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  • SQL SERVER – BACKUPIO, BACKUPBUFFER – Wait Type – Day 14 of 28

    - by pinaldave
    Backup is the most important task for any database admin. Your data is at risk if you are not performing database backup. Honestly, I have seen many DBAs who know how to take backups but do not know how to restore it. (Sigh!) In this blog post we are going to discuss about one of my real experiences with one of my clients – BACKUPIO. When I started to deal with it, I really had no idea how to fix the issue. However, after fixing it at two places, I think I know why this is happening but at the same time, I am not sure the fix is the best solution. The reality is that the fix is not a solution but a workaround (which is not optimal, but get your things done). From Book On-Line: BACKUPIO Occurs when a backup task is waiting for data, or is waiting for a buffer in which to store data. This type is not typical, except when a task is waiting for a tape mount. BACKUPBUFFER Occurs when a backup task is waiting for data, or is waiting for a buffer in which to store data. This type is not typical, except when a task is waiting for a tape mount. BACKUPIO and BACKUPBUFFER Explanation: This wait stats will occur when you are taking the backup on the tape or any other extremely slow backup system. Reducing BACKUPIO and BACKUPBUFFER wait: In my recent consultancy, backup on tape was very slow probably because the tape system was very old. During the time when I explained this wait type reason in the consultancy, the owners immediately decided to replace the tape drive with an alternate system. They had a small SAN enclosure not being used on side, which they decided to re-purpose. After a week, I had received an email from their DBA, saying that the wait stats have reduced drastically. At another location, my client was using a third party tool (please don’t ask me the name of the tool) to take backup. This tool was compressing the backup along with taking backup. I have had a very good experience with this tool almost all the time except this one sparse experience. When I tried to take backup using the native SQL Server compressed backup, there was a very small value on this wait type and the backup was much faster. However, when I attempted with the third party backup tool, this value was very high again and was taking much more time. The third party tool had many other features but the client was not using these features. We end up using the native SQL Server Compressed backup and it worked very well. If I get to see this higher in my future consultancy, I will try to understand this wait type much more in detail and so probably I would able to come to some solid solution. Read all the post in the Wait Types and Queue series. Note: The information presented here is from my experience and there is no way that I claim it to be accurate. I suggest reading Book OnLine for further clarification. All the discussion of Wait Stats in this blog is generic and varies from system to system. It is recommended that you test this on a development server before implementing it to a production server. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: 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 – What is Incremental Statistics? – Performance improvements in SQL Server 2014 – Part 1

    - by Pinal Dave
    This is the first part of the series Incremental Statistics. Here is the index of the complete series. What is Incremental Statistics? – Performance improvements in SQL Server 2014 – Part 1 Simple Example of Incremental Statistics – Performance improvements in SQL Server 2014 – Part 2 DMV to Identify Incremental Statistics – Performance improvements in SQL Server 2014 – Part 3 Statistics are considered one of the most important aspects of SQL Server Performance Tuning. You might have often heard the phrase, with related to performance tuning. “Update Statistics before you take any other steps to tune performance”. Honestly, I have said above statement many times and many times, I have personally updated statistics before I start to do any performance tuning exercise. You may agree or disagree to the point, but there is no denial that Statistics play an extremely vital role in the performance tuning. SQL Server 2014 has a new feature called Incremental Statistics. I have been playing with this feature for quite a while and I find that very interesting. After spending some time with this feature, I decided to write about this subject over here. New in SQL Server 2014 – Incremental Statistics Well, it seems like lots of people wants to start using SQL Server 2014′s new feature of Incremetnal Statistics. However, let us understand what actually this feature does and how it can help. I will try to simplify this feature first before I start working on the demo code. Code for all versions of SQL Server Here is the code which you can execute on all versions of SQL Server and it will update the statistics of your table. The keyword which you should pay attention is WITH FULLSCAN. It will scan the entire table and build brand new statistics for you which your SQL Server Performance Tuning engine can use for better estimation of your execution plan. UPDATE STATISTICS TableName(StatisticsName) WITH FULLSCAN Who should learn about this? Why? If you are using partitions in your database, you should consider about implementing this feature. Otherwise, this feature is pretty much not applicable to you. Well, if you are using single partition and your table data is in a single place, you still have to update your statistics the same way you have been doing. If you are using multiple partitions, this may be a very useful feature for you. In most cases, users have multiple partitions because they have lots of data in their table. Each partition will have data which belongs to itself. Now it is very common that each partition are populated separately in SQL Server. Real World Example For example, if your table contains data which is related to sales, you will have plenty of entries in your table. It will be a good idea to divide the partition into multiple filegroups for example, you can divide this table into 3 semesters or 4 quarters or even 12 months. Let us assume that we have divided our table into 12 different partitions. Now for the month of January, our first partition will be populated and for the month of February our second partition will be populated. Now assume, that you have plenty of the data in your first and second partition. Now the month of March has just started and your third partition has started to populate. Due to some reason, if you want to update your statistics, what will you do? In SQL Server 2012 and earlier version You will just use the code of WITH FULLSCAN and update the entire table. That means even though you have only data in third partition you will still update the entire table. This will be VERY resource intensive process as you will be updating the statistics of the partition 1 and 2 where data has not changed at all. In SQL Server 2014 You will just update the partition of Partition 3. There is a special syntax where you can now specify which partition you want to update now. The impact of this is that it is smartly merging the new data with old statistics and update the entire statistics without doing FULLSCAN of your entire table. This has a huge impact on performance. Remember that the new feature in SQL Server 2014 does not change anything besides the capability to update a single partition. However, there is one feature which is indeed attractive. Previously, when table data were changed 20% at that time, statistics update were triggered. However, now the same threshold is applicable to a single partition. That means if your partition faces 20% data, change it will also trigger partition level statistics update which, when merged to your final statistics will give you better performance. In summary If you are not using a partition, this feature is not applicable to you. If you are using a partition, this feature can be very helpful to you. Tomorrow: We will see working code of SQL Server 2014 Incremental Statistics. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Performance, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL Tagged: SQL Statistics, Statistics

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  • SQL SERVER – What is AdventureWorks?

    - by pinaldave
    NOTE: If you know the answer of this question, then I request you to stop reading this post right now. Please do not leave comment about this blog post not being useful to you, if you knew the answer. Few days ago, I received DM asking What is an AdventureWorks database and why in all the examples I use that instead of any other database (e.g. Pubs or  Northwind)? As matter of fact, when I went back to my question list, which I have yet not answered, there were a few more variations of this same question. AdventureWorks is a Sample Database shipped with SQL Server and it can be downloaded from http://codeplex.com site. AdventureWorks has 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. Here are some quick links: AdventureWorks SQL Server 2008 SR4 AdventureWorks 2008R2 November CTP AdventureWorks for SQL Azure (December CTP) AventureWorks for SQL Server 2005 SP2A SQL SERVER – 2008 – Download and Install Samples Database AdventureWorks 2005 – Detail Tutorial I have previously written few other articles on the same subject; you can find them easily here: [email protected] Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Documentation, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Information Related to DATETIME and DATETIME2

    - by pinaldave
    I recently received interesting comment on the blog regarding workaround to overcome the precision issue while dealing with DATETIME and DATETIME2. I have written over this subject earlier over here. SQL SERVER – Difference Between GETDATE and SYSDATETIME SQL SERVER – Difference Between DATETIME and DATETIME2 – WITH GETDATE SQL SERVER – Difference Between DATETIME and DATETIME2 SQL Expert Jing Sheng Zhong has left following comment: The issue you found in SQL server new datetime type is related time source function precision. Folks have found the root reason of the problem – when data time values are converted (implicit or explicit) between different data type, which would lose some precision, so the result cannot match each other as thought. Here I would like to gave a work around solution to solve the problem which the developers met. -- Declare and loop DECLARE @Intveral INT, @CurDate DATETIMEOFFSET; CREATE TABLE #TimeTable (FirstDate DATETIME, LastDate DATETIME2, GlobalDate DATETIMEOFFSET) SET @Intveral = 10000 WHILE (@Intveral > 0) BEGIN ----SET @CurDate = SYSDATETIMEOFFSET(); -- higher precision for future use only SET @CurDate = TODATETIMEOFFSET(GETDATE(),DATEDIFF(N,GETUTCDATE(),GETDATE())); -- lower precision to match exited date process INSERT #TimeTable (FirstDate, LastDate, GlobalDate) VALUES (@CurDate, @CurDate, @CurDate) SET @Intveral = @Intveral - 1 END GO -- Distinct Values SELECT COUNT(DISTINCT FirstDate) D_DATETIME, COUNT(DISTINCT LastDate) D_DATETIME2, COUNT(DISTINCT GlobalDate) D_SYSGETDATE FROM #TimeTable GO -- Join SELECT DISTINCT a.FirstDate,b.LastDate, b.GlobalDate, CAST(b.GlobalDate AS DATETIME) GlobalDateASDateTime FROM #TimeTable a INNER JOIN #TimeTable b ON a.FirstDate = CAST(b.GlobalDate AS DATETIME) GO -- Select SELECT * FROM #TimeTable GO -- Clean up DROP TABLE #TimeTable GO If you read my blog SQL SERVER – Difference Between DATETIME and DATETIME2 you will notice that I have achieved the same using GETDATE(). Are you using DATETIME2 in your production environment? If yes, I am interested to know the use case. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://www.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL DateTime, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Four Tutorial for SQL Server 2012 New Features

    - by pinaldave
    One of the very common question I receive on my facebook is that if there is any tutorial for SQL Server 2012 new enhanced features and solutions. I see this demand a bit increasing as the SQL Server 2012 is more and more being adopted. Here is the list of four tutorial which is specifically created for SQL Server 2012 by Microsoft. Multidimensional Modeling (Adventure Works Tutorial) This tutorial teaches you how to develop and deploy an Analysis Services project that enables the employees of Adventure Works Cycles to analyze various aspects of their business. Tabular Modeling (Adventure Works Tutorial) This tutorial teaches you how to create a SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services tabular model that enable sales and marketing teams to easily analyze internet sales data in the AdventureWorksDW2012 data warehouse. You will build the tabular model in SQL Server Data Tools. Tutorials and Demos for Power View Create Power View reports and explore Power View features. View demos, videos, and tutorials that help you get started quickly with Power View and successfully build reports with interactive filters and visualizations such as bubble charts, tiles, and cards. Tutorial: Using the hierarchyid Data Type This tutorial is intended for users who are experienced with Transact-SQL, but are new to the hierarchyid data type. In this tutorial, you convert an existing table to a hierarchical structure, and you also create a new table to store and manage hierarchical data efficiently. Note: The description of the course is taken from original course description. You will need to install SQL Server 2012 AdventureWorks for all this tutorial. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL Training, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Retrieve SQL Server Installation Date Time

    - by pinaldave
    I have been asked this question number of times and my answer always have been – search online and you will find the answer. Every single time when someone has followed my answer – they have found accurate answer in first few clicks. However increasingly this question getting very popular so I have decided to answer this question here. I usually prefer to create my own T-SQL script but in today’s case, I have taken the script from web. I have seen this script at so many places I do not know who is original creator so not sure who should get credit for the same. Question: How to retrieve SQL Server Installation date? Answer: Run following query and it will give you date of SQL Server Installation. SELECT create_date FROM sys.server_principals WHERE sid = 0x010100000000000512000000 Question: I have installed SQL Server Evaluation version how do I know what is the expiry date for it? Answer: SQL Server evaluation period is for 180 days. The expiration date is always 180 days from the initial installation. Following query will give an expiration date of evaluation version. -- Evaluation Version Expire Date SELECT create_date AS InstallationDate, DATEADD(DD, 180, create_date) AS 'Expiry Date' FROM sys.server_principals WHERE sid = 0x010100000000000512000000 GO I believe there is a way to do the same using registry but I have not explored it personally. Now as I said earlier there are many different blog posts on this subject. Let me list a few which I really enjoyed to read personally as they shared few more insights over this subject. Retrieving SQL Server 2012 Evaluation Period Expiry Date How to find the Installation Date for an Evaluation Edition of SQL Server Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL DateTime, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQLAuthority News – Download Whitepaper – SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Operations Guide

    - by pinaldave
    SQL Server Analysis Service (SSAS) has been always interesting subject for research. Analysis Services cubes are a very powerful tool in the hands of the business intelligence (BI) developer. They provide an easy way to expose even large data models directly to business users. Microsoft has published very informative white paper on Analysis Services Operations Guide. This white paper is authored by Thomas Kejser, John Sirmon, and Denny Lee. In this guide you will find information on how to test and run Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services in SQL Server 2005, SQL Server 2008, and SQL Server 2008 R2 in a production environment. The focus of this guide is how you can test, monitor, diagnose, and remove production issues on even the largest scaled cubes. This paper also provides guidance on how to configure the server for best possible performance. It is the goal of this guide to make your operations processes as painless as possible, and to have you run with the best possible performance without any additional development effort to your deployed cubes. In this guide, you will learn how to get the best out of your existing data model by making changes transparent to the data model and by making configuration changes that improve the user experience of the cube. Download SQL Server 2008 R2 Analysis Services Operations Guide Note: Abstract taken white paper. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL White Papers, SQLAuthority News, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – DATE and TIME in SQL Server 2008

    - by pinaldave
    I was thinking about DATE and TIME datatypes in SQL Server 2008. I earlier wrote about the about best practices of the same. Recently I had written one of the script written for SQL Server 2008 had to run on SQL Server 2005 (don’t ask me why!), I had to convert the DATE and TIME datatypes to DATETIME. Let me run quick demo for the same. DECLARE @varDate AS DATE DECLARE @varTime AS TIME SET @varDate = '10/10/2010' SET @varTime = '12:12:12' SELECT CAST(@varDate AS DATETIME) C_Date SELECT CAST(@varTime AS DATETIME) C_Time As seen in example when DATE is converted to DATETIME it adds the of midnight. When TIME is converted to DATETIME it adds the date of 1900 and it is something one wants to consider if you are going to run script from SQL Server 2008 to earlier version with CONVERT. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: SQL, SQL Authority, SQL DateTime, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Challenge – Puzzle – Why does RIGHT JOIN Exists

    - by pinaldave
    I had interesting conversation with the attendees of the my SQL Server Performance Tuning course. I was asked if LEFT JOIN can do the same task as RIGHT JOIN by reserving the order of the tables in join, why does RIGHT JOIN exists? The definitions are as following: Left Join – select all the records from the LEFT table and then pick up any matching records from the RIGHT table   Right Join – select all the records from the RIGHT table and then pick up any matching records from the LEFT table Most of us read from LEFT to RIGHT so we are using LEFT join. Do you have any explaination why RIGHT JOIN exists or can you come up with example, where RIGHT JOIN is absolutely required and the task can not be achieved with LEFT JOIN. Other Puzzles: SQL SERVER – Puzzle – Challenge – Error While Converting Money to Decimal SQL SERVER – Challenge – Puzzle – Usage of FAST Hint Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Puzzle, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQLAuthority News – Download Whitepaper Using SharePoint List Data in PowerPivot

    - by pinaldave
    One of the many features of Microsoft SQL Server PowerPivot is the range of data sources that can be used to import data. Anything, from Microsoft SQL Server relational databases, Oracle databases, and Microsoft Access databases, to text documents, can be used as data sources in PowerPivot. In this paper, I explain one of the new and upcoming data sources that people are excited about – SharePoint list data in the form of Atom feeds. This white paper goes on to explain the different ways you can import SharePoint list data into PowerPivot, what types of lists are supported, various components that need to be installed to use this feature, and where to get those components. Download and read this whitepaper. Note: Abstract is taken from MSDN 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, SQL White Papers, SQLAuthority News, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Watch Online and Download – Inside of Next Generation SQL Server – Best Practices Analyzer using Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer

    - by pinaldave
    I presented on subject Inside of Next Generation SQL Server – Denali online at Zeollar.com. This sessions are really fun as they are online, downloadable, and 100% demo oriented. I used SQL Server ‘Denali’ CTP 1 to present on the subject of What is New in Denali. My earlier session on the Topic of Best Practices Analyzer is also available to watch online here: SQL SERVER – Video – Best Practices Analyzer using Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer I enjoyed presenting a lot on above two subjects. I would like to ask your opinion on the same. You can download the sessions and watch it yourself afterwords. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Documentation, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLServer, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Running Multiple Batch Files Together in Parallel

    - by pinaldave
    Recently I was preparing a demo for my next technical session, I had to do run a SQL code in parallel. I decided to use Batch File to run the code. I am not the best guy to with command shell so I did it with following setup. Code of tsql.sql SELECT 1 ColumnName Code of command.bat sqlcmd -S . -i tsql.sql timeout 100 Code of  AllBatch.bat start cmd.exe /C “command.bat” start cmd.exe /C “command.bat” start cmd.exe /C “command.bat” Now I ran AllBatch.bat and it run all the three files in parallel and simulated my needed scenario. I believe there should be simpler way using power-shell. Anybody want to come up with equivalent code which is improvement to this code? Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL Utility, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQLAuthority News – SQL Server Technical Article – The Data Loading Performance Guide

    - by pinaldave
    The white paper describes load strategies for achieving high-speed data modifications of a Microsoft SQL Server database. “Bulk Load Methods” and “Other Minimally Logged and Metadata Operations” provide an overview of two key and interrelated concepts for high-speed data loading: bulk loading and metadata operations. After this background knowledge, white paper describe how these methods can be [...]

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  • SQL SERVER – Introduction to Rollup Clause

    - by pinaldave
    In this article we will go over basic understanding of Rollup clause in SQL Server. ROLLUP clause is used to do aggregate operation on multiple levels in hierarchy. Let us understand how it works by using an example. Consider a table with the following structure and data: CREATE TABLE tblPopulation ( Country VARCHAR(100), [State] VARCHAR(100), City VARCHAR(100), [Population (in Millions)] INT ) GO INSERT INTO tblPopulation VALUES('India', 'Delhi','East Delhi',9 [...]

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  • SQL SERVER – Learn SQL Server 2014 Online in a Day – My Latest Pluralsight Course

    - by Pinal Dave
    Click here watch SQL Server 2014 Administration New Features.  SQL Server 2014 was released earlier this year and it has been extremely popular in Microsoft world. Here is the announcement for everyone, who have been asking me to build a tutorial around SQL Server 2014. I have authored latest Pluralsight courses on the subject of SQL Server 2014. This course is 4 hours and 17 minutes long, but the best part is that this course contains all the latest features of SQL Server 2014. I have build this course with the assumption that DBA is familiar with earlier versions of SQL Server and wants to explore and learn new features of SQL Server 2014. The Challenge I Faced The biggest challenge I faced was how to come up with the outline for the course. The reason is that there are so many different features introduced in SQL Server 2014 that is will be difficult to cover each of the features in a single course. I wanted to cover the topics which are the most relevant and useful to developers, but in addition I also wanted to cover the topics which may be useful to develop if they know that they exists in the product. I finally decided to depend on blog readers and few of the SQL Experts. I reached out to selected 20 people via email and gave them a list of the topics which I should be covering in this course. They all work in different organizations and have a good understanding about the need of the DBA and Developers. Based on their feedback, I was able to come up with a very good outline which is currently very popular with Pluralsight library. Lots of people have asked me how was I able to come up with a course content outline so accurately. The credit for the same goes to the developers and DBA, who have voted in the topics and have helped me to build a very solid outline for the course. Outline of the Course Here is a quick outline for the course: Introduction Backup Enhancements Security Enhancements Columnstore Enhancements Online Data Operations Enhancements Enhancements with Microsoft Azure SSD Buffer Pool Extensions Resource Governor IO Miscellaneous Features Online Index Rebuilding Live Plans for Long Running Queries Transaction Durability Cardinality Estimation In Memory OLTP Optimization Well, I had a great fun working on the topics which I have mentioned in the outline. I am very confident that once you start with the course, you will indeed understand how each of the topics builds and presented. I have made sure that each of the topic has a vivid and clear story to begin with. I first explain the story and right after that I explain the concept. Who Should Attend This Course Everyone who has basic knowledge of SQL Server and wants to update themselves with SQL Server 2014. They should attend this course. One thing I have made sure that this course is easy to understand and I have decided complex subject into multiple parts. This way the learning is progressive and anyone with a poor knowledge of the subject can have enough time to understand the presented concept. Screenshot of the Course Here are few of the screenshot of the courses. How to Watch Video Course This course is available at Pluralsight, and you will need a valid login to Pluralsight. If you do not have Pluralsight login, you can quickly sign up for the FREE Trial. Click here watch SQL Server 2014 Administration New Features.  Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL Training, SQLAuthority News, T SQL, Video

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  • SQLAuthority News – SafePeak’s SQL Server Performance Contest – Winners

    - by pinaldave
    SafePeak, the unique automated SQL performance acceleration and performance tuning software vendor, announced the winners of their SQL Performance Contest 2011. The contest quite unique: the writer of the best / most interesting and most community liked “performance story” would win an expensive gadget. The judges were the community DBAs that could participating and Like’ing stories and could also win expensive prizes. Robert Pearl SQL MVP, was the contest supervisor. I liked most of the stories and decided then to contact SafePeak and suggested to participate in the give-away and they have gladly accepted the same. The winner of best story is: Jason Brimhall (USA) with a story about a proc with a fair amount of business logic. Congratulations Jason! The 3 participants won the second prize of $100 gift card on amazon.com are: Michael Corey (USA), Hakim Ali (USA) and Alex Bernal (USA). And 5 participants won a printed copy of a book of mine (Book Reviews of SQL Wait Stats Joes 2 Pros: SQL Performance Tuning Techniques Using Wait Statistics, Types & Queues) are: Patrick Kansa (USA), Wagner Bianchi (USA), Riyas.V.K (India), Farzana Patwa (USA) and Wagner Crivelini (Brazil). The winners are welcome to send safepeak their mail address to receive the prizes (to “info ‘at’ safepeak.com”). Also SafePeak team asked me to welcome you all to continue sending stories, simply because they (and we all) like to read interesting stuff) as well as to send them ideas for future contests. You can do it from here: www.safepeak.com/SQL-Performance-Contest-2011/Submit-Story Congratulations to everybody! I found this very funny video about SafePeak: It looks like someone (maybe the vendor) played with video’s once and created this non-commercial like video: SafePeak dynamic caching is an immediate plug-n-play performance acceleration and scalability solution for cloud, hosted and business SQL server applications. By caching in memory result sets of queries and stored procedures, while keeping all those cache correct and up to date using unique patent pending technology, SafePeak can fix SQL performance problems and bottlenecks of most applications – most importantly: without actual code changes. By the way, I checked their website prior this contest announcement and noticed that they are running these days a special end year promotion giving between 30% to 45% discounts. Since the installation is quick and full testing can be done within couple of days – those have the need (performance problems) and have budget leftovers: I suggest you hurry. A free fully functional trial is here: www.safepeak.com/download, while those that want to start with a quote should ping here www.safepeak.com/quote. Good luck! Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Performance, SQL Puzzle, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Online Index Rebuilding Index Improvement in SQL Server 2012

    - by pinaldave
    Have you ever faced situation when you see something working and you feel it should not be working? Well, I had similar moments few days ago. I know that SQL Server 2008 supports online indexing. However, I also know that I cannot rebuild index ONLINE if I have used VARCHAR(MAX), NVARCHAR(MAX) or few other data types. While I held my belief very strongly I came across situation, where I had to go online and do little bit reading from Book Online. Here is the similar example. First of all – run following code in SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2. USE TempDB GO CREATE TABLE TestTable (ID INT, FirstCol NVARCHAR(10), SecondCol NVARCHAR(MAX)) GO CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX [IX_TestTable] ON TestTable (ID) GO CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX [IX_TestTable_Cols] ON TestTable (FirstCol) INCLUDE (SecondCol) GO USE [tempdb] GO ALTER INDEX [IX_TestTable_Cols] ON [dbo].[TestTable] REBUILD WITH (ONLINE = ON) GO DROP TABLE TestTable GO Now run the same code in SQL Server 2012 version. Observe the difference between both of the execution. You will be get following resultset. In SQL Server 2008/R2 it will throw following error: Msg 2725, Level 16, State 2, Line 1 An online operation cannot be performed for index ‘IX_TestTable_Cols’ because the index contains column ‘SecondCol’ of data type text, ntext, image, varchar(max), nvarchar(max), varbinary(max), xml, or large CLR type. For a non-clustered index, the column could be an include column of the index. For a clustered index, the column could be any column of the table. If DROP_EXISTING is used, the column could be part of a new or old index. The operation must be performed offline. In SQL Server 2012 it will run successfully and will not throw any error. Command(s) completed successfully. I always thought it will throw an error if there is VARCHAR(MAX) or NVARCHAR(MAX) used in table schema definition. When I saw this result it was clear to me that it will be for sure not bug enhancement in SQL Server 2012. For matter for the fact, I always wanted this feature to be added in SQL Server Engine as this will enable ONLINE Index Rebuilding for mission critical tables which needs to be always online. I quickly searched online and landed on Jacob Sebastian’s blog where he has blogged about it as well. Well, is there any other new feature in SQL Server 2012 which gave you good surprise? Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Index, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQLAuthority News – I am Presenting 2 Sessions at TechEd India

    - by pinaldave
    TechED is the event which I am always excited about. It is one of the largest technology in India. Microsoft Tech Ed India 2011 is the premier technical education and networking event for tech professionals interested in learning, connecting and exploring a broad set of current and soon-to-be released Microsoft technologies, tools, platforms and services. I am going to speak at the TechED on two very interesting and advanced subjects. Venue: The LaLiT Ashok Kumara Krupa High Grounds Bangalore – 560001, Karnataka, India Sessions Date: March 25, 2011 Understanding SQL Server Behavioral Pattern – SQL Server Extended Events Date and Time: March 25, 2011 12:00 PM to 01:00 PM History repeats itself! SQL Server 2008 has introduced a very powerful, yet very minimal reoccurring feature called Extended Events. This advanced session will teach experienced administrators’ capabilities that were not possible before. From T-SQL error to CPU bottleneck, error login to deadlocks –Extended Event can detect it for you. Understanding the pattern of events can prevent future mistakes. SQL Server Waits and Queues – Your Gateway to Perf. Troubleshooting Date and Time: March 25, 2011 04:15 PM to 05:15 PM Just like a horoscope, SQL Server Waits and Queues can reveal your past, explain your present and predict your future. SQL Server Performance Tuning uses the Waits and Queues as a proven method to identify the best opportunities to improve performance. A glance at Wait Types can tell where there is a bottleneck. Learn how to identify bottlenecks and potential resolutions in this fast paced, advanced performance tuning session. My session will be on the third day of the event and I am very sure that everybody will be in groove to learn new interesting subjects. I will have few give-away during and at the end of the session. I will not tell you what I will have but it will be for sure something you will love to have. Please make a point and reserve above time slots to attend my session. 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 Tagged: SQL Extended Events

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  • SQL SERVER – Table Variables and Transactions – SQL in Sixty Seconds #007 – Video

    - by pinaldave
    Today’s SQL in Sixty Seconds video is inspired from my presentation at TechEd India 2012 on Misconception and Resolution. Quite often I have seen people getting confused with certain behavior of the T-SQL. They expect SQL to behave certain way and SQL Server behave differently. This kind of issue often creates confusion and frustration. Sometime I have seen them also confusing it with bug and submitting the bug, where reality is totally different. Similar concept which are going to see today. I have seen quite commonly developer assuming that table various will be rolled back when transaction is rolled back. This sixty seconds video describes that table various are not rolled back when transactions are rolled back. More on Errors: Difference Temp Table and Table Variable – Effect of Transaction Effect of TRANSACTION on Local Variable – After ROLLBACK and After COMMIT Debate – Table Variables vs Temporary Tables – Quiz – Puzzle – 13 of 31 I encourage you to submit your ideas for SQL in Sixty Seconds. We will try to accommodate as many as we can. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: Database, Pinal Dave, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL in Sixty Seconds, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLServer, T SQL, Video

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  • SQL SERVER – Changing Default Installation Path for SQL Server

    - by pinaldave
    Earlier I wrote a blog post about SQL SERVER – Move Database Files MDF and LDF to Another Location and in the blog post we discussed how we can change the location of the MDF and LDF files after database is already created. I had mentioned that we will discuss how to change the default location of the database. This way we do not have to change the location of the database after it is created at different locations. The ideal scenario would be to specify this default location of the database files when SQL Server Installation was performed. If you have already installed SQL Server there is an easy way to solve this problem. This will not impact any database created before the change, it will only affect the default location of the database created after the change. To change the default location of the SQL Server Installation follow the steps mentioned below: Go to Right Click on Servers >> Click on Properties >> Go to the Database Settings screen You can change the default location of the database files. All the future database created after the setting is changed will go to this new location. You can also do the same with T-SQL and here is the T-SQL code to do the same. USE [master] GO EXEC xp_instance_regwrite N'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE', N'Software\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\MSSQLServer', N'DefaultData', REG_SZ, N'F:\DATA' GO EXEC xp_instance_regwrite N'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE', N'Software\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\MSSQLServer', N'DefaultLog', REG_SZ, N'F:\DATA' GO What are the best practices do you follow with regards to default file location for your database? I am interested to know them. Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Server Management Studio, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQLAuthority News – List of Master Data Services White Paper

    - by pinaldave
    Since my TechEd India 2010 presentation I am very excited with SQL Server 2010 MDS. I just come across very interesting white paper on Microsoft site related to this subject. Here is the list of the same and location where you can download them. They are all written by Top Experts at Microsoft. Master Data Management from a Business Perspective - Download a PDF version or an XPS version Master Data Management from a Technical Perspective - Download a PDF version or an XPS version Bringing Master Data Management to the Stakeholders - Download a PDF version or an XPS version Implementing a Phased Approach to Master Data Management - Download a PDF version or an XPS version SharePoint Workflow Integration with Master Data Services - Read it here. Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com) Filed under: SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Documentation, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL White Papers, T SQL

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  • SQL SERVER – SQLServer Quiz 2011 – Do you know your execution plan – Two questions – One Answer

    - by pinaldave
    My friend Jacob Sebastian has SQL Server Quiz 2011 launched. This time when he asked me to come up with quiz question – I wanted to come up with something which is new and make participant to think about it. After carefully thinking I come with question which I really like to solve myself. Here is the details: 1) Using Single table only Once in Single SELECT statement generate execution plan which have JOIN operator. Explain the reason for the same. 2) Using Single table only Once in Single SELECT statement generate execution plan which have parallelism operator. Explain the reason for the same. Bonus: Create a single query which satisfy both of the above statement. To answer this question and win exciting gifts please visit the SQL Server Quiz website. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)   Filed under: Pinal Dave, PostADay, Readers Contribution, Readers Question, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Puzzle, SQL Query, SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLServer, T SQL, Technology

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  • SQL SERVER – Script to Find First Day of Current Month

    - by Pinal Dave
    Earlier I wrote a blog post about SQL SERVER – Query to Find First and Last Day of Current Month and it is a very popular post. In this post, I convert the datetime to Varchar and later on use it. However, SQL Expert Michael Usov has made a good point suggesting that it is not always a good idea to convert datetime to any other date format as it is quite possible that we may need it the value in the datetime format for other operation. He has suggested a very quick solution where we can get the first day of the current month with or without time value and keep them with datatype datetime. Here is the simple script for the same. -- first day of month -- with time zeroed out SELECT CAST(DATEADD(DAY,-DAY(GETDATE())+1, CAST(GETDATE() AS DATE)) AS DATETIME) -- with time as it was SELECT DATEADD(DAY,-DAY(GETDATE())+1, CAST(GETDATE() AS DATETIME)) Here is the resultset: Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL DateTime, SQL Function, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL

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  • SQL SERVER – Difference Between CURRENT_TIMESTAMP and GETDATE() – CURRENT_TIMESTAMP Equivalent in SQL Server

    - by pinaldave
    A common question – I often get from Oracle/MySQL Professionals: “What is the Equivalent to CURRENT_TIMESTAMP in SQL Server?” Here is a common question I often get from SQL Server Professionals: “What are differences between Difference Between CURRENT_TIMESTAMP and GETDATE ()?” Very simple question but have showed up so frequently that I feel like to write about it. Well in SQL Server GETDATE() is Equivalent to CURRENT_TIMESTAMP. However, if you use CURRENT_TIMESTAMP in your select statement it will work fine. You can see in the above example – both of them returns the same value. Now let us go to next question regarding difference between GETDATE and CURRENT_TIMESTAMP. Well, the matter of the fact, there is no difference between them in SQL Server (Reference Link). CURRENT_TIMESTAMP is an ANSI SQL function, whereas GETDATE is T-SQL implementation of the same function. Both of them derive value from the operating system of the computer on which SQL Server instance is running. Above discussion prompts another question – in this case, what should one use GETDATE or CURRENT_TIMESTAMP? Well, this is indeed tricky and interesting question. I think I am very comfortable using the GETDATE () so I will go to use it but a matter of the fact there is no right or wrong answer. If you want to follow ancient saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”, I suggest using the GETDATE (), or continue using CURRENT_TIMESTAMP. With that said, there is one very important property we all need to keep in mind. If you use CURRENT_TIMESTAMP while creating an object, they are automatically converted to GETDATE() and stored internally. To illustrate what I am suggesting here is the example - Create a table using the following script CREATE TABLE [dbo].[TestTable]( [Cold2] [datetime] NULL ) ON [PRIMARY] GO ALTER TABLE [dbo].[TestTable] ADD DEFAULT (CURRENT_TIMESTAMP) FOR [Cold2] GO Now go to SSMS and generate the script for the table and you will notice following syntax. CREATE TABLE [dbo].[TestTable]( [Cold2] [datetime] NULL ) ON [PRIMARY] GO ALTER TABLE [dbo].[TestTable] ADD DEFAULT (GETDATE()) FOR [Cold2] GO You can notice that SQL Server have automatically converted CURRENT_TIMESTAMP to GETDATE(). I guess this gives us an idea how they behave. Now go ahead and make your choice! Do let me know which one will you use CURRENT_TIMESTAMP or GETDATE () in the comments area. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL DateTime, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, T SQL, Technology

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