, I am going to be spending even less time talking about SQL Server 2005 in the future. If you are on SQL Server 2005, you should try to make sure that you are on at… Read more

Join Us for 24 Hours of SQL Server Training

(with a special focus on SQL Server 2008 R2)

Did I mention that your Cohorts in Crime (that be me and Brent Ozar) are presenting?!?

The FREE 24 Hours of PASS event is bringing an exceptional lineup of SQL Server… Read more

Are SQL Saturdays falling from the sky? (from Jen McCown, @midnightDBA)
I think so. This past weekend had three events, #39 in NYC, #41 in Atlanta, and #44 in Huntington Beach, CA. That’s unusual, but this weekend we have #36 in Wheeling, WV and #38…

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 I have become accustom to modifying package variables within my Script Task using the VariablesDispenser  object.  It is convenient and powerful.  I started working with this object due to issues I found while hacking my way through SSIS2005.  I would put the variables in the ReadOnly…

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Whew!  So I've been super busy the past week and a half upgrading our production server from SQL 2000 to SQL 2008 and haven't had time for any new posts.  Finally starting to see everything calm down again though and running smoother than ever before.  I had hoped to do… Read more