SQL Aloha

Speaking in Portland, OR and Tumwater, WA the Week of February 8th

I’ll be speaking in Portland, OR and Tumwater, WA the week of February 8th, 2010. The details, and the session descriptions, are below. Hope to see you there.

Oregon SQL Developers User Group

Topic: Introduction to Graphical Execution Plans
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
When: 6:30 PM
Where: KOIN Tower, Second Floor Conference Room, 222 SW Columbia ST, Portland, OR 97201

Olympia Area SQL Server Users Group

Topic: How and When to Use Indexed Views
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010
When: 2:30 PM
Where: Labor and Industries, Room S117,  7273, Linderson Way SW, Tumwater, WA 98501

Continue reading this post »

February Question: What is one of your best practices for making full backups and transactions log backups of your production databases?

Post your responses to the above SQL Aloha Question of the Month in the comments section below (at www.bradmcgehee.com if you are viewing this from a syndicated newsfeed). If you have more than one best practice you would like to offer, please enter each one as a separate comment. And don’t forget to enter your e-mail address when you post your response, so I can contact you if you win.

I’ll pick the winner that offers what I think is the most original, useful and complete answer to the question. If some of the responses are very similar, then I will select the one that was posted first. The winner will be announced on this page the first week of March. Good luck!

For more information, click on the Question of the Month tab above.

Searching for Objects or Text Strings Using SQL Search

As a DBA, at one time or another, you will need to quickly find an object within a database, such as a table, view, or stored procedure. In other cases, it is handy to be able to search objects to locate specific text strings. Depending on which version of SQL Server you are using, you have had several choices.

Continue reading this post »

Questions About SQL Server Backups

SQL Server backups are a “funny” topic to talk about. If you are talking with experienced DBAs, the topic of backups rarely surfaces, as this is a fundamental skill most DBAs learn early in their career. On the other hand, there are thousands of part-time, accidental DBAs who are tasked with making backups, and they need a lot of help in learning these basics.

Continue reading this post »

But We Have Always Done It That Way

I recently ran across the following scenario. A SQL Server instance had been upgraded from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008. At the same time, the older physical hardware had been replaced by newer hardware. The DBA who had set up and configured the older server was no longer at the organization, and a new DBA had performed the upgrade. After the upgrade was completed, I was asked to review its configuration. I started by reviewing the various server and database settings, along with the assorted database maintenance jobs, and then I began to ask questions about them.

Continue reading this post »

SQL Source Control Early Access Program Open

Managing T-SQL source code has never been easy, and has often been the bane for many T-SQL developers. Later this year, this problem will go away as Red Gate Software introduces its new SQL Source Control software, which allows T-SQL code to be managed under source control, while working directly from inside of Management Studio. It allows individual developers and development teams to keep their T-SQL code in synch during database development.

SQL Source Control is currently available as part of Red Gate Software’s Early Access Program. The current version works with the free open source Subversion version control system, and the next Early Access Release will support Microsoft Team Foundation Server.

If you would like to get a head start in using SQL Source Control, and would like to provide feedback before its initial release, you can sign up here.

SQL Search 1.0 Beta Available

Red Gate Software has released the 1.0 beta version of SQL Search, a new free SSMS add-in that allows you to easily search for “text strings”, allowing you to quickly find objects stored within a SQL Server instance.

Continue reading this post »

devLINK 2010 Call for Speakers is Open

The devLINK 2010 Technical Conference’s call for speakers is now open, and you can find information about speaking at the event here.

If you aren’t interested in speaking at devLINK 2010, you can always attend. It will be held August 5-7 in Nashville, TN.