SQL Server has supported VLDBs (very large databases) for some time now. Back in the SQL Server 2000 days, I recall hearing multi-terabyte databases were unusual but doable. Now, they are commonplace, while databases in the hundreds of terabytes inhabit the part of the map that says “there be dragons.”… Read more

Blogging has been a bit quiet of late. That’s because I’ve been spending a lot my spare time getting ready for presentations that I have to give. Two of them are in about two weeks.

First, and this one is going to be a big deal, is 24 Hours of… Read more

I sometimes have ghost memories - I remember some things that had never in fact happened. And I was wondering if  my remembering that Reporting Services 2000 had an option in its configuration file that enabled query logging in Reporting Services log files (LogFiles folder) along with the name of…

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Some seemingly simple filtering logic can be more difficult to achieve when using a dataset filter rather than the WHERE clause of a SQL query.  The problem with comparing Null values in an expression has little to do with the features of Reporting Services but with the behavior of the…

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Our most recent board meeting was in Nashville on Aug 19, 20. We had originally discussed meeting in Seattle/Redmond/Vancouver, but by the time we scheduled the August meeting a few of us had already committed to attending the SQLSaturday in Nashville, so it just made sense to have it there.… Read more

There are some progressive companies out there, and I think they are doing some very interesting things with how they treat employees and work with them. One thing that Netflix does, and I’ve seen others do, is eliminate the tracking of vacation time. They hold people responsible for getting… Read more

I have presented you with a couple of easy puzzles in the last few posts.  So, let's step it up a little with one that is a little more challenging.  I have to be honest, this puzzle was sent to me by one of my co-workers at Pragmatic Works.  Here… Read more

Over the many years that I’ve been dealing with SQL Server, I’ve always been told and read about how using dynamic SQL statements can’t be reused by the query optimizer. So, this morning, I thought about testing it out and finding out if dynamic SQL statements get stored in cache.… Read more

In a previous post, I showed you how one could Restart, Stop and Start the services for an instance of SQL Server using the SSMS GUI. Again, please do not execute this on your PRODUCTION server, but here I am going to show you how to create a batch script… Read more

Sometimes you may need to restart your instance of SQL Server. You should rarely do this on Production boxes, but in development or on your local desktop instance I restart my SQL Server instance fairly often. Here is the easiest way for those who like to use the GUI (graphical… Read more

Get it here.

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First and foremost, I want to thank everyone who attended my presentation today. It got off to a late start due to the prior presentation running over and a little setup issues set me back a little bit more, but I was able to cram in all of the content… Read more

Professional Development for the SQL Server Technologist

This series of posts is dedicated to enhancing your soft skills.  For many technologists, the day-to-day grind of work tends to keep us focused on the SQL Server part of work and causes us to overlook the Professional.  While we, as technologists, spend… Read more

If you are intending to take any Microsoft Certification tests soon, you are in luck, because Microsoft has recently introduced a discount you will want to take advantage of. If you are willing to purchase a 2-exam or 3-exam certification pack, you will get a 15% discount off the cost… Read more

Puzzle #6 should not have presented too much of a challenge, it's intentions were to introduction you to the ORDER function that is available in MDX.  Ok, so this is what I started with:

This is a very simple statement that satisfies most of the puzzle requirements.  The only one… Read more

This was written for something fun on a Friday, but it’s still interesting for coffee talk anytime – what superhero would you be if you could? Saw a few votes for Batman, a couple for the Flash, and a few more unusual ones – read the comments on the original… Read more

Each month, for six months, Arnie Rowland will  be giving away a package of software, books, training, and development tools, valued at over $15,000, to an unemployed or underemployed developer that takes on a software project of his/her choice with a non-profit.

“The idea is to provide the recipient access… Read more

Ran across this in my weekly browsing, Formufit sells furniture grade PVC. I think I’m not quite clear on the difference between that and regular PVC pipe yet, but what I do see in their catalog is a lot of nice pieces you won’t find at Lowes – a cap… Read more

I’m leaving later today for the not too bad drive to Jacksonville for the sixth annual Code Camp. I’ve got one presentation on the schedule (statistics) and I see a whole track on BI, plus one on complex events and another on reporting services. It’s also a mini vacation,… Read more