Daniel Calbimonte

Daniel Calbimonte
Latest posts by Daniel Calbimonte (see all)

Is this the end of SQL Profiler?

June 13, 2016 by

Introduction

SQL Server Profiler is still a tool used to monitor our relational databases and our multidimensional ones. We used for performance and security purposes. However, in the SQL Server 2016, they announced that the SQL Profiler will be deprecated in future versions.

Read more »

Azure Cosmos DB from zero to 10 minutes

May 10, 2016 by

Introduction

In our last chapter, we talked about Cosmos DB, which is available in Azure and explained that it is an Azure Database used to store NoSQL documents.

In this new article, we will show how to create and query the database from zero. The only requirement is to have an Azure Account. If you have an Azure account, this tutorial will take you just 10 minutes (if not, you can complain in the comments section below 😉 ).

Read more »

The new elastic databases in Azure

April 12, 2016 by

Introduction

The elastic database is a new feature offered for SQL Azure Databases. Elastic databases are useful when you have several databases and you want to monitor and manage all the databases at the same time. To do this, a pool is required. The pool allows handling several databases at the same time.

In this chapter, we will learn how to create the pool and add SQL Azure Databases to it.

Read more »

How to execute jobs on multiple SQL Servers

February 18, 2016 by

Introduction

In earlier chapter, we explained how to run queries in multiple SQL servers using the SQL Central Management Server. In this new chapter, we will show how to propagate a job from a SQL Server Master Agent Job to a target server.

This feature is called Multiserver Administration. In a multiserver administration, you need a Master Server and one or more target servers. In the master server, you create a copy of the job and then it is copied and executed in the target servers.

Read more »

How to run multiple queries using the Central Management Server

January 25, 2016 by

Introduction

When you have thousands of SQL Servers, it is very hard to administer all of them. This article will show some tips to help you with these types of tasks.

In this new article, we will show how to run T-SQL scripts against multiple Servers using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). To do this, we will use the Central Management Server. The main idea of this feature is to administer multiple servers in a centralized way using queries or policies. This feature is available in SQL Server 2008 or later versions and cannot be applied in older versions.

Read more »

DTA, a great tool to automate indexes

December 4, 2015 by

Introduction

In a previous chapter, we learned how to use the Tuning Advisor to analyze queries and receive recommendations about indexes, partitions and statistics. In this new chapter, we will learn how to use the command line tool called DTA. The DTA is the command line of the Tuning Advisor.

The DTA is a very powerful tool that can be used to automate some tuning tasks. It can be used combined with the SQL Agent, SSIS, or customized and external tools like programs made in C# or Java.

In this article, we will show how to use this tool.

Read more »

A great tool to create SQL Server indexes

December 1, 2015 by

Introduction

The indexes in many cases are great solutions to solve performance problems. For some problems, they are magical and very cheap solutions. In this chapter, we will show a demo of the SQL Server Tuning Advisor, which is a tool that comes with the SQL Server Installation. We will also use the SQL Server Profiler to generate the information for the Tuning Advisor.

Read more »

How to connect our C# application in Azure

October 30, 2015 by

Azure is a simple and cheap way to have a Database. You can rent your Azure Database of 2 GB per 5 USD per month. That is a very cheap price. You can also administer your Database from your Android or your iPhone, which is very interesting.

It is also possible to create your Windows Application using Visual Studio and connect to SQL Azure. In this new chapter, we are going to create Windows application in C# and connect to a SQL Azure database. We are going to retrieve the information of a table stored in Azure in our Windows application.

Read more »

How to work with Visual Studio and VM databases in Azure

September 24, 2015 by

Introduction

In this new article, we will use Visual Studio to connect to a SQL Server Database Installed in a Virtual Machine in Azure.

Visual Studio is one of the most popular development tools in the world and connecting to Azure with Visual Studio is a very common need.

We will modify an existing SQL Server table in Azure from Visual Studio. Later we will create a stored procedure and finally, we will create an inline table-valued function.

Read more »

Using MS Excel to access to a relational SQL Database in Azure

August 14, 2015 by

Introduction

There are great Microsoft tools to access to SQL Server in Azure. However, as a Database Developers and Administrators we need to help the end user to access to the information using a familiar and intuitive interface.

Most of the end users have a good knowledge in MS Excel. That is why it is recommended to connect our SQL Azure database to Excel. That way, the end user will be able to easily create reports, charts and generate useful information.

In this chapter, we will show how to connect to SQL Azure using Microsoft Excel.

Read more »

Bcp and linked servers to Azure

July 13, 2015 by

Introduction

Sometimes, we need to use the command line to copy tables using the command line. In this new chapter, we will use the BCP command to copy tables from a local machine to the SQL Server in Azure. The BCP is a very fast bulk copy tools used for this purpose.

We will also learn how to create a Linked Server in our local machine to Azure. The Linked Servers are very powerful features of SQL Server to connect SQL Server to different Data Sources like Excel, MS Access, Oracle, MySQL, and several databases. In this example, we will connect to SQL Azure.

Read more »

How to use PowerShell to create a SQL Virtual Machine in Azure

June 4, 2015 by

Introduction

The first time that you create your VM in Azure manually using the UI is a very pleasant experience. However, when you have hundred and sometimes thousands of computers it is extremely exhausting and boring to create and configure it.

With PowerShell, it is possible to automate several administrative tasks and create scripts to automatically create VMs, enable ports, download and create remote desktop files, administer services, etc.

In this new chapter, we will show how to create a Virtual Machine in Azure with SQL Server installed using PowerShell.

Read more »

How to work migrate backups, files and scripts to/from the cloud using the command line

May 26, 2015 by

Introduction

Sometimes we need to move our local files, SQL scripts, backups from our local machine to Azure or vice versa. This can be done manually by accessing to Azure and using a browser, but there are other methods to automatically do this. This article describes the Microsoft Azure Storage Tool. This is a command line tool used to upload data to Azure from a local machine or to download data from Azure to our local machine. The article will describe step by step how to work with this tool.

Read more »

How to work handle SQL Azure Databases with PowerShell

May 5, 2015 by

Introduction

PowerShell is a shell used specially to automate administrative tasks.

It is an incredible tool used to programmatically automate tasks like SQL Server tasks, Exchange tasks, Windows tasks, etc. It is very useful to integrate different Microsoft and sometimes non-Microsoft programs.

In this new tutorial, we will show how to install PowerShell for Azure and then how to use it. We will create some databases, edit database properties and retrieve database information using PowerShell.

Read more »