Back in April 2020, I created an open-source project called “SQL Server Page Allocation Reports“. It consisted of a set of SQL queries and some Power BI reports that can be used for visualizing the size and locations of your data and transaction log pages.
Well, recently I also added SSMS Custom Reports into the mix. So, it’s time to revisit this project and see what’s new!
Read More »It is 10 PM, do you know where your pages are?
This month’s #tsql2sday is hosted by John McCormack who asks us to share some useful snippets of code that can help us in our everyday jobs.
Well, honestly, this is more or less what my blog is mostly about anyway: sharing insights, scripts, and code snippets that I found to be helpful in my day-to-day job as a SQL Server consultant.
Read More »T-SQL Tuesday #143 – Short Powershell code to move DB files in AlwaysOn
“Extended properties allow you to add custom properties to database objects”, so says the official Microsoft documentation. However, very few DBAs make use of them, if at all. This is actually a good thing, because indeed the scenarios in which this feature could be useful are relatively few and rare.
On the other hand, I also see DBAs essentially jumping through hoops to implement something, which could in fact very easily be implemented using Extended Properties.
What are these peculiar use cases? Let’s look at a few examples.
Read More »Finding a use for Extended Properties in SQL Server
In one of my previous posts, Fun with DATETIME Arithmetics, I introduced a way to use “math” to manipulate datetime values for effectively generating, calculating, and displaying intervals (i.e. difference between two datetime values). These mostly work with the addition and subtraction operators (+, -).
In one of the paragraphs, I mentioned multiplication and division, and posed the question about why anyone would ever need to do this.
Read More »Even more fun with DATETIME arithmetics!
If you know me, you already know that I’m a huge fan of automation. Therefore, it’s natural to assume that I would dabble in Powershell at least once or twice or a few dozen, as a method to implement useful automations. After all, automation is pretty much the whole essence of Powershell in the first place.
As I used Powershell scripts more and more, I learned that there are a few things that are important to have whenever you use such scripts as part of automation (by “automation” I mean any sort of operation done “unattended”, i.e. without direct human interaction in real-time).
Read More »One handy Powershell script template to rule them allThis month’s #tsql2sday is hosted by @AndyLeonard, who asks us to write about “software changes”. Well, I think it’s time to be changing sp_help_revlogin. What do you think?
Sometimes SentryOne would not be able to activate its “Full Access” monitoring mode. This article describes a simple but effective methodology to resolve such issues.
As part of its regular, ongoing, day-to-day activities, your SQL Server instance would naturally collect historical data about its automated operations. If left unchecked, this historical data could pile up, leading to wasted storage space, performance hits, and even worse issues.
MSDB would obviously be collecting data about the SQL Agent job executions. But there are also several other types of historical data that needs to be cleaned up once in a while. I hope to cover all bases and leave no historical data un-cleaned.
Read More »Keep Your MSDB CleanThis month’s T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by Mikey Bronowski, and asks us to share the tools of the trade that make our job awesome.
While I do feel that the tools that make my job the awesomest are those that help me with productivity, this month’s topic is a bit broader.
Following the recent acquisition of SentryOne by SolarWinds, I’ve decided to write a few special blog posts dedicated to our favorite SQL server monitoring platform.
Click here if you missed my previous post: Common issues during SentryOne version upgrades.
As part of the managed DBA service that Madeira data solutions provides, we make extensive use of the SentryOne monitoring and alerting platform. As such, we’ve gathered significant experience in using, managing, and maintaining the platform.
This also includes utilizing the platform to do all kinds of “unorthodox” monitoring, which is not available “out-of-the-box”.
Read More »Monitoring SQL Server Version Updates using SentryOne