Introducing schema documentation in SQL Server

May 25, 2016 by

Description We often have a need to view object definitions in SQL Server, whether they be tables, triggers, or foreign keys. The built in tools are great for an object here and there, but are very cumbersome if you’re looking to generate create statements for a large number of objects.

Some replication architecture errors and their resolutions

May 16, 2016 by

Background From time to time, I’ve run into replication issues in inherited environments that I did not architect and some of these environments experienced errors in replication because of how it was constructed from the beginning. In this tip, we look at some of the basics in replication architecture and then at solving some of […]

Managing SQL Server transaction logs

May 13, 2016 by

SQL Server databases consist of two physical files types; the data file in which the data and the database objects such as tables and indexes are stored, and the transaction log file in which SQL Server stores records for all transactions performed on that database.

Troubleshooting some waits issues

May 10, 2016 by

Background On occasion, I’ll see waits that exceed what I expect well above normal and a few of them have some architecture and standards to consider following when troubleshooting, though like most waits’ issues, there can be other underlying factors that are happening as well. In this article, I investigate the three waits ASYNC_NETWORK_IO and […]

New Excel slicer feature for report users in Office 2016

May 9, 2016 by

Whilst researching for the article Report filtering: Excel slicers vs SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) parameters, I discovered a new Excel Slicer feature in Microsoft Office 2016 that allows users to select/deselect multiple items without having to hold down the control (Ctrl) keyboard key. For some people, this may not be a sufficient reason to […]

How to build better alerting

May 4, 2016 by

Background One of the most popular complaints from developers to DBAs involves alerting, whether from third party tools or alerting built by other developers or DBAs in the environment. Building or using alerts for important applications, data layers, or processes within a SQL Server environment offer everyone benefits, but can become noisy if they’re architected […]

SQL Server 2014 Columnstore index

April 29, 2016 by

By default, SQL Server stores data logically in the tables as rows and columns, which appear in the result grid while retrieving data from any table and physically in the disk in the row-store format inside the data pages. A new data store mechanism introduced in SQL Server 2012, based on xVelocity in-memory technology, in […]

Searching SQL Server made easy – Searching catalog views

March 9, 2016 by

The need to search through database schema for specific words or phrases is commonplace for any DBA. The ability to do so quickly, accurately, and completely is critical when developing new features, modifying existing code, or cleaning up the vestiges from an application’s ancient history.

Analyzing SQL Server backups

March 8, 2016 by

Introduction Database backups are important and always something you should have in any environment. Outside of needing them to restore a given database they have some information that can be useful in certain situations. One situation I found them convenient is with consolidation projects. If the databases are online you can obviously go to the […]

How to track changes in SQL Server

March 8, 2016 by

As a part of a Big Data project, we are often asked to find the best way to track the changes applied to the database tables, so that, no requirement is created to load all the huge tables to the data warehouse database at the end of the day, if not all of the data […]

Using and troubleshooting SQL Server IntelliSense – For SQL Server 2012 or higher

February 29, 2016 by

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 […]

Insight into the SQL Server buffer cache

February 18, 2016 by

When we talk about memory usage in SQL Server, we are often referring to the buffer cache. This is an important part of SQL Server’s architecture and is responsible for the ability to query frequently accessed data extremely fast. Knowing how the buffer cache works will allow us to properly allocate memory in SQL Server, […]

Peer to peer replication

February 18, 2016 by

Nowadays many customers are spread globally and need to manage the requirement for users to connect from/to any location, perform an activity (insert, update, delete), and the databases should be kept synchronized across multiple sites.

What is causing database slowdowns?

February 2, 2016 by

Why is my database so slow? This query used to be so much faster. Why does it take so long to rebuild my index? How come it was fine last month? Every day I am asked these types of questions by clients. Every day! A lot of database developers and application developers do not realize […]