SQL Aloha

Sydney SQL Server Users Group Draws Big Crowd

On Tuesday, October 13, I spoke at the Sydney SQL Server Users Group, presenting on “How to Get the Most Out of the SQL Server 2005/2008 Profiler,” the last of my seven presentations made on my Australia speaking tour.
The group meets the second Tuesday of each month at the Mechanics School of Arts in downtown ...read more

Melbourne SQL Server Group is Fifth Stop in Down Under Tour

I spoke at the Melbourne SQL Server Users Group on Monday, October 12, 2009. The group meets at lunch time the 2nd Monday of each month in downtown Melbourne. I spoke on Getting the Most Out of the SQL Server 2005/2008 Profiler. The group is hosted by Greg Low, and sponsored by SolidQ Australia.

Free E-Book on XSD SQL Server Schema Collections

Whether you like it or not, as a SQL Server DBA or Developer, you will eventually have to learn about XML and XSD (XML Schema Definition Language). XML has become, and continues to grow, as a popular format for exchanging data. If you are not up to speed on this technology, check out the ...read more

Backing Up Your Data is Obvious, Or Isn’t It?

Often, when I give presentations on DBA best practices, I make the obvious point that databases need to be regularly backed up, and that backups need to be tested to ensure that they can be successfully restored. Often, when I make this point, I feel that what I am saying is a little too obvious, ...read more

120 DBAs and Developers Attend SQL Down Under

The fourth annual SQL Down Under Code Camp was held at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga, Australia this past October 10th and 11th.
Over 120 DBAs and developers throughout Australia converged to attend Australia’s largest free SQL Server event. The two-day code camp included 14 sessions presented by 12 different speakers, including many SQL Server ...read more

Think You are Good at Designing User Interfaces? Then Prove It and Win!

The Future of Monitoring website, hosted by the Software Development Usability Team at Red Gate Software, is sponsoring a “Design the Perfect Monitoring Dashboard” contest. The goal is for you to design the ideal dashboard for monitoring a real-time view of what is happening with the SQL Servers you manage.
If you think you are up ...read more

Free T-SQL Database Maintenance Scripts

I often get questions in e-mails, or at user group meetings, for advice on writing T-SQL database maintenance scripts. There seem to be a lot of DBAs who need more flexibility than what the Database Maintenance Wizard offers to perform database maintenance, which means they must user either T-SQL or PowerShell scripts in order to ...read more

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives Early Access Edition Now Available

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives, a new book written by 53 SQL Server MVPs, is now available as an eBook, and will be available in paperback in November.
The book, which is edited by Paul Nielson, Kalen Delaney, Greg Low, Adam Machanic, Paul S. Randal, and Kimberly L. Tripp, includes 59 chapters divided into five sections:

Database ...read more