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Blog Move |
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By host on
9/19/2008 4:18 PM
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I am very excited to announce that this blog is moving to Simple-Talk.com!
Simple-Talk.com is a great website filled with articles, blogs, forums and various other features that focus on SQL Server and .NET. My blog will be accompanying some well respected Industry experts such as Brad McGehee, Brian Donahue and other Red-Gate product developers.
This is a great opportunity and I thank the editors of Simple-Talk.com for taking me on as a guest blogger! The link to my new location is:
http://www.simple-talk.com/community/blogs/johnm/default.aspx
In the meantime I will re-work johnmagnabosco.com into something that enhances my blog at Simple-Talk.com.
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Save Not Permitted |
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By host on
9/14/2008 7:55 PM
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Recently, I was working with SQL Server 2008 - SQL Server Management Studio and encountered a warning message that read “Save Not Permitted.” This message arose as I was changing the data type of a column as well as making another column larger in size… varchar(50) to varchar(100). This table was fairly new and did not contain data. There also were no foreign key relationships established.
I must admit this warning did throw me for a loop; after all, SQL Server 2005 allowed changes such as these to occur without warning.
The secret key to this issue is that changes such as the ones that I was making require the table to be dropped and re-created. This is evident when the script to the command is revealed by clicking on the script icon in SQL Server Management Studio. Repeatedly dropping and re-creating tables can present some issues as well as the execution of such commands on large tables coul ...
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Google Chrome Shines Bright |
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By host on
9/4/2008 10:04 PM
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Earlier this week a friend of mine called me over to his desk with an enthusiastic “Check this out!”. Without any additional word, he proceeded to open a browser and navigated to a site that typically takes a couple of seconds to load. Behold! The page loaded in a flash. In a brief moment of disbelief I blinked my eyes rapidly and exclaimed “Wow!”
As I looked around on the screen, it became apparent that this was not the Internet Explorer 7 that I have been used to seeing in my internet experience. It was something called “Chrome” By Google. As my friend and I checked out all of the nooks and crannies of this rather simple browser I was further impressed ...
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Utilizing DMVs |
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By host on
8/29/2008 6:50 AM
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In previous blog entries I have provided tips on querying databases using system tables. In SQL Server 2000, this was the way to gain the important information that a database administrator needed to monitor the database and instance. A downside to system tables is that they were discouraged for use in production applications since they could be modified or dropped at any given time. Recall any system table in BOL 2005 or 2008 and you will read:
This SQL Server 2000 system table is included as a view for backward compatibility. We recommend that you use the current SQL Server system views instead. To find the equivalent system view or views, see Mapping SQL Server 2000 System Tables to SQL Server 2005 System Views. This feature will be removed in a future version of Microsoft SQL Server. Avoid using this feature in new development work, and plan to modify applications that currently use this feature.
When SQL Server 2005 was int ...
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Seeking Text Occurrences in the Catalog |
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By host on
8/22/2008 6:34 AM
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In a large enterprise database you will find situations where you need to quickly identify the occurrence of a column name within the tables of the catalog. An example of such a situation would be that a column size needs to be increased on the “Auto_Model” field and the database in which you are working is not normalized to a very high degree. To find all of the tables that contain the column name “Auto_Model” in the catalog the use of the query that was offered in my June 15, 2008 blog entry (http://www.johnmagnabosco.com/Blogland/tabid/160/EntryID/50/Default.aspx) would provide this very information.
Other times may demand that we need to find the occurrence of any text within many database objects. For example: In a code review, I want to evaluate all uses of the “COALESCE()” method in the database to make sure that it is being used appropriately. Assuming that SQL Server 2005 is the database i ...
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SQL Server 2008 Installation Challenges Overcome |
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By host on
8/14/2008 6:59 AM
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Shortly after the release of SQL Server 2008, I downloaded my copy of the Developer Edition. I did run into some problems with my installation; but in a time when information is easily obtainable on the internet I quickly found the answers to my issues. I felt that others may be experiencing similar challenges; thus this blog entry.
The first issue I encountered was due to the fact that I had Visual Studio 2008 also installed on my laptop. While in a production environment this may not be the recommended situation; but on a developer's laptop it certainly is not an uncommon situation. The issue arose because SQL Server 2008 requires service pack 1 for Visual Studio 2008 as well as the .NET Framework 3.5. During my first attempt at installationthe .NET Framework 3.5 sp1 automatically was downloaded and installed. To download SP1, goto: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/cc533448.aspx -- the ...
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SQL Server 2008 RTM |
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By host on
8/8/2008 6:53 AM
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On August 6th, the press release that was long awaited by database professionals around the globe was distributed. SQL Server 2008 is now officially on the market.
Over the past 12 months I have had the opportunity to schedule a few SQL Server 2008 presentations at our local user group meeting (IndyPASS). These have been mostly overviews of new features that are included in this newly released version. In the first exposure of these features, my impression was that there was not going to be a large amount of changes beyond BI features. As more information leaked out about the other aspects of this release were presented, it was obvious that this release contains some very exciting improvements and additions that encompass the entire product.
I have also had the opportunity to experiment with SQL Server 2008 RC0, thanks to a virtual hard drive that was created by a friend of mine. My primary focus was to ...
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About GO |
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By host on
8/3/2008 5:08 PM
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When viewing sample code for T-SQL, you may find that the word “GO” is used at the end of the code or used multiple times in the code. While the use of this statement may be somewhat self-explanatory it is worth pause and review.
SQL Server Books On Line (BOL) simply notes the description of “GO” as:
“Signals the end of a batch of Transact-SQL statements to the SQL Server utilities.”
An example of its use would look like the following:
[T-SQL STATEMENT 1]
[T-SQL STATEMENT 2]
[T-SQL STATEMENT 3]
& ...
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An Existential Review of Data |
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By host on
8/1/2008 7:47 AM
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According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online the word data is defined as follows:
1 : factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation …
2 : information output by a sensing device or organ that includes both useful and irrelevant or redundant information and must be processed to be meaningful
3 : information in numerical form that can be digitally transmitted or processed.
Another interesting note: Also according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, the word “data” became an official English word in 1646.
Data exists everywhere and is in all things. An activity that is inherent in all living beings is to process this data. The level in which this data can be processed, understood, and used varies significantly upon ...
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Backing Up Service Master Keys |
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By host on
7/23/2008 6:41 AM
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When an instance of SQL Server 2005 is installed a Service Master Key is created. This Service Master Key is the top unit in the encryption key management hierarchy for SQL Server. Its purpose is to encrypt the certificates, symmetric keys and asymmetric keys that are employed on any/all databases that reside within that instance.
The Service Master Key is based off of the service account credentials as well as the machine key from the Windows Data Protection API. Without it, all subsequent keys would not be decipherable; thus rendering the data, in which the encryption was implemented, forever a mystery.
Regular database backups are a best practice that most DBAs execute. This practice allows the database to be restored from a specific point in time in the event of data loss or other nightmare scenarios. If encryption is implemented a simple database backup will not suffice for recovery. The Service Master Key is not included in the standard database backup process. Backing up the Ser ...
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