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I got the Power: Remote Execution using Powershell and SQL Server

As part of my journey to get better at Powershell, I gave myself a task: Create a project utilizing Powershell at its core, to solve a complicated problem as elegantly as possible.

A complicated problem indeed presented itself: How to remotely control multiple computers without having to log into them? Make them perform any task that could possibly be needed? Control them from one central location? And make the solution as easily scalable as possible?

I present to you, the Framework for Remote Execution using Powershell and SQL Server. Or in short: FREPS. Hmm… Actually, I may have to work on that name. 🤔

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Filtered Indexes with TRY_CONVERT, ISNUMERIC, and other complex expressions

Who doesn’t like Filtered Indexes, am I right? They’re pretty great, honestly. If… of course… you’re able to actually create them and utilize them in your specific use cases. That… unfortunately, could often become a complicated, if near impossible, task. So, what if our use case is not trivial enough to allow for filtered indexes?

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Performance Tuning Like a Pro – with Hypothetical Indexes

Every once in a while there comes an opportunity to “upgrade” your abilities with newly acquired knowledge that lets you “step up your game” and possibly add some “wow factor” to your work, leaving your peers awe-struck by your amazing new “magic trick”.

As a SQL Server consultant, one such opportunity that I had in my line of work, is when I learned about “Hypothetical Indexes” and how to use them.

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It is 10 PM, do you know where your pages are?

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!

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T-SQL Tuesday #143 – Short Powershell code to move DB files in AlwaysOn

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.

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Finding a use for Extended Properties in SQL Server

“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.

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The Asynchronous Ledger Trick for Fast SQL Server Insert, Update and Delete Processes

Do you find yourself facing performance problems and long lock chains caused by very frequent INSERT, UPDATE, or DELETE statements being executed on a table? Check out this neat trick that could help you out and make all the difference in the world.

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