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  • SQLAuthority News – Download – Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0

    - by pinaldave
    Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0 is a free, embedded database that software developers can use for building ASP.NET websites and Windows desktop applications. SQL Server Compact 4.0 has a small footprint and supports private deployment of its binaries within the application folder, easy application development in Visual Studio and WebMatrix, and seamless migration of schema and data to SQL Server. You can download very small file of SQL Server CE from here. Books Online is the primary documentation for SQL Server Compact 4.0. Books Online includes the following types of information: Setup and upgrade instructions. Information about new features and backward compatibility. Conceptual descriptions of the technologies and features in SQL Server Compact 4.0. Procedural topics describing how to use the various features in SQL Server Compact 4.0. Tutorials that guide you through common tasks. Reference documentation for the graphical tools, programming languages, and application programming interfaces (APIs) that are supported by SQL Server Compact 4.0. You can download SQL Server CE Book Online here. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Documentation, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – A Quick Look at Logging and Ideas around Logging

    - by pinaldave
    This blog post is written in response to the T-SQL Tuesday post on Logging. When someone talks about logging, personally I get lots of ideas about it. I have seen logging as a very generic term. Let me ask you this question first before I continue writing about logging. What is the first thing comes to your mind when you hear word “Logging”? Now ask the same question to the guy standing next to you. I am pretty confident that you will get  a different answer from different people. I decided to do this activity and asked 5 SQL Server person the same question. Question: What is the first thing comes to your mind when you hear the word “Logging”? Strange enough I got a different answer every single time. Let me just list what answer I got from my friends. Let us go over them one by one. Output Clause The very first person replied output clause. Pretty interesting answer to start with. I see what exactly he was thinking. SQL Server 2005 has introduced a new OUTPUT clause. OUTPUT clause has access to inserted and deleted tables (virtual tables) just like triggers. OUTPUT clause can be used to return values to client clause. OUTPUT clause can be used with INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE to identify the actual rows affected by these statements. Here are some references for Output Clause: OUTPUT Clause Example and Explanation with INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE Reasons for Using Output Clause – Quiz Tips from the SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Output Clause in Simple Examples Error Logs I was expecting someone to mention Error logs when it is about logging. The error log is the most looked place when there is any error either with the application or there is an error with the operating system. I have kept the policy to check my server’s error log every day. The reason is simple – enough time in my career I have figured out that when I am looking at error logs I find something which I was not expecting. There are cases, when I noticed errors in the error log and I fixed them before end user notices it. Other common practices I always tell my DBA friends to do is that when any error happens they should find relevant entries in the error logs and document the same. It is quite possible that they will see the same error in the error log  and able to fix the error based on the knowledge base which they have created. There can be many different kinds of error log files exists in SQL Server as well – 1) SQL Server Error Logs 2) Windows Event Log 3) SQL Server Agent Log 4) SQL Server Profile Log 5) SQL Server Setup Log etc. Here are some references for Error Logs: Recycle Error Log – Create New Log file without Server Restart SQL Error Messages Change Data Capture I got surprised with this answer. I think more than the answer I was surprised by the person who had answered me this one. I always thought he was expert in HTML, JavaScript but I guess, one should never assume about others. Indeed one of the cool logging feature is Change Data Capture. Change Data Capture records INSERTs, UPDATEs, and DELETEs applied to SQL Server tables, and makes a record available of what changed, where, and when, in simple relational ‘change tables’ rather than in an esoteric chopped salad of XML. These change tables contain columns that reflect the column structure of the source table you have chosen to track, along with the metadata needed to understand the changes that have been made. Here are some references for Change Data Capture: Introduction to Change Data Capture (CDC) in SQL Server 2008 Tuning the Performance of Change Data Capture in SQL Server 2008 Download Script of Change Data Capture (CDC) CDC and TRUNCATE – Cannot truncate table because it is published for replication or enabled for Change Data Capture Dynamic Management View (DMV) I like this answer. If asked I would have not come up with DMV right away but in the spirit of the original question, I think DMV does log the data. DMV logs or stores or records the various data and activity on the SQL Server. Dynamic management views return server state information that can be used to monitor the health of a server instance, diagnose problems, and tune performance. One can get plethero of information from DMVs – High Availability Status, Query Executions Details, SQL Server Resources Status etc. Here are some references for Dynamic Management View (DMV): SQL SERVER – Denali – DMV Enhancement – sys.dm_exec_query_stats – New Columns DMV – sys.dm_os_windows_info – Information about Operating System DMV – sys.dm_os_wait_stats Explanation – Wait Type – Day 3 of 28 DMV sys.dm_exec_describe_first_result_set_for_object – Describes the First Result Metadata for the Module Transaction Log Impact Detection Using DMV – dm_tran_database_transactions Log Files I almost flipped with this final answer from my friend. This should be probably the first answer. Yes, indeed log file logs the SQL Server activities. One can write infinite things about log file. SQL Server uses log file with the extension .ldf to manage transactions and maintain database integrity. Log file ensures that valid data is written out to database and system is in a consistent state. Log files are extremely useful in case of the database failures as with the help of full backup file database can be brought in the desired state (point in time recovery is also possible). SQL Server database has three recovery models – 1) Simple, 2) Full and 3) Bulk Logged. Each of the model uses the .ldf file for performing various activities. It is very important to take the backup of the log files (along with full backup) as one never knows when backup of the log file come into the action and save the day! How to Stop Growing Log File Too Big Reduce the Virtual Log Files (VLFs) from LDF file Log File Growing for Model Database – model Database Log File Grew Too Big master Database Log File Grew Too Big SHRINKFILE and TRUNCATE Log File in SQL Server 2008 Can I just say I loved this month’s T-SQL Tuesday Question. It really provoked very interesting conversation around me. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Optimization, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Change Database Access to Single User Mode Using SSMS

    - by pinaldave
    I have previously written about how using T-SQL Script we can convert the database access to single user mode before backup. I was recently asked if the same can be done using SQL Server Management Studio. Yes! You can do it from database property (Write click on database and select database property) and follow image. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Server Management Studio, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Get All the Information of Database using sys.databases

    - by pinaldave
    Earlier I wrote blog article SQL SERVER – Finding Last Backup Time for All Database. In the response of this article I have received very interesting script from SQL Server Expert Matteo as a comment in the blog. He has written script using sys.databases which provides plenty of the information about database. I suggest you can run this on your database and know unknown of your databases as well. SELECT database_id, CONVERT(VARCHAR(25), DB.name) AS dbName, CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), DATABASEPROPERTYEX(name, 'status')) AS [Status], state_desc, (SELECT COUNT(1) FROM sys.master_files WHERE DB_NAME(database_id) = DB.name AND type_desc = 'rows') AS DataFiles, (SELECT SUM((size*8)/1024) FROM sys.master_files WHERE DB_NAME(database_id) = DB.name AND type_desc = 'rows') AS [Data MB], (SELECT COUNT(1) FROM sys.master_files WHERE DB_NAME(database_id) = DB.name AND type_desc = 'log') AS LogFiles, (SELECT SUM((size*8)/1024) FROM sys.master_files WHERE DB_NAME(database_id) = DB.name AND type_desc = 'log') AS [Log MB], user_access_desc AS [User access], recovery_model_desc AS [Recovery model], CASE compatibility_level WHEN 60 THEN '60 (SQL Server 6.0)' WHEN 65 THEN '65 (SQL Server 6.5)' WHEN 70 THEN '70 (SQL Server 7.0)' WHEN 80 THEN '80 (SQL Server 2000)' WHEN 90 THEN '90 (SQL Server 2005)' WHEN 100 THEN '100 (SQL Server 2008)' END AS [compatibility level], CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), create_date, 103) + ' ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), create_date, 108) AS [Creation date], -- last backup ISNULL((SELECT TOP 1 CASE TYPE WHEN 'D' THEN 'Full' WHEN 'I' THEN 'Differential' WHEN 'L' THEN 'Transaction log' END + ' – ' + LTRIM(ISNULL(STR(ABS(DATEDIFF(DAY, GETDATE(),Backup_finish_date))) + ' days ago', 'NEVER')) + ' – ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), backup_start_date, 103) + ' ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), backup_start_date, 108) + ' – ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), backup_finish_date, 103) + ' ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), backup_finish_date, 108) + ' (' + CAST(DATEDIFF(second, BK.backup_start_date, BK.backup_finish_date) AS VARCHAR(4)) + ' ' + 'seconds)' FROM msdb..backupset BK WHERE BK.database_name = DB.name ORDER BY backup_set_id DESC),'-') AS [Last backup], CASE WHEN is_fulltext_enabled = 1 THEN 'Fulltext enabled' ELSE '' END AS [fulltext], CASE WHEN is_auto_close_on = 1 THEN 'autoclose' ELSE '' END AS [autoclose], page_verify_option_desc AS [page verify option], CASE WHEN is_read_only = 1 THEN 'read only' ELSE '' END AS [read only], CASE WHEN is_auto_shrink_on = 1 THEN 'autoshrink' ELSE '' END AS [autoshrink], CASE WHEN is_auto_create_stats_on = 1 THEN 'auto create statistics' ELSE '' END AS [auto create statistics], CASE WHEN is_auto_update_stats_on = 1 THEN 'auto update statistics' ELSE '' END AS [auto update statistics], CASE WHEN is_in_standby = 1 THEN 'standby' ELSE '' END AS [standby], CASE WHEN is_cleanly_shutdown = 1 THEN 'cleanly shutdown' ELSE '' END AS [cleanly shutdown] FROM sys.databases DB ORDER BY dbName, [Last backup] DESC, NAME Please let me know if you find this information useful. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, Readers Contribution, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLServer, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – How to Install SQL Server 2014 – A 99 Seconds Video

    - by Pinal Dave
    Last month I presented at 3 community and 5 corporate events. Every single time I have been asked by others what is my experience with SQL Server 2014. Every single time I have told the audience that they should try this out themselves, however, the response has been very lukewarm. Everybody wants to know how SQL Server 2014 works, but no one wants to try out themselves. Upon asking why users are not installing SQL Server 2014, pretty much the same answer I received from everyone – “The Fear of Uknown”. Everybody who have not installed SQL Server 2014 are not sure how the installation process works and what if they face any issue while installing SQL Server 2014. If you have installed an earlier version of SQL Server, installing SQL Server 2014 is very easy process. I have created a quick video of 99 seconds where I explain how we can easily install SQL Server 2014. This is a straight forward default installation of SQL Server. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Video

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  • SQL SERVER – Puzzle to Win Print Book and Free 30 Days Online Training Material

    - by pinaldave
    Yesterday I had asked a simple question SQL SERVER – Puzzle to Win Print Book – Write T-SQL Self Join Without Using LEAD and LAG with keeping two simple intention. We can all learn about new feature of SQL Server 2012 We can learn new feature of SQL Server 2012 while practicing on earlier version of SQL Server. While I was creating question due to copy-paste error the question was not correctly created. In simple word – I made a mistake. This created some confusion and I feel bad about this. Here is what we will do. Please read the question again and attempt to answer the question which I have asked in the blog post. Yesterday the give away was my SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers book. As the question was corrected after a while, the give away are now got sweeter. SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers book – 2 Copy 30 Days Online Training Material of Pluralsight. They have excellent learning resources – I have written my 6 hour learning experience over Learning SSAS (SQL Server Analysis Services) Online in 6 Hours. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL Training, SQLServer, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL Authority News – Presenting at SQL Bangalore on May 3, 2014 – Performing an Effective Presentation

    - by Pinal Dave
    SQL Bangalore is a wonderful community and we always have a great response when we present on technology. It is SQL User Group and we discuss everything SQL there. This month we have SQL Server 2014 theme and we are going to have a community launch on this subject. We have the best of the best speakers presenting on SQL Server 2014 technology. Looking at the whole line of celebrity speakers, I have decided not to present on SQL Server. I will be presenting on the performance tuning subject, but with the twist of soft skills. I will be presenting on “Performing an Effective Presentation“. Trust me, you do not want to miss this presentation, I will be presenting on how to present effectively when presenting SQL Server topics. What this session will NOT have I personally believe that we all are good presenters most of the time. We can all easily call out if someone is bad presenter. There is no point talking about basics like bigger bullet points, talk loudly, talk with confidence, use better analogies etc. In simple words – this is not going to some philosophy session and boring notes. What this session will have Well, this session will tell stories of my life. It will tell how we can present about technology and SQL Server with the help of stories and personal experience. I am going to tell stories about two legends  who have inspired me. Right after that we will be doing two exercises together where we will learn quickly and effectively, how to become better speaker – instantly! There is no video recording of this session. If you want to get resources from this session, please sign up my newsletter at http://bit.ly/sqllearn Here are few of the slides from this presentation: Here is the details about the event and location Venue:Microsoft Corporation, Signature Building,Embassy Golf Links Business Park, Intermediate Ring Road, Domlur, Bangalore – 560071 The agenda is amazing – we have top line SQL Speakers. Everyone is welcome and don’t forget to get your friend along for this event. Loads to learn and tons to share !!! Keynote (20 mins) by Anupam Tiwari – Business Program Manager – GTSC Backup Enhancements with SQL Server 2014 by Amit Banerjee – PFE Microsoft Performance Enhancements with SQL Server 2014 by Sourabh Agarwal - PFE Microsoft LUNCH BREAK Performing an effective Presentation by Pinal Dave – Community Member (SQLAuthority.com) InMemory Enhancements with SQL Server 2014 by Balmukund Lakhani – Support Escalation Engg. Microsoft Some more lesser known enhancements with SQL Server 2014 by Vinod Kumar – Technical Architect Microsoft MTC Power Packed – Power BI with SQL Server by Kane Conway – Support Escalation Engg. Microsoft I am very big fan of Amit, Balmukund and Vinod – I have always watched their session and this time, I am going to once again attend their session without missing a single min. They are SQL legends, I am going to be there and learn when they are sharing their knowledge.  Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLAuthority Author Visit, T SQL

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  • SQL SERVER – Query Hint – Contest Win Joes 2 Pros Combo (USD 198) – Day 1 of 5

    - by pinaldave
    August 2011 we ran a contest where every day we give away one book for an entire month. The contest had extreme success. Lots of people participated and lots of give away. I have received lots of questions if we are doing something similar this month. Absolutely, instead of running a contest a month long we are doing something more interesting. We are giving away USD 198 worth gift every day for this week. We are giving away Joes 2 Pros 5 Volumes (BOOK) SQL 2008 Development Certification Training Kit every day. One copy in India and One in USA. Total 2 of the giveaway (worth USD 198). All the gifts are sponsored from the Koenig Training Solution and Joes 2 Pros. The books are available here Amazon | Flipkart | Indiaplaza How to Win: Read the Question Read the Hints Answer the Quiz in Contact Form in following format Question Answer Name of the country (The contest is open for USA and India residents only) 2 Winners will be randomly selected announced on August 20th. Question of the Day: Which of the following queries will return dirty data? a) SELECT * FROM Table1 (READUNCOMMITED) b) SELECT * FROM Table1 (NOLOCK) c) SELECT * FROM Table1 (DIRTYREAD) d) SELECT * FROM Table1 (MYLOCK) Query Hints: BIG HINT POST Most SQL people know what a “Dirty Record” is. You might also call that an “Intermediate record”. In case this is new to you here is a very quick explanation. The simplest way to describe the steps of a transaction is to use an example of updating an existing record into a table. When the insert runs, SQL Server gets the data from storage, such as a hard drive, and loads it into memory and your CPU. The data in memory is changed and then saved to the storage device. Finally, a message is sent confirming the rows that were affected. For a very short period of time the update takes the data and puts it into memory (an intermediate state), not a permanent state. For every data change to a table there is a brief moment where the change is made in the intermediate state, but is not committed. During this time, any other DML statement needing that data waits until the lock is released. This is a safety feature so that SQL Server evaluates only official data. For every data change to a table there is a brief moment where the change is made in this intermediate state, but is not committed. During this time, any other DML statement (SELECT, INSERT, DELETE, UPDATE) needing that data must wait until the lock is released. This is a safety feature put in place so that SQL Server evaluates only official data. Additional Hints: I have previously discussed various concepts from SQL Server Joes 2 Pros Volume 1. SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Dirty Records and Table Hints SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Row Constructors SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Finding un-matching Records SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Efficient Query Writing Strategy SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Finding Apostrophes in String and Text SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Wildcard – Querying Special Characters SQL Joes 2 Pros Development Series – Wildcard Basics Recap Next Step: Answer the Quiz in Contact Form in following format Question Answer Name of the country (The contest is open for USA and India) Bonus Winner Leave a comment with your favorite article from the “additional hints” section and you may be eligible for surprise gift. There is no country restriction for this Bonus Contest. Do mention why you liked it any particular blog post and I will announce the winner of the same along with the main contest. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Joes 2 Pros, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Puzzle, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQLAuthority News – Online Webcast How to Identify Resource Bottlenecks – Wait Types and Queues

    - by pinaldave
    As all of you know I have been working a recently on the subject SQL Server Wait Statistics, the reason is since I have published book on this subject SQL Wait Stats Joes 2 Pros: SQL Performance Tuning Techniques Using Wait Statistics, Types & Queues [Amazon] | [Flipkart] | [Kindle], lots of question and answers I am encountering. When I was writing the book, I kept version 1 of the book in front of me. I wanted to write something which one can use right away. I wanted to create an primer for everybody who have not explored wait stats method of performance tuning. Well, the books have been very well received and in fact we ran out of huge stock 2 times in India so far and once in USA during SQLPASS. I have received so many questions on this subject that I feel I can write one more book of the same size. I have been asked if I can create videos which can go along with this book. Personally I am working with SQL Server 2012 CTP3 and there are so many new wait types, I feel the subject of wait stats is going to be very very crucial in next version of SQL Server. If you have not started learning about this subject, I suggest you at least start exploring this right now. Learn how to begin on this subject atleast as when the next version comes in, you know how to read DMVs. I will be presenting on the same subject of performance tuning by wait stats in webcast embarcadero SQL Server Community Webinar. Here are few topics which we will be covering during the webinar. Beginning with SQL Wait Stats Understanding various aspect of SQL Wait Stats Understanding Query Life Cycle Identifying three TOP wait Stats Resolution of the common 3 wait types and queues Details of the webcast: How to Identify Resource Bottlenecks – Wait Types and Queues Date and Time: Wednesday, November 2, 11:00 AM PDT Registration Link I thank embarcadero for organizing opportunity for me to share my experience on subject of wait stats and connecting me with community to further take this subject to next level. One more interesting thing, I will ask one question at the end of the webinar and I will be giving away 5 copy of my SQL Wait Stats print book to first five correct answers. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: About Me, Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL Wait Stats, SQL Wait Types, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Quiz and Video – Introduction to SQL Error Actions

    - by pinaldave
    This blog post is inspired from SQL Programming Joes 2 Pros: Programming and Development for Microsoft SQL Server 2008SQL Exam Prep Series 70-433 – Volume 4. [Amazon] | [Flipkart] | [Kindle] | [IndiaPlaza] This is follow up blog post of my earlier blog post on the same subject - SQL SERVER – Introduction to SQL Error Actions – A Primer. In the article we discussed various basics terminology of the error handling. The article further covers following important concepts of error handling. Introduction to SQL Error Actions Statement Termination Scope Abortion Batch Termination Above three are the most important concepts related to error handling and SQL Server.  There are many more things one has to learn but without beginners fundamentals one can’t learn the advanced concepts. Let us have small quiz and check how many of you get the fundamentals right. Quiz 1.) Which SQL Server error action happens for errors with a severity of 11-16 when you set the XACT_ABORT setting to ON? You will get Statement Termination. You will get Scope Abortion. You will get Batch Abortion. You will get Connection Termination. SQL Server will pick the error action. 2.) Which SQL Server error action happens for errors with a severity of 11-16 when you set the XACT_ABORT setting to OFF? You will get Statement Termination You will get Scope Abortion You will get Batch Abortion You will get Connection Termination SQL Server will pick the error action Now make sure that you write down all the answers on the piece of paper. Watch following video and read earlier article over here. If you want to change the answer you still have chance. Solution 1) 3 2) 5 Now compare let us check the answers and compare your answers to following answers. I am very confident you will get them correct. Available at USA: Amazon India: Flipkart | IndiaPlaza Volume: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Please leave your feedback in the comment area for the quiz and video. Did you know all the answers of the quiz? Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Joes 2 Pros, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQLAuthority News – Author Visit – SQL Server 2008 R2 Launch

    - by pinaldave
    June 11, 2010 was a wonderful day because I attended the very first SQL Server 2008 R2 Launch event held by Microsoft at Mumbai. I traveled to Mumbai from my home town, Ahmedabad. The event was located at one of the best hotels in Mumbai,”The Leela”. SQL Server R2 Launch was an evening event that had a few interesting talks. SQL PASS is associated with this event as one of the partners and its goal is to increase the awareness of the Community about SQL Server. I met many interesting people and had a great networking opportunity at the event. This event was kicked off with an awesome laser show and a “Welcome” video, which was followed by a Microsoft Executive session wherein there were several interesting demo. The very first demo was about Powerpivot. I knew beforehand that there will be Powerpivot demos because it is a very popular subject; however, I was really hoping to see other interesting demos from SQL Server 2008 R2. And believe me; I was happier to see the later demos. There were demos from SQL Server Utility Control Point, as well an integration of Bing Map with Reporting Servers. I really enjoyed the interactive and informative session by Shivaram Venkatesh. He had excellent presentation skills as well as ample technical knowledge to keep the audience attentive. I really liked his presentations skills wherein he did not read the whole slide deck; rather, he picked one point and using that point he told the story of the whole slide deck. I also enjoyed my conversation with Afaq Choonawala, who is one of the “gem guys” in Microsoft. I also want to acknowledge Ashwin Kini and Mohit Panchal for their excellent support to this event. Mumbai IT Pro is a user group which you can really count on for any kind of help. After excellent demos and a vibrant start of the event, all the audience was jazzed up. There were two vendors’ sessions right after the first session. Intel had 15 minutes to present; however, Intel’s representative, who had good knowledge of the subject, had nearly 30+ slides in his presentation, so he had to rush a bit to cover the whole slide deck. Intel presentations were followed up by another vendor presentation from NetApp. I have previously heard about this tool. After I saw the demo which did not work the first time the Net App presenter demonstrated it, I started to have a doubt on this product. I personally went to clarify my doubt to the demo booth after the presentation was over, but I realize the NetApp presenter or booth owner had absolutely a POOR KNOWLEDGE of SQL Server and even of their own NetApp product. The NetApp people tried to misguide us and when we argued, they started to say different things against what they said earlier. At one point in their presentation, they claimed their application does something very fast, which did not really happen in front of all the audience. They blamed SQL Server R2 DBCC CHECKDB command for their product’s failed demonstration. I know that NetApp has many great products; however, this one was not conveyed clearly and even created a negative impression to all of us. Well, let us not judge the potential, fun, education and enigma of the launch event through a small glitch. This event was jam-packed and extremely well-received by everybody who attended it. As what I said, average demos and good presentations by MS folks were really something to cheer about. Any launch event is considered as successful if it achieves its goal to excite users with its cutting edge technology; just like this event that left a very deep impression on me. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLAuthority Author Visit, SQLAuthority News, T SQL, Technology Tagged: PASS, SQLPASS

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  • SQL SERVER – Fix: Error: File cannot be loaded because the execution of scripts is disabled on this system. Please see “get-help about_signing” for more details

    - by pinaldave
    Yesterday I formatted my computer and did fresh install as it was due from long time. After the fresh install when I tried to install Semantic Search application using powershell, I was stopped by following error. File cannot be loaded because the execution of scripts is disabled on this system. Please see “get-help about_signing” for more details Fix/Solution/Workaround: The solution is very simple. Open the Powershell window and type following two lines and everything will fine right after that. Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned Again, this is I have done for my environment where I am very careful what I will run. You can change the policy back to original restricted policy if you want to restrict future execution of the powershell scripts. Simple – isn’t it? Well all complex looking problems are very simple to solve. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Error Messages, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology Tagged: Powershell

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  • SQL SERVER – New SQL Server 2012 Functions – Webinar by Rick Morelan

    - by Pinal Dave
    My friend Rick Morelan is a wonderful speaker and listening to him is very delightful. Rick is one of the speakers who can articulate a very complex subject in very simple words. Rick has attained over 30 Microsoft certifications in applications, networking, databases and .NET development, including MCDBA, MCTS, MCITP, MCAD, MOE, MCSE and MCSE+. Here is the chance for every one who has not listened Rick Morelan before as he is presenting an online webinar on New SQL Server 2012 Functions. Whether or not you’re a database developer or administrator, you love the power of SQL functions. The functions in SQL Server give you the power to accelerate your applications and database performance. Each version of SQL Server adds new functionality, so come and see Rick Morelan explain what’s new in SQL Server 2012! This webinar will focus on the new string, time and logical functions added to SQL Server 2012. Register for the webinar now to learn: SQL Server 2012 function basics String, time and logical function details Tools to accelerate the SQL coding process Tuesday June 11, 2013  7:00 AM PDT / 10:00 AM EDT 11:00 AM PDT / 2:00 PM EDT Secret Hint: Here is something I would like to tell everyone that there is a quiz coming up on SQLAuthority.com and those who will attend the webinar will find it very easy to resolve it. Register for webinar Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Joes 2 Pros, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – 2012 – Summary of All the Analytic Functions – MSDN and SQLAuthority

    - by pinaldave
    SQL Server 2012 (RC0 Available here) has introduced new analytic functions. These functions were long awaited and I am glad that they are here. Previously when any of this function was needed people use to write long T-SQL code to simulate that and now no need of the same. Having available native function also helps performance as well readability. In last few days I have written many articles on this subject on my blog. The goal was make these complex analytic functions easy to understand and make it widely accepted. As this new functions are available and as awareness spreads we should start using the new functions. Here is the quick list of the new function and relevant MSDN site. Function SQLAuthority MSDN CUME_DIST CUME_DIST CUME_DIST FIRST_VALUE FIRST_VALUE FIRST_VALUE LAST_VALUE LAST_VALUE LAST_VALUE LEAD LEAD LEAD LAG LAG LAG PERCENTILE_CONT PERCENTILE_CONT PERCENTILE_CONT PERCENTILE_DISC PERCENTILE_DISC PERCENTILE_DISC PERCENT_RANK PERCENT_RANK PERCENT_RANK I also enjoyed three different puzzles during the course of this series which gave clear idea to the SQL Server 2012 analytic functions. SQL SERVER – Puzzle to Win Print Book – Functions FIRST_VALUE and LAST_VALUE with OVER clause and ORDER BY SQL SERVER – Puzzle to Win Print Book – Write T-SQL Self Join Without Using LEAD and LAG SQL SERVER – Puzzle to Win Print Book – Explain Value of PERCENTILE_CONT() Using Simple Example This series will be always my dear series as during this series I had went through very unique experience of my book going out of stock and becoming available after 48 hours. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Function, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL Authority News – Download and Install Adventure Works 2014 Sample Databases

    - by Pinal Dave
    If you are using SQL Server there are good chances that you are familiar with AdventureWorks. AdventureWorks is a Sample Database shipped with SQL Server and it can be downloaded from CodePlex site. AdventureWorks have replaced Northwind and Pubs from the sample database in SQL Server 2005. The Microsoft team keeps updating the sample database as they release new versions. I use the AdventureWorks database for most of my example, as it is easy to use sample database which is accessible for most of the people out there. Every new version  of SQL Server should have its own Adventureworks database. The reason is that SQL Server comes up with new features with every version and most of the new features need a new dataset sample to demonstrate the capabilities of the features. This is the why every version of SQL Server has its own AdventureWorks database. SQL Server 2014 has many new features and to support that Microsoft has released new Advetureworks 2014 Sample Database. You can download Adventure Works 2014 Sample Databases from here. Here is a quick tutorial how one can install the AdventureWorks database on your server. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL

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  • SQLAuthority News – Whitepaper Download – Using Star Join and Few-Outer-Row Optimizations to Improve Data Warehousing Queries

    - by pinaldave
    Size of the database is growing every day. Many organizations now a days have more than TB of the Data in their system. Performance is always part of the issue. Microsoft is really paying attention to the same and also focusing on improving performance for Data Warehousing. Microsoft has recently released whitepaper on the performance tuning subject of Data Warehousing. Here is the abstract about the whitepaper from official site: In this white paper we discuss two of the new features introduced in SQL Server 2008, Star Join and Few-Outer-Row optimizations. These two features are in SQL Server 2008 R2 as well.  We test the performance of SQL Server 2008 on a set of complex data warehouse queries designed to highlight the effect of these two features and observed a significant performance gain over SQL Server 2005 (without these two features). The results observed also apply to SQL Server 2008 R2.  On average, about 75 percent of the query execution time has been reduced, compared to SQL Server 2005. We also include data that shows a reduction in the number of rows processed and improved balance in parallel queries, both of which highlight the important role the Star Join and Few Outer-Row features played. I encouraged all of those interested in Data Warehouse to read it and see if they can learn the tricks. Using Star Join and Few-Outer-Row Optimizations to Improve Data Warehousing Queries Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Documentation, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLAuthority News, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Load Generator – Free Tool From CodePlex

    - by pinaldave
    One of the most common questions I receive is if there any tool available to generate load on SQL Server. Absolutely there is a fabulous free tool available to generate load on SQL Server on Codeplex. This tool was released in 2008 but it is still extremely relevant to generate the load on SQL Server as well works fabulously. CodePlex is a project initiated by Microsoft for hosting open source softwares. The best part of this SQL Server Load Generator is that users can run multiple simultaneous queries again SQL Server using different login account and different application name. The interface of the tool is extremely easy to use and very intuitive as well. One of the things which I felt needed improvement was a default configuration. As every single time when I was adding a query the default settings were showing up and I had to manually change that. However, when I went to Menu >> Tools >>Options I was really happy as it has options to change every single default which is available. Here one can give default username, password, database name as well various settings related to configuration. Additionally application logging is also possible through the options. A couple of other important points I noticed was the button to reset counters as well status bar containing useful information of Total Threads, Completed Queries and Failed Queries. I use this frequently for my load testing. What tool do you use for SQL Server Load Generator? Download SQL Load Generator Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL Utility, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Fix Visual Studio Error : Connections to SQL Server files (.mdf) require SQL Server Express 2005 to function properly. Please verify the installation of the component or download from the URL

    - by pinaldave
    In one of the virtual environment while I was trying to add SQL Server Database (.mdf) file to asp.net project I encountered following error: Connections to SQL Server files (.mdf) require SQL Server Express 2005 to function properly. Please verify the installation of the component or download from the URL:  For a long time I am using SQL Server 2012 but this error was a bit interesting to me. I realize that there should not be any need of the SQL Server 2005 installation. I quickly figured out that I can remove this error if I do as mentioned below: Open Microsoft Visual Studio Select Tools >> Options >> Database Tools >> Data Connections Enter the name of an installed instance in “SQL Server Instance Name” field. Click OK If you do not know the instance name, you can follow either of the options. 1) Use the command line sqlcmd utility 2) Using SQL Server Management Studio Is there any other way to resolve this error? Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Error Messages, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology Tagged: sqlcmd, Visual Studio

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  • SQL SERVER – 3 Simple Puzzles – Need Your Suggestions

    - by pinaldave
    Last Month, I have posted three Simple Puzzles and I got very good response. I think there can be many interesting answers there. I would like to request all of you to take part the puzzles and provide your answer. I plant to consolidate answers and publish all the valid answers on this blog with due credit. SQL SERVER – Challenge – Puzzle – Usage of FAST Hint SQL SERVER – Puzzle – Challenge – Error While Converting Money to Decimal SQL SERVER – Challenge – Puzzle – Why does RIGHT JOIN Exists I am also thinking that after such a long time we should have word Database Developer (DBD) just like Database Administrator (DBA) in our dictionary. I have also created pole where I talk about this subject. SQL SERVER – Are you a Database Administrator or a Database Developer? ?Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Puzzle, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Retrieving Random Rows from Table Using NEWID()

    - by pinaldave
    I have previously written about how to get random rows from SQL Server. SQL SERVER – Generate A Single Random Number for Range of Rows of Any Table – Very interesting Question from Reader SQL SERVER – Random Number Generator Script – SQL Query However, I have not blogged about following trick before. Let me share the trick here as well. You can generate random scripts using following methods as well. USE AdventureWorks2012 GO -- Method 1 SELECT TOP 100 * FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail ORDER BY NEWID() GO -- Method 2 SELECT TOP 100 * FROM Sales.SalesOrderDetail ORDER BY CHECKSUM(NEWID()) GO You will notice that using NEWID() in the ORDER BY will return random rows in the result set. How many of you knew this trick? You can run above script multiple times and it will give random rows every single time. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)   Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Function, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – 2012 – All Download Links in Single Page – SQL Server 2012

    - by pinaldave
    SQL Server 2012 RTM is just announced and recently I wrote about all the SQL Server 2012 Certification on single page. As a feedback, I received suggestions to have a single page where everything about SQL Server 2012 is listed. I will keep this page updated as new updates are announced. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Evaluation Microsoft SQL Server 2012 enables a cloud-ready information platform that will help organizations unlock breakthrough insights across the organization. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express is a powerful and reliable free data management system that delivers a rich and reliable data store for lightweight Web Sites and desktop applications. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Feature Pack The Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Feature Pack is a collection of stand-alone packages which provide additional value for Microsoft SQL Server 2012. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Report Builder Report Builder provides a productive report-authoring environment for IT professionals and power users. It supports the full capabilities of SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Master Data Services Add-in For Microsoft Excel The Master Data Services Add-in for Excel gives multiple users the ability to update master data in a familiar tool without compromising the data’s integrity in Master Data Services. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Performance Dashboard Reports The SQL Server 2012 Performance Dashboard Reports are Reporting Services report files designed to be used with the Custom Reports feature of SQL Server Management Studio. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 PowerPivot for Microsoft Excel® 2010 Microsoft PowerPivot for Microsoft Excel 2010 provides ground-breaking technology; fast manipulation of large data sets, streamlined integration of data, and the ability to effortlessly share your analysis through Microsoft SharePoint. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services Add-in for Microsoft SharePoint Technologies 2010 The SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services Add-in for Microsoft SharePoint 2010 technologies allows you to integrate your reporting environment with the collaborative SharePoint 2010 experience. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Semantic Language Statistics The Semantic Language Statistics Database is a required component for the Statistical Semantic Search feature in Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Semantic Language Statistics. Microsoft ®SQL Server 2012 FileStream Driver – Windows Logo Certification Catalog file for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 FileStream Driver that is certified for WindowsServer 2008 R2. It meets Microsoft standards for compatibility and recommended practices with the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems. Microsoft SQL Server StreamInsight 2.0 Microsoft StreamInsight is Microsoft’s Complex Event Processing technology to help businesses create event-driven applications and derive better insights by correlating event streams from multiple sources with near-zero latency. Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server Download the Microsoft JDBC Driver 4.0 for SQL Server, a Type 4 JDBC driver that provides database connectivity through the standard JDBC application program interfaces (APIs) available in Java Platform, Enterprise Edition 5 and 6. Data Quality Services Performance Best Practices Guide This guide focuses on a set of best practices for optimizing performance of Data Quality Services (DQS). Microsoft Drivers 3.0 for SQL Server for PHP The Microsoft Drivers 3.0 for SQL Server for PHP provide connectivity to Microsoft SQLServer from PHP applications. Product Documentation for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 for firewall and proxy restricted environments The Microsoft SQL Server 2012 setup installs only the Help Viewer…install any documentation. All of the SQL Server documentation is available online. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • Find a Hash Collision, Win $100

    - by Mike C
    Margarity Kerns recently published a very nice article at SQL Server Central on using hash functions to detect changes in rows during the data warehouse load ETL process. On the discussion page for the article I noticed a lot of the same old arguments against using hash functions to detect change. After having this same discussion several times over the past several months in public and private forums, I've decided to see if we can't put this argument to rest for a while. To that end I'm going to...(read more)

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  • SQL SERVER – Recompile Stored Procedure at Run Time

    - by pinaldave
    I recently received an email from reader after reading my previous article on SQL SERVER – Plan Recompilation and Reduce Recompilation – Performance Tuning regarding how to recompile any stored procedure at run time. There are multiple ways to do this. If you want your stored procedure to always recompile at run time, you can add [...]

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  • SQL SERVER – Weekly Series – Memory Lane – #039

    - by Pinal Dave
    Here is the list of selected articles of SQLAuthority.com across all these years. Instead of just listing all the articles I have selected a few of my most favorite articles and have listed them here with additional notes below it. Let me know which one of the following is your favorite article from memory lane. 2007 FQL – Facebook Query Language Facebook list following advantages of FQL: Condensed XML reduces bandwidth and parsing costs. More complex requests can reduce the number of requests necessary. Provides a single consistent, unified interface for all of your data. It’s fun! UDF – Get the Day of the Week Function The day of the week can be retrieved in SQL Server by using the DatePart function. The value returned by the function is between 1 (Sunday) and 7 (Saturday). To convert this to a string representing the day of the week, use a CASE statement. UDF – Function to Get Previous And Next Work Day – Exclude Saturday and Sunday While reading ColdFusion blog of Ben Nadel Getting the Previous Day In ColdFusion, Excluding Saturday And Sunday, I realize that I use similar function on my SQL Server Database. This function excludes the Weekends (Saturday and Sunday), and it gets previous as well as next work day. Complete Series of SQL Server Interview Questions and Answers Data Warehousing Interview Questions and Answers – Introduction Data Warehousing Interview Questions and Answers – Part 1 Data Warehousing Interview Questions and Answers – Part 2 Data Warehousing Interview Questions and Answers – Part 3 Data Warehousing Interview Questions and Answers Complete List Download 2008 Introduction to Log Viewer In SQL Server all the windows event logs can be seen along with SQL Server logs. Interface for all the logs is same and can be launched from the same place. This log can be exported and filtered as well. DBCC SHRINKFILE Takes Long Time to Run If you are DBA who are involved with Database Maintenance and file group maintenance, you must have experience that many times DBCC SHRINKFILE operations takes a long time but any other operations with Database are relatively quicker. mssqlsystemresource – Resource Database The purpose of resource database is to facilitates upgrading to the new version of SQL Server without any hassle. In previous versions whenever version of SQL Server was upgraded all the previous version system objects needs to be dropped and new version system objects to be created. 2009 Puzzle – Write Script to Generate Primary Key and Foreign Key In SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), there is no option to script all the keys. If one is required to script keys they will have to manually script each key one at a time. If database has many tables, generating one key at a time can be a very intricate task. I want to throw a question to all of you if any of you have scripts for the same purpose. Maximizing View of SQL Server Management Studio – Full Screen – New Screen I had explained the following two different methods: 1) Open Results in Separate Tab - This is a very interesting method as result pan shows up in a different tab instead of the splitting screen horizontally. 2) Open SSMS in Full Screen - This works always and to its best. Not many people are aware of this method; hence, very few people use it to enhance performance. 2010 Find Queries using Parallelism from Cached Plan T-SQL script gets all the queries and their execution plan where parallelism operations are kicked up. Pay attention there is TOP 10 is used, if you have lots of transactional operations, I suggest that you change TOP 10 to TOP 50 This is the list of the all the articles in the series of computed columns. SQL SERVER – Computed Column – PERSISTED and Storage This article talks about how computed columns are created and why they take more storage space than before. SQL SERVER – Computed Column – PERSISTED and Performance This article talks about how PERSISTED columns give better performance than non-persisted columns. SQL SERVER – Computed Column – PERSISTED and Performance – Part 2 This article talks about how non-persisted columns give better performance than PERSISTED columns. SQL SERVER – Computed Column and Performance – Part 3 This article talks about how Index improves the performance of Computed Columns. SQL SERVER – Computed Column – PERSISTED and Storage – Part 2 This article talks about how creating index on computed column does not grow the row length of table. SQL SERVER – Computed Columns – Index and Performance This article summarized all the articles related to computed columns. 2011 SQL SERVER – Interview Questions and Answers – Frequently Asked Questions – Data Warehousing Concepts – Day 21 of 31 What is Data Warehousing? What is Business Intelligence (BI)? What is a Dimension Table? What is Dimensional Modeling? What is a Fact Table? What are the Fundamental Stages of Data Warehousing? What are the Different Methods of Loading Dimension tables? Describes the Foreign Key Columns in Fact Table and Dimension Table? What is Data Mining? What is the Difference between a View and a Materialized View? SQL SERVER – Interview Questions and Answers – Frequently Asked Questions – Data Warehousing Concepts – Day 22 of 31 What is OLTP? What is OLAP? What is the Difference between OLTP and OLAP? What is ODS? What is ER Diagram? SQL SERVER – Interview Questions and Answers – Frequently Asked Questions – Data Warehousing Concepts – Day 23 of 31 What is ETL? What is VLDB? Is OLTP Database is Design Optimal for Data Warehouse? If denormalizing improves Data Warehouse Processes, then why is the Fact Table is in the Normal Form? What are Lookup Tables? What are Aggregate Tables? What is Real-Time Data-Warehousing? What are Conformed Dimensions? What is a Conformed Fact? How do you Load the Time Dimension? What is a Level of Granularity of a Fact Table? What are Non-Additive Facts? What is a Factless Facts Table? What are Slowly Changing Dimensions (SCD)? SQL SERVER – Interview Questions and Answers – Frequently Asked Questions – Data Warehousing Concepts – Day 24 of 31 What is Hybrid Slowly Changing Dimension? What is BUS Schema? What is a Star Schema? What Snow Flake Schema? Differences between the Star and Snowflake Schema? What is Difference between ER Modeling and Dimensional Modeling? What is Degenerate Dimension Table? Why is Data Modeling Important? What is a Surrogate Key? What is Junk Dimension? What is a Data Mart? What is the Difference between OLAP and Data Warehouse? What is a Cube and Linked Cube with Reference to Data Warehouse? What is Snapshot with Reference to Data Warehouse? What is Active Data Warehousing? What is the Difference between Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence? What is MDS? Explain the Paradigm of Bill Inmon and Ralph Kimball. SQL SERVER – Azure Interview Questions and Answers – Guest Post by Paras Doshi – Day 25 of 31 Paras Doshi has submitted 21 interesting question and answers for SQL Azure. 1.What is SQL Azure? 2.What is cloud computing? 3.How is SQL Azure different than SQL server? 4.How many replicas are maintained for each SQL Azure database? 5.How can we migrate from SQL server to SQL Azure? 6.Which tools are available to manage SQL Azure databases and servers? 7.Tell me something about security and SQL Azure. 8.What is SQL Azure Firewall? 9.What is the difference between web edition and business edition? 10.How do we synchronize On Premise SQL server with SQL Azure? 11.How do we Backup SQL Azure Data? 12.What is the current pricing model of SQL Azure? 13.What is the current limitation of the size of SQL Azure DB? 14.How do you handle datasets larger than 50 GB? 15.What happens when the SQL Azure database reaches Max Size? 16.How many databases can we create in a single server? 17.How many servers can we create in a single subscription? 18.How do you improve the performance of a SQL Azure Database? 19.What is code near application topology? 20.What were the latest updates to SQL Azure service? 21.When does a workload on SQL Azure get throttled? SQL SERVER – Interview Questions and Answers – Guest Post by Malathi Mahadevan – Day 26 of 31 Malachi had asked a simple question which has several answers. Each answer makes you think and ponder about the reality of the IT world. Look at the simple question – ‘What is the toughest challenge you have faced in your present job and how did you handle it’? and its various answers. Each answer has its own story. SQL SERVER – Interview Questions and Answers – Guest Post by Rick Morelan – Day 27 of 31 Rick Morelan of Joes2Pros has written an excellent blog post on the subject how to find top N values. Most people are fully aware of how the TOP keyword works with a SELECT statement. After years preparing so many students to pass the SQL Certification I noticed they were pretty well prepared for job interviews too. Yes, they would do well in the interview but not great. There seemed to be a few questions that would come up repeatedly for almost everyone. Rick addresses similar questions in his lucid writing skills. 2012 Observation of Top with Index and Order of Resultset SQL Server has lots of things to learn and share. It is amazing to see how people evaluate and understand different techniques and styles differently when implementing. The real reason may be absolutely different but we may blame something totally different for the incorrect results. Read the blog post to learn more. How do I Record Video and Webcast How to Convert Hex to Decimal or INT Earlier I asked regarding a question about how to convert Hex to Decimal. I promised that I will post an answer with Due Credit to the author but never got around to post a blog post around it. Read the original post over here SQL SERVER – Question – How to Convert Hex to Decimal. Query to Get Unique Distinct Data Based on Condition – Eliminate Duplicate Data from Resultset The natural reaction will be to suggest DISTINCT or GROUP BY. However, not all the questions can be solved by DISTINCT or GROUP BY. Let us see the following example, where a user wanted only latest records to be displayed. Let us see the example to understand further. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Memory Lane, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Free eBook Download – EPUB, MOBI, PDF Format

    - by pinaldave
    Microsoft has released recently free eBooks on various Microsoft Technology. The best part is that all these books are available in ePub, Mobi and PDF. You can download them to your local machine or eBook reader and read them. This is a great start as many important subjects are now covered and converted into an eBook. I personally read through a few of the books and found they are very comprehensive and and detailed. The goal is not to cover complete technology in a single book but rather pick a single topic and discuss it in detail. The source of the book is white paper, Technet wiki as well book online and it is clearly listed right bellow the book title. Following are the books available for SQL Server Technology and I encourage all of you to have a look at them as they are great resources. Master Data Services Capacity Guidelines Microsoft SQL Server AlwaysOn Solutions Guide for High Availability and Disaster Recovery Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services Multidimensional Performance and Operations Guide QuickStart: Learn DAX Basics in 30 Minutes SQL Server 2012 Transact-SQL DML Reference You can download above eBooks from here. This is indeed a great attempt as each book talks about the a single subject in depth keeping author focus on the single and simple subject. I have previously written two books by focusing on the same subject and I had great pleasure writing it as well. Writing on focus subjects gives complete freedom to author to explore the a single subject without having burden to cover everything which is associated with that technology at large. Just like eBooks mentioned earlier my SQL Server Wait Stats was inspired from my article series on SQL Wait Stats. The latest book SQL Server Interview Question and Answers was derived from my article series on SQL Interview Q and A. Writing book is an absolutely different concept than writing blog posts. When I was converting my blog posts to books, I ended up writing 50% new material and end up removing many repetitive content which shows up in blog series. It was indeed fun to focused book at the same time it was a great learning experience as an individual. Reference: TechNet Wiki, Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Documentation, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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