Managing MaxMemory Values on an Active-Active Two Node Cluster

How to manage your MaxMemory values on an Active-Active two node cluster.

SQL Saturday #255 Dallas

SQL Saturday is coming to Dallas on November 2. This is a free, one day conference for SQL Server training and networking.

On November 1, there will be a pre-conference event featuring Andy Leonard, Grant Fritchey, and Drew Minkin.

SQL Server Reporting Services Advanced Charting

SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) has evolved over the years to incorporate many new data visualization capabilities. In this article, Scott Murray illustrates how DBAs can use these tools to produce reports that include Indicators, Embedded Charts, Sparklins, and Chart overlays.

Steps to rollback database changes without impacting SQL Server Log Shipping

When pushing a major release to a large production database, you want to know that you'll be able to rollback changes if the need arises. These are some simple steps which we can follow to ensure that we don't have to reconfigure log shipping all over again thereby saving time and ensuring systems are not affected when rolling back changes.

Talend vs. SSIS: A Simple Performance Comparison

With all of the ETL tools in the marketplace, which one is best? Jeff Singleton brings us simple performance comparison pitting SSIS against open source powerhouse Talend.

Identifying Incompatibility Issues When Migrating SQL Server Database to Windows Azure

In this article, Marcin Policht looks at migrating existing SQL Server databases to Windows Azure, starting with identifying obstacles associated with such migrations.

When the reporting team needs an assist...

Collect your data from your servers easily using linked servers.

SQL Server Storage Internals 101

This article is an extract from the book Tribal SQL. In this article, Mark S. Rasmussen offers a concise introduction to the physical storage internals behind SQL Server databases. He doesn't dive into every detail, but provides a simple, clear picture of how SQL Server stores data.

Slowly Changing Facts

This article describes a design pattern for storing “effective dated" changes to fact tables.

How to hot-add a vCPU to a virtual SQL Server

One of the benefits of running SQL on virtual environment is the capability to present additional vCPUs to the virtual server online and real-time without interruption to running processes. Our VM administrator normally presents only 1 vCPU on the virtual server and extends as required. This article describes how SQL Server is able to detect hot-added vCPUs in my virtual server.