I have a need to decrease the time my SQL Server database backups are taking to run. I thought about trying to run multiple backups at the same time to see if that would work. I could have created multiple SQL Server Agent Jobs to run at the same time, but I wanted a more dynamic way to handle this, so I created a PowerShell script that allows processes to run in parallel.
2017-10-30
3,911 reads
In this post, Koen Verbeeck shows how to use SQL Sever 2016's Extended Events to find the query plan for a DAX query, just like you would for a T-SQL statement.
2017-10-27
3,058 reads
Every new release of SQL Server comes with new features that cause a ripple of excitement within the industry: well, amongst the marketing people anyway. What happens to all the exciting TLAs that are bandied about when a new version launches? It's mixed, it seems. Adam Machanic's classic post, The SQL Hall of Shame, has inspired Rob Sheldon to look back at some of the features that, though worthy, have may have failed to hit the mainstream.
2017-10-27
5,970 reads
Brent Ozar covers some questions you need to ask yourself before hiring a Junior DBA.
2017-10-26
4,154 reads
It is when you use R in SQL Server with one of the huge range of packages that comes with it that you can begin to appreciate the power of the system. With a package such as ggplot there are many 'knobs one can twiddle' in order to get spectacular and informative visualisations. Rob Sheldon continues his beginners series for R in SQL Server by showing how to refine the output to get it as you need it.
2017-10-25
3,267 reads
One crucial aspect of all databases is the transaction log. The transaction log is used to write all transactions prior to committing the data to the data file. In some circumstances the transaction logs can get quite large and not knowing what is in the transaction log or how much space is being used can become a problem. So how to you determine how much of the transaction log is being used and what portions are being used?
2017-10-24
4,163 reads
Microsoft has added a ton of new features in SQL Server 2017, including expanded operating system support, Graph database capability, Python support, and more. Join Greg Larsen as he explores nine of these new features.
2017-10-23
5,498 reads
Azure Data Lake stores petabytes of data and analyzes trillions of objects in one place with no constraints. Data Lake Store can store any type of data including massive data like high-resolution video, medical data, and data from a wide variety of industries. Data Lake Store scales throughput to support any size of analytic workload with low latency. Read on to learn more.
2017-10-20
3,483 reads
How does one get a truly random sample of data of a certain size from a SQL Server database table. Well, there are simple non-portable tricks one can use, such as the NewID() function, but then refining those can be tricky. Take the Rand() function for a start. Can it really provide you with a truly random number? Why doesn't the TABLESAMPLE clause give you a set number of rows? Joe Celko scratches his head a bit, explains some of the issues and invites some suggestions and tricks from readers.
2017-10-19
3,623 reads
There is already a template on the Azure marketplace for setting up an AlwaysOn Availability Group. In just a few easy steps you can get a working AlwaysOn Availability Group setup, configured and running - this post describes the steps to quickly set it up.
2017-10-18
3,292 reads
By HeyMo0sh
As a DevOps practitioner, I’ve always focused on performance, scalability, and automation. But as...
By Brian Kelley
On Patch Tuesday, in addition to OS and Office security patches, Microsoft also released...
When mirroring was first released for Azure SQL Database, it used Change Data Capture...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Multiple Deployment Processes
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Comments posted to this topic are about the item Upgrading Admin Queries
I have a query from a former DBA that we run on SQL Server 2025 to check on database metadata. This query references sys.sysaltfiles. I want to refactor this code to be more modern. Which DMV should I reference instead?
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