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Recap - SQL Saturday #32 Tampa

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-24-2010 7:42 AM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 222 Reads | 222 Reads in Last 30 Days |no comments

This past weekend I was a presenter in two sessions at the SQL Saturday in Tampa.  First, I just want to say what an event.  The lunch that was served set a new precedence for all of the upcoming SQL Lunches.  We had a sit down meal with silverware and plates.  Well over and beyond the sandwich, chips and cookie you will get when attending SQL Saturday in Baton Rouge, but I digress.  Thanks to everyone that helped to put on such a successful event. 

My first session was IRON Chef America SQL.  I acted as the chairman or MC of the presentation.  I provided the color commentary and kept the show going.  In most cases I acted as an instigator between the two competitors, Brian Knight and Adam Jorgensen.  The session was great and so far I have only received great comments.  I can’t wait to do it again.

My second session was SQL Server Compression 101, which was an introductory session to Backup and Data compression.  I had a couple of technical difficulties, but overall I think the presentation was well received.  One of the attendees asked about compressed data and its state on disk and in-memory, which was a great question.  Simply put, she wanted to know if the data was compressed or decompressed in-memory.  Ironically, part of my research addressed this specific question.  Data in-memory is compressed. Since decompressing data consumes CPU, data is only decompressed when it is updated or queried as a result (joining, filtering, etc…).  Even further, only the data requested is decompressed not the entire page.  You can read about this and more about data compression in a great White Paper titled, Data Compression: Strategy, Capacity Planning and Best Practices.  The paper was written by Sanjay Mishra of the SQLCat team.

Thanks to everyone that attended my sessions.  If you have any questions about either please feel free to email me at pleblanc@pragmaticworks.com.  My next stop is Richmond, VA for SQL Saturday #30. 

Talk to you soon

Patrick LeBlanc, founder SQLLunch.com and TSQLScripts.com

Visit www.BIDN.com, Bringing Business Intelligence to your company 


PASS Virtual Meeting - Zero to Cube in 60 Minutes

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-21-2010 12:49 PM | Categories: Filed under: , ,
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 335 Reads | 335 Reads in Last 30 Days |1 comment(s)

PASS Virtual Meeting

Speaker:
Adam Jorgensen

Topic: Zero to cube in 60 Minutes

Date and Time: 1/22/2010 12:00 PM EST

Meeting URL: Join Meeting

Description: Overcome the barriers of traditional training and seminars with this Quick Start to building a cube. This all demo session will get you started and answer many questions you have about building cubes the right way, the first time.

Speaker BIO: Adam Jorgensen     , President – Pragmatic Works Consulting - has over a decade of experience leading organizations around the world in developing and implementing enterprise solutions. Adam is also very involved in the community as a featured author on SQLServerCentral, SQLShare, as well as a regular contributor to the SQLPASS Virtual User Groups and other organizations. He regularly speaks at industry group events, Code Camps, and SQLSaturday events on strategic and technical topics.

Talk to you soon

Patrick Leblanc, Founder SQLLunch.com and TSQLScripts.com


Speaking at SQL Saturday Tampa and Richmond

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-21-2010 11:50 AM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 186 Reads | 186 Reads in Last 30 Days |no comments

Over the next two weekends there will be three SQL Saturday’s held, in Tampa (1/23), Boston (1/30) and Richmond (1/30).  I will have the privilege of not only attending two of the events, but I will be also speaking in Tampa and Richmond.

If you have yet to attend a SQL Saturday there is time to make to any of these events.  These events are free and a lot of fun.  Visit the SQL Saturday home page for information about events in your area.  For those attending the events in Tampa and Richmond I look forward to meeting you all.

Talk to you soon

Patrick LeBlanc, founder SQLLunch.com and TSQLScripts.com

Visit www.BIDN.com, Bringing Business Intelligence to your company 


Scripting Indexes

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-15-2010 10:34 AM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 198 Reads | 198 Reads in Last 30 Days |no comments

I was recently reading a blog posting on BIDN, Scripting Indexes with Filters and schemas.  In the posting the author explained the challenges of trying to script only indexes using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).  Moreover, the author adds that there needs to be an option to filter what is scripted.

Ironically, a fellow colleague and I experienced a very similar problem and decided to write a small application that should fulfill all of the requirements outlined by the blog posting with the exception of the schema filtering.  However, the application does allow you to select only the indexes that you need.   We started working on this approximately a year ago, but never really put too much effort into finalizing it.

After I read the posting I gave my friend a call and he finished the application and we launched a site, http://www.dbscripttools.com/.  We have done some preliminary testing, but before we start distributing it to the masses we are looking for few brave individuals to do some additional testing.  If you are interested please feel free to sign up as a Beta Tester on the site and we will send you a URL to download the application.  In return, when all the testing is complete, you will be the first to receive a finalized copy of the application.

Talk to you soon,

Patrick LeBlanc, founder SQLLunch.com and TSQLScripts.com

Visit www.BIDN.com, Bringing Business Intelligence to your company 

 


SSRS Data Driven Subscriptions Cryptic Job Names

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-14-2010 11:50 PM | Categories: Filed under: ,
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 264 Reads | 264 Reads in Last 30 Days |no comments

When you create and schedule a Data Driven Subscription for a SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) report a job is created with a very meaningless name.  The name is actually a uniqueidentifier and is stored as such in the dbo.Schedule table in the ReportServer database.  I was recently asked if it was possible to use the Job Name to identify the Report associated with the job.  After a little digging I was able to produce the following query, which associates the Job Name with the Report Name:

SELECT

            s.ScheduleID Job_Name,

            su.Description Subscription_Description,

            c.Name Report_Name

FROM dbo.Schedule s

INNER JOIN dbo.ReportSchedule rs

            ON s.ScheduleID = rs.ScheduleID

INNER JOIN dbo.Catalog c

            ON rs.ReportID = c.ItemID

INNER JOIN dbo.Subscriptions su

            ON rs.SubscriptionID = su.SubscriptionID

The ReportServer database is a wealth of knowledge.  If you support Report Server deployments I recommend that you spend some time becoming familiar with the database schema.  If you have any questions or concerns regarading this topic please feel free to email me at pleblanc@pragmaticworks.com.

Talk to you soon,

Patrick LeBlanc, founder SQLLunch.com and TSQLScripts.com

Visit www.BIDN.com, Bringing Business Intelligence to your company


MVPs on the SQL Lunch

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-14-2010 1:32 AM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 284 Reads | 284 Reads in Last 30 Days |6 comment(s)

On January 19th and February 25th the SQL Lunch will have two well known authors, speakers and MVPs presenting at the SQL Lunch.  First on January 19th, Brian Knight will be presenting Scripting in SSIS and if that is not enough Brad McGehee will be presenting an Introduction to Graphical Execution Plans on February 25th.  So if you haven’t attended a SQL Lunch I suggest that you add these events to your calendar. 

 

Go to SQLLunch.com and click on the Add To Calendar links for each of these events.  But wait, if you want to learn a little about Partitioning, join me, Patrick LeBlanc on Feburary 8th for a brief overview.

 

If you are interested in speaking at the SQL Lunch please send me an email at pleblanc@sqllunch.com.  If you have any suggestions or comments on how we can improve the SQL Lunch please email me.  Finally, if you would like to suggest any topics please send me an email.

 

First I would like to thank everyone for attending and most importantly I would like to thank all of the past speakers and upcoming speakers for donating their time and knowledge to our wonderful SQL Server community.

 

Talk to you soon

Patrick LeBlanc, founder SQLLunch.com and TSQLScripts.com

visit www.BIDN.com, Bringing Business Intelligence to your company


SQL Lunch #8 – SSRS Data Driven Subscriptions (Devin Knight)

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-12-2010 7:42 AM | Categories: Filed under: , , , ,
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 329 Reads | 329 Reads in Last 30 Days |2 comment(s)

Join Devin Knight for a SQL Lunch at 12:30 EST today to hear about using the SSRS Data Driven Subscriptions! http://www.sqllunch.com

SQL Lunch # 8 – SSRS Data Driven Subscriptions

Speaker: Devin Knight

Topic: SSRS Data Driven Subscriptions

Meeting URL: JOIN MEETING

Add to Outlook

Description:

In this session, you’ll learn how to take advantage of a great feature in Reporting Services called Data Driven Subscriptions. All gotcha settings will be uncovered so you can have your reports run unattended and delivered to either a windows file share or email.

Speaker BIO:

Devin is a BI consultant at Pragmatic Works Consulting. Previously, he has tech edited the book Professional Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services and was an author in the book Knight's 24-Hour Trainer: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services. Devin has spoken at past conferences like PASS, Code Camps and several SQL Saturday events. He is a contributing member to the Business Intelligence Special Interest Group (SIG) for PASS as a leader in the SSIS Focus Group. Making his home in Jacksonville, FL, Devin is a participating member of the local users’ group (JSSUG).

Talk to you soon

Patrick LeBlanc, founder SQLLunch.com and TSQLScripts.com


Handling Database Mirror Failover within an SSIS Package

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-07-2010 3:50 PM | Categories: Filed under: , ,
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 488 Reads | 397 Reads in Last 30 Days |1 comment(s)

Recently I was asked how to handle a Mirrored Database Failover within an SSIS package.  For those of us that don’t write connection strings and simply use Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) to create the connections, we tend to overlook certain attributes that are available when creating connections to SQL Server databases. If you have written connection strings you may already be familiar with the Failover Partner attribute that is available.  When using an ADO.NET connection or a Native OLE DB\SQL Server Native Client, setting the attribute is simple.  If you connect using one of these methods to a database that is mirrored, the SSIS package can take advantage of the drivers ability to recognize the active Server when database mirroring failover occurs.

First, inside of your package right-click in the Connection Managers pane of your SSIS package and create a new connection.  The following dialogue window will appear:

 

 

Choose New OLE DB Connection or New ADO.NET Connection.  Create your connections as normal.  Before clicking OK on the Connection Manager window, choose the ALL option on the left-hand side of the window.

 

Specify the Failover Partner, which would be the IP address or name of the Partner server. To test, run your SSIS package while the data is available on the principal server. Then failover to the partner server and rerun your SSIS package.  Both executions should succeed.  If you have any questions about this please email me at pleblanc@pragmaticworks.com.

Patrick LeBlanc, Founder SQLLunch.com and TSQLScripts.com

 


2010 First Quarter Goals

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-05-2010 7:30 AM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 725 Reads | 658 Reads in Last 30 Days |2 comment(s)

I have been reading several blog postings about 2010 goals. First, I want to applaud all of you for setting goals for the entire year. Moreover, I would like to say that I admire those that can actually achieve their annual goals, like my good friend Steve Jones. Can you all believe that he ran everyday last year? Congratulations Steve!!.

My goals tend to change as the year progresses. As a result, I decided to focus on setting quarterly instead of annual goals. Some may think that I lack ambition and drive. Well, I laugh in your face. Sometimes setting such long-term goals tend to be overwhelming and often my focus changes therefore my goals change. So here are my first quarter goals:

1. Learn everything I can about SQL Server Analysis Server

2. Two blog postings per week.

3. Publish two articles

4. Speak at a minimum of three events (SQLSaturday, SQLLunch, PASS Virtual Chapter, etc…)

5. Schedule SQL Lunch speakers for the rest of the year (at least 2 per month)

6. Submit 2 videos to SQL Share

7. Submit an abstract to SQL Server Standard (Grant Fritchey)

For some of you more ambitious people this may seem like a short list, but remember this is only for the first quarter of 2010. Every couple of weeks I will post a progress chart from the previous two weeks.

Talk to you soon

Patrick LeBlanc, found SQLLunch.com


SQL Lunch #7 – Top Tablix Tips

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 01-04-2010 10:57 AM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 384 Reads | 241 Reads in Last 30 Days |no comments

SQL Lunch # 7 – Top Tablix Tips

Speaker: Jessica Moss

Topic: Top Tablix Tips

Add to Outlook:  Add to Calendar

Description:

SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 introduces the tablix, a combination of a table and a crosstab report. This lesson shows how to set up the tablix, the properties you can set to get the most out of the tablix, and other usage tips.

Speaker BIO:

Jessica M. Moss, an architect with Ironworks Consulting and a Microsoft SQL Server MVP, is a well-known practitioner, author, and speaker in Microsoft SQL Server business intelligence. Jessica has created numerous data warehousing solutions for companies in the retail, internet, health services, finance, and energy industries and authored technical content for multiple magazines, websites, and the book "Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Integration Services Problem-Design-Solution". Jessica enjoys working with the central Virginia community and speaks regularly at user groups, code camps, and conferences. You can read about her work on her blog, http://www.jessicammoss.com.

 

Talk to you soon

Patrick LeBlanc


Deploying Reports on Windows Seven

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 12-22-2009 2:45 PM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 602 Reads | 242 Reads in Last 30 Days |1 comment(s)

Recently I tried to deploy a report to a Report Server on my laptop, which is running Windows 7 Ultimate. Unfortunately I received the following error:

The permissions granted to user ‘MachineName\SomeUser ‘ are insufficient for performing this operations.

This confused me a bit since my account was an administrator. After digging a bit I found a very simple solution. Right-click on the Visual Studio icon or the Business Intelligence Development Studio icon and click Properties. Then go to the Compatibility tab. On that tab, in the Privilege Level section select the checkbox next to the item labeled Run this program as administrator. See the below screen shot example:

 Once done, restart the application and Deploy your report.  If you have any questions or comments about this topic, please email me at pleblanc@pragamaticworks.com.


SSIS - Single Package Deployment from BIDs

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 12-22-2009 12:41 PM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 1,714 Reads | 358 Reads in Last 30 Days |7 comment(s)

I have read several articles about deploying SSIS packages.  Most focus on using the deployment wizard or simply copying the files and their dependent properties onto the server.  For companies with a small number of SSIS packages the later appears to be the method of choice.  Recently, I was asked if there was a way to accomplish this without leaving Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS).

To deploy a package from BIDS complete the following steps:

1.        Open your SSIS package in BIDS:

2.     Once the package is opened, click in the empty space of the Control Flow tab view.

3.    Go to File->Save Copy of <Package Name> As…

 

Then a dialogue box will appear:

 

Type your server name in the Server drop down list and type the Package path, prefixing it with a forward slash (/). 

4.  Next choose your Package protection level and click OK twice.

Finally, connect to the Integration Server to verify that the package has been deployed.

 

This method may not be practical if you have several packages and many environments.  However, for a small IT shop that only has a small number of SSIS packages this maybe a good approach.  

If you have any questions or comments regarding this topic, feel free to email me at pleblanc@pragmaticworks.com.

 

 

 

 


SQL Lunch # 5 – Looping Logic in SSIS

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 12-11-2009 4:13 PM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 453 Reads | 215 Reads in Last 30 Days |no comments

SQL Lunch # 5 – Looping Logic in SSIS

 

Speaker:  Tim Mitchell

 

Topic:  Looping Logic in SSIS

 

Meeting URL:  JOIN MEETING

 

ADD TO OUTLOOK CALENDAR

 

Description:

Software developers have long taken for granted the ability to run iterative processes by using loop structures in their code. For SSIS developers, these same structures are available through the For Loop and the For Each Loop controls. In this session, we'll review each of these containers and demonstrate how they can be used for repetitive processing of similar tasks.

 

Speaker BIO:

Tim is a Microsoft SQL Server consultant, developer, speaker, and trainer. He has been working with SQL Server for over 6 years, working primarily in database development, business administration, data integration, and automation. He has earned a number of industry certifications and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M at Commerce. Tim is principal and senior data engineer for Tyleris Data Solutions, a business intelligence and data management consulting firm. As an active member of the community, Tim has spoken at venues including SQL Saturday and the PASS Business Intelligence SIG, and is an active volunteer and speaker at the North Texas SQL Server User Group in Dallas. Tim is an author and forum contributor on SQLServerCentral.com and has published dozens of SQL Server training videos on JumpstartTV.com.


Baton Rouge SQL Server User Group - Overview of Business Intelligence

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 12-01-2009 7:47 AM | Categories:
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 485 Reads | 212 Reads in Last 30 Days |no comments

Topic

An Overview of Business Intelligence

Location: At Lamar Advertising

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Sponsored by: EMC

Presenter

Brandon McMillon

Brandon McMillon is a Senior Solutions Principal at EMC.  He has 10 years of experience at Microsoft, working on the Visual Studio & Windows development teams.  He was also a Chief Software Architect for a Microsoft Gold Partner before coming to EMC.

Abstract:

This talk will first examine the current marketplace for Business Intelligence, and how it has gotten there.  We’ll look at how EMC is leveraging some of the newer tools and products to lower the costs and effort for implementing BI, in the context of a real-world EMC BI project.  We’ll also share best practices & lessons we’ve learned in these projects.  Finally, we’ll look at the next generation of BI tools and products, and talk about how they will impact the market and what problems they’re attempting to solve.

Agenda

5:45 pm - 6:00 pm:

General Introduction/Food and Drinks

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm:

Overview of Business Intelligence

7:30 pm - until:

Open forum for questions

 

Talk to you soon

Patrick LeBlanc, founder www.tsqlscripts.com and www.sqllunch.com


December 2009 – Baton Rouge SQL Server User Group

By Patrick LeBlanc in SQLDownSouth 12-01-2009 5:36 AM | Categories: Filed under: , , , ,
Rating: (not yet rated) Rate this |  Discuss | 832 Reads | 277 Reads in Last 30 Days |no comments

December SQL Server User Group Meeting

Location: At Lamar Advertising

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Sponsored by: EMC

Topic

An Overview of Business Intelligence

Presenter

Brandon McMillon

Brandon McMillon is a Senior Solutions Principal at EMC.  He has 10 years of experience at Microsoft, working on the Visual Studio & Windows development teams.  He was also a Chief Software Architect for a Microsoft Gold Partner before coming to EMC.

Abstract:

This talk will first examine the current marketplace for Business Intelligence, and how it has gotten there.  We’ll look at how EMC is leveraging some of the newer tools and products to lower the costs and effort for implementing BI, in the context of a real-world EMC BI project.  We’ll also share best practices & lessons we’ve learned in these projects.  Finally, we’ll look at the next generation of BI tools and products, and talk about how they will impact the market and what problems they’re attempting to solve.

Agenda

5:45 pm - 6:00 pm:

General Introduction/Food and Drinks

6:00 pm - 7:30 pm:

Overview of Business Intelligence

7:30 pm - until:

Open forum for questions

Talk to you soon

Patrick LeBlanc, founder www.tsqlscripts.com and www.sqllunch.com

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