Today I get to share something that has been on my someday list for quite some time.  I have planned on getting a solution that involves TSQL to help determine if you are running SQL Server on a physical machine or if it happens to be a virtual machine.  Now,… Read more

Today, I am following up on a topic I mentioned in an earlier post.  In case you haven’t read the post on finding your linked servers, you can read it here.

It is in that post that I spoke of altering a script I had just written for another… Read more

Today is Meme Monday.  Today we get to talk about all of the little things a DBA does.  Thomas LaRock started things off with his list – here.

I want to just add to the list he started.

1. SAN Admin
2. Server Admin
3. Technical Writer
4. Project Manager
5. Automate the process…

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This is a follow up to an article published on 3/1/2012.  That article showed how to find what linked servers were created on your instance of SQL Server.  You can read it here.

This article came about due to a request to find if any stored procedures are using… Read more

Do you have linked servers that have been created in your environment?  Do you know what these linked servers are?

Finding Linked Servers

SQL Server has provided us means to be able to find the linked servers on each installed instance.  I will show two simple means (that don’t involve… Read more

As I have wanted to do each year, here is my goals post for 2012.  Last year I set out to do this very same thing but was very unsuccessful at completing the post.  Here is all I had written:

Personal

• Family
• Blogging
• Build out my Virtual Environment

Professional

• SSIS

Read more

We are rapidly closing in on the February meeting for S3OLV.  You might remember reading about the upcoming meeting here.

We are looking to have an excellent meeting this month.  We have had a good run on superb presentations, and Troy aims to keep us going in the right… Read more

Not too long ago, I blogged about a Book called Daemon.  Freedom is the sequel to Daemon.

I enjoyed reading this book.  The story continues from Daemon, but in a largely different direction.  I like the direction the book took, for the most part.  I was hoping that there… Read more

On January 19th, I published a post about the Dedicated Administrator Connection.  I spoke very briefly of the system base tables in that article.  Today, I want to dive into these tables a little bit more.

First, let’s get the Microsoft definition for these tables.  ”System base tables are… Read more

Slammer

By now you must have heard of the SQL Slammer worm.  It was quite an infectious little nuisance.  The harm it caused came largely due to unpatched, unprotected SQL Servers.

We are now 9 years out from the initial discovery of this worm.  The worm has made its way… Read more

Do you recognize this person?

If you are from the Colorado Springs area, you probably do.  This is:

Troy Ketsdever (twitter)

Troy will be presenting to the Las Vegas SQL User Group on February 9, 2012 @ 6:30 Pacific.  Here is his bio:

Troy… Read more

Last week (Jan 12, 2012), we held the user group meeting for the SQL Server Society of Las Vegas (a.k.a S3OLV or SSSOLV).

Presenting at that meeting was Josh Lewis (Twitter).  Josh presented on a pretty tough topic in my opinion.  He chose to present to us the… Read more

Recently you may have read my article about some hidden functions in SQL Server.  In that article you learned that those functions were in some DMOs and that you could get at them through the resource database.

Today I found myself learning more about the resource database.  Due to what… Read more

What more can I say.  I disagree with the kind of legislation that is being presented via SOPA and PIPA.

In support of the community, my site will be dark 18 Jan 2012 between 10:30 and 21:30 GMT-8.

Normal services will return after that.

You can see support of… Read more

I found myself perusing an execution plan the other day.  I know, big surprise there.  This execution plan showed me some interesting things I had never really paid much attention to in the past.  When I started paying attention to these things, I found myself jumping down a rabbit hole. Read more

Twitter and Your Career

With the new blog party on the block, we have Jason Strate (blog | twitter) asking us this month these two questions:

1. Why should average Jane or Joe professional consider using twitter?
2. What benefit have you seen in your career because of twitter?

But… Read more

SQL Server has means built into it to track possible missing indexes.  This used to be found through the use of the Index Tuning Wizard.  The process has improved over time (you can sort of see that from my April Fools post).

As luck would have it, I was… Read more

The first opportunity of this New Year to participate in TSQLTuesday, we have been invited by David Howard (blog) to take a second shot at a previous TSQLTuesday.

This second shot is giving me fits.  I have no clue if it is TSQLTuesday 26 or if it is… Read more

We are now just a few days away from our first meeting of 2012.  We have some good content lined up.  Check it out here.

I am looking forward to the presentation on XML and would really love to be able to bring Josh back to finish out the… Read more

Meme Monday was pushed back this month to the second Monday of the month.  That is a good thing or maybe a bad thing or maybe a non-discussion at all.  I guess it really depends on the person.  For me, I would have been rushing the post so I am… Read more