SQL Server Notification Services Documentation
Microsoft has released the "Books Online" equivalent for Notification Services. Browse through and take a look to see if this service is useful to you.
2002-11-01
694 reads
Administration
Hidden Connections
Ever have strange DTS errors after moving a package? You changed all the connection strings, but still get connection errors. Steve Jones did and tracked down one potential culprit.
2002-10-29
4,402 reads
Alternatives to SQL Backups
All of do us regular backups. Ok, all of us SHOULD do regular backups. In this article Andy comments on why having a backup plan isn't enough and why you should look at some other options for when you need to fix data errors. This really speaks to the goal of minimizing down time using low tech, readily available solutions. If you're not interested yet, we'll add this - one of the alternatives he suggests is Microsoft Access!
2002-10-28
8,454 reads
Open Source ASP Enterprise Manager in Design Phase
Andy relates some info he got from Wes Grant about his freeware and open source project to build a web based admin tool for SQL that is currently in the design/initial coding phase. Get the scoop and maybe write some of the code too!
2002-10-22
4,846 reads
Conflicting Instructions
Ever have problems following something from Books Online? There may be a reason. Microsoft has noticed as well and there are updates for this valuable DBA tool. Here's a sample of the changes and a link to get the update.
2002-10-21
4,475 reads
Using Check Constraints
Check constraints can be added to a table to enforce specific rules on one or more columns. This article shows you how to use them to enforce simple and more complex rules.
2002-10-03
16,334 reads
Worst Practice - Sorting by Ordinal
If you've been with us for a while you know that Andy started a series last year on worst practices. As he says, maybe you can't always do best practices, but at least dont do the worst ones. Read the article and add a comment, participate!
2002-10-01
7,494 reads
Push Those Logs Away!
Steve found a gaping hole in his backup process. One that he plugged with this script to move log files around the network in the event of a server failure. If you can't afford to lose a day of work, read about his solution.
2002-09-30
6,286 reads
Adding Linked Servers Using SQL-DMO
Following up on a question posted in our discussion area, Andy looks at how to use DMO to add and remove linked servers. Along the way he points out a couple 'gotchas' and throws in a cool tip about how to save a little time when you experiment with DMO.
2002-09-19
12,195 reads
Nightly Failed Jobs Report
Do you get tired of reviewing each SQL Agent notifications nightly to determine which SQL Agent jobs failed? Is there a significant number of SQL Agent job notifications that it takes a while to review each? Here is an alternative that allows you to have a single email report of all job failures.
2002-09-17
11,752 reads
Blogs
Automated SQL Server Benchmarking with HammerDB and Docker: A Complete Testing Framework
I’m excited to announce the release of a new open-source project that fully automates...
T-SQL Snapshot Backups on Availability Group Secondary Replicas
One of my favourite features of SQL Server 2022 was the T-SQL Snapshot Backups....
The Book of Redgate: Hours
By Steve Jones
I have said and written this many times: Redgate Software is the type of...
Forums
Optional Parameter Plan Optimization in SQL Server 2025: Fixing the Kitchen-Sink Search Procedure
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Optional Parameter Plan Optimization in...
AI Experience Gap that we keep talking about
Comments posted to this topic are about the item AI Experience Gap that we...
Question of the Day
ORDER BY alias
There is a table tmp_tab:
CREATE TABLE tmp_tab ( id int, val int );
INSERT INTO tmp_tab VALUES (1, 1), (2, NULL), (3, 3), (4, 4), (5, 5);You want to order the rows ids by the following expression:
ISNULL(val, id) + 1Which of the following queries produces the expected ordering and why? (Select all correct) See possible answers