SQL Server 2016 provides great enhancement capability features for troubleshooting purposes. Some of the important features are:
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SQL Server versions
Troubleshoot SQL query performance using SQL Server 2016 Live Execution Statistics
August 19, 2016SQL Server Management Studio a graphical interactive that allows you to interact with the databases hosted on your servers. SSMS provides you with the ability to write, edit, execute, analyze and monitor your SQL queries. It also helps database administrators answer important questions about the SQL query performance, such as why a query is slow or why an index is not used. The answer to these questions can be found simply by tracking the Query Execution Plan.
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New PowerShell Cmdlets in SQL Server 2016
August 18, 2016Introduction
PowerShell is Windows Shell that can be used to automate tasks in Windows, Exchange, Azure, SQL Server and more.
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SQL Server 2016 Trace flags modifications
August 9, 2016SQL Server Trace Flags are special switches that are used to customize and control specific behaviors of the SQL Server Engine. Trace Flags can be defined in two forms; Session Trace Flags that are activated and visible at the current connection level only, and Global Trace Flags that are enabled and visible at the SQL Server Instance level and applied to all connecting sessions in that SQL Server. Global Trace Flags should be enabled globally in order to take effect, where some Trace Flags that can be either Global or Session Trace Flags can be enabled in the appropriate scope, and its effect will appear on the defined level.
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Top 5 T-SQL functions introduced in SQL Server 2016
August 1, 2016One of the exciting things to look out for in a release of SQL Server are the new built-in T-SQL functions that are usually introduced. Some of the reasons for the new functions may be because SQL Server is catching up to other competitors, attempting to stay ahead of the competition or simply responding to SQL Server feature-requests from the Microsoft Connect site. In this article, I take you through my top 5 T-SQL functions released in SQL Server 2016.
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Force query execution plan using SQL Server 2016 Query store
July 29, 2016SQL Server Query Store is a new feature introduced in SQL Server 2016 that is used to automatically and asynchronously capture query execution history, statistics and plans, with minimal impact to overall SQL Server Performance. The Query Store feature makes performance problem troubleshooting simple; you can view the query execution plans changes and compare its performance to decide which execution plan the SQL Server Query Optimizer should use for that query.
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The new SQL Server 2016 sample database
July 22, 2016Background
We have all learned to love and hate the trusty Bike shop database. Almost every demo or presentation pertaining to SQL Server we do, we use the AdventureWorks sample database. Almost every code sample on books online references AdventureWorks for illustrations and practical explanations of a feature. When SQL Server 2005 was released Microsoft replaced the old Pubs & Northwind Sample databases with a more complete and more feature rich database called AdventureWorks. Ever since we have been using this new sample database for almost everything we want to test. Microsoft has now given us an even better sample database called WorldWideImporters, which utilises almost every SQL Server feature I can think of from Temporal Tables to In-Memory table.
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SQL Server and BI – How to document your Tabular model with Reporting Services 2016
July 20, 2016Introduction
A few weeks back I had been working on an interesting proof of concept for a client within the food/grocery industry. The objectives were to be able to provide the client with information on sales patterns, seasonal trends and location profitability. In our previous “get-together” we discussed how to create a tabular model project and how to create efficient and effective reports utilizing Excel.
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What’s new in the SQL Server 2016 installation?
July 13, 2016SQL Server 2016 introduced officially on the 1st of June 2016. It comes with many new features such as Query Store that maintains the execution plans history for the queries with its performance data in order to detect any slowness in the query caused by the new plans, so that the administrator can force the use of the better old plan.
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What’s new in SQL Server 2016 summary
June 22, 2016SQL Server 2016 became publically available on the 1st of June 2016. Some might feel that a new SQL Server release every 2 years might be too frequent with many organization still lagging behind by running SQL Server 2012 or earlier.
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Warehousing JSON formatted data in SQL Server 2016
June 22, 2016In this article, I continue to review the exciting features available in SQL Server 2016. One such feature is the long awaited T-SQL support for JSON formatted data. In this article we take a look at how JSON support will impact data warehouse solutions.
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Stretching temporal history tables in SQL Server 2016
June 20, 2016Background
With the release of Microsoft SQL Server 2016 a lot of new features were introduced, one of which was Temporal Tables, a feature that gives you the ability to view the state of your data at a given point in time. This means you can go back in time with your data. Another very popular feature is Stretch Databases which allows for remote archiving of data to Azure Stretch region.
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Query optimizer changes in SQL Server 2016 explained
June 17, 2016Description
SQL Server 2016 includes a variety of query optimizer enhancements. Some of these have existed since the first previews while others were added later. This is an opportunity to discuss, test out, and validate the behavior and benefits of these changes!
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Installing SQL Server 2016
June 7, 2016Introduction
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 provides faster transactions and queries, deeper insights on any device, advanced analytics, new security technology, and new hybrid cloud scenarios. Along with these features, comes the new installation setup. Although it is similar to the installation of SQL Server 2014 and other older versions, there are few notable differences:
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Single package deployment in SQL Server Integration Services 2016
May 31, 2016SQL Server 2016 has some exciting enhancements to SQL Server Integration Services. In this article, we take a look at how the issue of single package deployment into an SSIS Catalog has been resolved with this SQL Server release.
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Using and troubleshooting SQL Server IntelliSense – For SQL Server 2012 or higher
February 29, 2016
When I first heard that Microsoft was going to introduce IntelliSense for SQL Server I could hardly contain my excitement. Much to my disappointment the initial version of IntelliSense left a lot to be desired. From issues like just not popping up at all, to not working on remote servers and sometimes picking incorrect entries could make it a bit tedious to use and for those of us who started out on SQL Server before the advent of IntelliSense it was easier just to revert back to good old fashioned typing from memory. I am happy to report however, that there has been great strides in IntelliSense to such an extent that if I suddenly had to live without it, I would be really really sad and my productivity would probably be affected somewhat as well.
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How to connect to a remote SQL Server
February 18, 2016In this article, we will explain step by step how to connect remotely to a SQL Server Express instance. Remote access is the ability to get access to a SQL Server from a remote distance in order to manipulate data which are located on that SQL Server.
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In-Memory OLTP Series – Data migration guideline process on SQL Server 2016
January 29, 2016On the last article about the best modes to move the disk-based tables to using the In-Memory feature we covered all the aspects and styles available on SQL Server 2014. Continuing on the migration process now we’re going to look at some of the new enhancements of makes SQL Server 2016
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Using SQL Server 2016 CTP3 in Azure
November 6, 2015As the time of the release of the next version of SQL Server is closing in, the cycle of Community Technical Preview (CTP) releases is shorter and shorter – we are now at CTP3 and the product seems very much mature for release. There is a handful of features not yet implemented, that was on the roadmap – but I bet you the SQL Team will go an extra length to get the features ready for the final release.
This post will show you how to get started with testing/using the newest version of the CTP.
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Behold the new live query stats in SQL Server 2016
September 11, 2015With the release of SQL Server 2016 also comes a great new feature to get a live view of the current execution plan for an active query.
This blogpost will cover the aspects of this new feature including:
- Introduction
- How to activate
- How to use and read the output
- Downsides – if any
Row level security in SQL Server 2016
August 13, 2015With the release of SQL Server 2016 comes many great new features. One of these is the implementation of row level security in the database engine.
This blogpost will cover the aspects of this new feature – including:
- Setup
- Best practice
- Performance
- Possible security leaks
New Features in SQL Server 2016 – Dynamic Data Masking
July 23, 2015There are many new features in SQL Server 2016, but the one we will focus on in this post is:
- Dynamic Data Masking
Have you ever been on a website, where your personal information, ie. Social Security number or Credit Card number shown in clear text, ready for everyone to have a look at. Would it not be cool if your information was somehow masked by default, and not needed to rely on the application to mask the data before displaying it on the screen?
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New Features in SQL Server 2016 – Always encrypted
July 8, 2015There are many new features in SQL Server 2016, but the one we will focus on in this post is:
- Always encrypted
A feature many companies and developers have been waiting, is now finally being implemented in SQL Server. The feature is called Always Encrypted, the main purpose of this feature is to secure your data. Your data will only be visible to the ones logged into an application consuming the data, and will never be transferred from application to database unencrypted.
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New Features in SQL Server 2016 – Temporal Data Tables
July 6, 2015There are many new features in SQL Server 2016, but the one we will focus on in this post is:
- Temporal Database Tables
One of the many new features in SQL server 2016 is the built-in support for temporal data tables. This is a feature that many developers have been urging to have as a “out of the box feature” – and therefore many have developed their own ways of implementing the capability to store information about how data looked in a certain period of time.
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Slipstreaming SQL Server 2012 and 2014
November 12, 2014
Let’s say that you care about your SQL Server environment, but let’s also say that you care about your time too. You are actually one of those people who always strive to do more with less. Now let’s say that you frequently have to install new SQL Server instances or probably you are in the middle of a project in which you have to provide the .iso file of your SQL installation to the System Center guys for them to deploy VMs with SQL Server pre-installed on them. However, because you don’t want to first install the RTM version of the product and then manually patch the instance with the Service Packs, Cumulative Updates or Hotfixes that you think are needed, you are searching for a solution to somehow “embed” all of those fixes into the installation itself! This way, once the instance is installed, it actually has everything already applied. How can you do this and is it possible at all?
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