Big data is the latest craze. Hardware and software vendors have overwhelmed IT departments with high-speed analytical software, proprietary high-performance hardware, and columnar-based data stores promising quick access and lightning-fast answers to ad hoc analytical queries. Forgotten in this blast of technology are the database administrators' most important responsibilities: backup and recovery.
2013-10-01
3,853 reads
This metric collects the total amount of memory, in kilobytes, used by the plan cache of an instance to help identify memory pressure or plan cache pollution. It is similar to the SQL Server: memory manager: SQL cache memory counter, but instead of providing the number of 8-kilobyte pages that make up the plan cache, it provides the total memory used.
2013-10-01
3,002 reads
Richard Morris interviewed Michael Stoop, a database developer at Calvi, Europe's leading provider of Telecom Invoice Management software. The discussion focused on how Calvi transformed their database delivery process to accommodate massive database growth, statutory regulations, and developments in their application. Here's their story.
2013-09-30
3,001 reads
From time to time, I see a requirement to generate random identifiers for things like users or orders. People want to use random numbers so that the "next" identifier is not guessable, or to prevent insight into how many new users or orders are being generated in a given time frame, but they don't want to run into any duplicates. We can trade a bit of disk space and relatively predictable (but not optimal) performance for the guarantee of no collisions, no matter how many random numbers we've already used.
2013-09-27
3,852 reads
A Hyper-V replica installation provides rapid disaster-recovery by asynchronously replicating a VM running at a primary site to a replica site. Know how to prepare for something to go wrong at the Primary Server/Site? In this article Nirmal Sharma presents the Replication options for a Replica Virtual Machine with a focus on Hyper-V Failover.
2013-09-26
3,293 reads
When discussing SQL Server 2012 Integration Services, we have been dealing mainly with the traditional data management model, where the entire SQL Server environment resides on-premise. This once predominant paradigm is obviously changing, with hosted solutions (in the form of both private and public clouds) becoming increasingly common. In order to properly account for this trend, we turn our attention to the role that SSIS can serve in a mixed environment, where a part of the SQL Server estate is located in Windows Azure.
2013-09-25
2,973 reads
Most maintenance for SSRS is performed either in Report Manager online or within the Report Services Configuration Manager from the desktop. The SSRS Management Studio connection is certainly no replacement for either of these tools, however, several benefits can be obtained using SSMS. First, you are able to connect to the SSRS even if you are having browser issues; second, it is often quicker to just switch from using Management Studio for the Database Engine.
2013-09-24
4,676 reads
Although it was primarily designed for System Administrators, PowerShell is now extending its use to Database, SharePoint, Exchange and all Microsoft products. In this article Laerte Junior offers an introduction to PowerShell and describes how DBAs can use PowerShell to automate repetitive tasks. He also explains when to use PowerShell instead of, or in addition to, T-SQL and SSIS.
2013-09-23
3,686 reads
Dattatrey Sindol shares his tips and tricks on SQL Server Reporting Services Report Manager. He provides guidance on Customizing Report Manager Header/Title, Uploading Custom File Types to Report Manager, and Enable My Reports Feature.
2013-09-20
5,922 reads
A Dominoes game of Texas 42 inspires Joe Celko to explore unusual uses for check constraints and views. Sometimes, the best way of discovering useful SQL techniques is to tackle the more unusual problems.
2013-09-19
2,976 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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