More updates for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3
As promised, upon return from a trip to the frozen tundra of Northern Ontario, I am posting the latest updates from last week's release of SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3. For those who...
Yearly Archive: 2008
More info on SQL Server 2005 SP3 + Cumulative Updates
I recently posted about the availability of SQL Server 2005 SP3. I have a bit more information about cumulative updates and the service pack, for those of you who might be confused about the...
SQL Server does not care about the order of your bulk file!
I have seen several people make this assumption over the past few weeks, and thought I should write up a little something to drive the point home. Primarily people are expecting to take a...
Pushing for more disclosure in DMVs
I have been involved in several discussions over the past week involving getting more diagnostic information out of the DMVs in SQL Server 2008 and beyond. Yesterday, I asked for procedure recompiles to be...
SQL Server 2005 SP3 is available!
UPDATE 2008-12-16, from the team, regarding SP3 CU1: CU#1 on SP3 is nothing but a rollup of fixes from SP2 CU#10 and SP2 CU#11 that did not make it into SP3 release as these...
SQL Quiz : Career Challenges
I was tagged by Denis Gobo to write a bog post about career challenges and how I overcame them. I'm not going to tag anyone else because I can't seem to find anyone that...
SQL Server 2005 Books Online update (December 2008) now available
Don't be fooled by the poor title on the page, which still says "SQL Server 2005 Books Online (September 2007)" (clearly a leftover from an earlier BOL update). The text under the overview section...
CU2 for SQL Server 2008 is missing!
UPDATE 2008-12-03 The download packages for the database engine have returned to the download page. Make sure you download the file labeled "SQL_Server_2008_Cumulative_Update_2" to apply to machines where the SQL Server engine is present,...
Troubleshooting Service Broker through SQL Server error logs
Last week I was trying to troubleshoot some activation stored procedures in Service Broker. One nice thing about this framework is that it logs activation procedure errors in the SQL Server error log, since...
PASS Keynote, Wednesday: "Delivering on Our Data Platform Vision"
The keynote today was delivered by Ted Kummert, Corporate VP, Data and Storage Platform Division at Microsoft. Before Ted started, Wayne Snyder showed up on stage, sitting on a hog and surrounded by...
My reasons for upgrading to SQL Server 2008
I gave a presentation this morning to my bosses and co-workers explaining some of the benefits of upgrading to SQL Server 2008. I thought it might be useful to some of you if I...
I forgot how fun it is to set up a new machine!
Okay, this isn't really about SQL Server, but I have been building a new machine today, and it is easily the most powerful computer that has ever been inside my house. In fact it...
SQL Server 2005 SP3 Beta is available!
Okay, it happened a couple of days ago; sorry for not noticing. But SQL Server Release Services / Sustained Engineering has announced that an SP3 Beta has been made available. The build is 9.00.4028...
My stored procedure "best practices" checklist
When developing stored procedures, there seems to be a lot of emphasis on "get it done fast." Which means type all lower case, pay little attention to formatting, and sometimes throw best practices out...
PASS Conference Stories – tagging Adam Machanic and Peter DeBetta
In 2005, PASS was held at the Gaylord in Grapevine, Texas. It was quite luxurious — more of a resort than a hotel — but miles and miles and miles (and miles) from civilization. ...
More info about SQL Server 2008 Cumulative Update 1
Bob Ward has posted a very thorough walk-through of the CU1 installation process. He talks about some of the things they've improved with the setup of patches, and gives a bit of a teaser...
SQL Server 2008 Cumulative Update 1 is available
For those waiting for the first CU for SQL Server 2008, your wait is over. You can get it in KB #956717. The build # is 10.00.1763.00. As with SQL Server 2005, you can...
Keeping sysdepends up to date in SQL Server 2008
sysdepends, sp_depends, and sys.sql_dependencies Since my very first experience with SQL Server (version 6.5), I have used the system table sysdepends and the system stored procedure sp_depends to track dependency information in my databases....
SQL Server 2008 cumulative updates and hotfixes, oh my!
As of today there is at least one hotfix available for SQL Server 2008, and it involves Itzik Ben-Gan's reported foreign key validation problem with the new MERGE command. You can read about the...
Planning on using FILESTREAM? Read this first!
Paul Randal just published a list of tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of using FileStream. The list is based on a longer whitepaper he wrote for Microsoft, which...
Pushing for more tools-related fixes for SQL Server 2011
A few days ago I posted a list of Management Studio issues I hope they will add or fix for the next version of SQL Server (or sooner). Comments there and elsewhere, as well...
Cumulative Update 9 for SQL Server 2005 SP2 released
Microsoft quietly released CU #9 (build 9.00.3282) yesterday; it contains a few dozen fixes, including a nasty AV involving UNION queries, documented in KB #956006. You can read about / obtain the cumulative update...
My Management Studio wishlist for SQL Server 2011
Inspired both directly and indirectly by fellow MVP Erland Sommarskog, whose programming wishlist I talked about the other day, I have decided to compile a list of my own wish list items, in the...
Want to make a difference in the next version of SQL Server?
SQL Server 2008 is out, and I'm sure you are either learning about or already enjoying some of the new features. And while the dev team probably doesn't wholeheartedly agree with me at this...
SQL Server Express 2008 is now available
Sorry I missed this yesterday with all the excitement over the Visual Studio SP1 release (which allowed some people to finally install the SQL Server 2008 release from last week). Yesterday also marked the...
Visual Studio 2008 SP1 (RTM) is now available [UPDATE]
Now that you can get Visual Studio 2008 SP1 RTM, you probably want to rush out and install it. I would hold off on that until you read Bob Ward's blog entry, which explains...
Express now comes in small, medium and large
No, this is not about a new extra value meal from your favorite fast food restaurant. In order to accommodate different requirements and download sizes, a new edition of Express will be offered alongside...
SQL Server 2008 has hit RTM, and free trial software now available
Some details about SQL Server 2008 hitting RTM on August 6th, 2008.
New Kid on the Block : SQL Server 2008 Web Edition
You may have heard rumblings at a conference or user group meeting about a new SKU of SQL Server that will be shipping soon: Web Edition. But what is it, exactly? Some information on...
How do the links in YOUR copy of SQL Server 2008 Books Online work?
I am just taking a quick show of hands; and maybe some information, if you are willing. (And if this hasn't happened to you, I apologize for taking up your time.) I have had...
Performance Advisor : A Quick "Two Thumbs Up"
I have been playing with Performance Advisor, the new companion to the very popular Event Manager software from SQL Sentry. Right off the bat, I can tell you that this tool should have Quest...
Very important SQL Server update
There is a patch available for four elevation of privilege vulnerabilities recently discovered in SQL Server. From http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms08-Jul.mspx: This security update resolves four privately disclosed vulnerabilities. The more serious of the vulnerabilities could allow...
A little Management Studio "oops"
For those of you who connect to database servers where you are not in full control over all databases, or where some of your databases are ever offline (or auto-closed), the new version of...
sys.dm_exec_requests
One of the dynamic management views (DMVs) that is very useful in troubleshooting query performance is sys.dm_exec_requests. The documentation around this DMV, however, is quite lacking in two areas. percent_complete This column shows the...
OT : Buck Woody talks about the environment
Buck makes a quick mention of the "green" efforts at Microsoft in his blog, and points us to the Environment site that Microsoft has created to show off what they are doing for a...
My biggest beef with RC0 so far
As Andrew Fryer pointed out earlier today on his blog, RC0 for SQL Server 2008 has been released to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. What is RC0? It may be the last public push we...
SQL Server has a new logo
SQL Server's new logo has been published:
More on the recent rash of SQL injection attacks (update 6/3)
Fellow MVP Steve Kass and Microsoft's Buck Woody have some links and advice about preventing SQL injection attacks not only from affecting your data but also from affecting your users. You can see the...
Are you (or is your team) nervous about SQL Server 2008?
As you may know, I have been heavily involved in testing a lot of the new features in SQL Server 2008, and am likely as excited as anybody about its release. Since I work...
Do you want IntelliSense to support SQL Server 2005?
Currently, the plans for IntelliSense are to support SQL Server 2008 *ONLY*… since it works against SQL Server 2005 in the February CTP, I was very surprised to learn that it is being dropped...
When was my database / table last accessed?
A frequently asked question that surfaced again today is, "how do I see when my data has been accessed last?" SQL Server does not track this information for you. SELECT triggers still do not...
Performance / Storage Comparisons : MONEY vs. DECIMAL
As you may already know, I am not a big fan of the MONEY data type, because of its inflexibility, accuracy problems, and the expectations the name of the type evokes in new users. ...
Call a spade a spade! (SQL injection, or IIS vulnerability?)
In a recent blog post, Dancho Danchev mis-labeled a recent IIS vulnerability as a "massive SQL injection attack." Let's be honest here. Yes, this alert needs attention. But this is not a new SQL...
Don't want to call CSS / PSS to get a cumulative update? You don't have to!
Bob Ward posted a blog entry today where he explains the process of getting a cumulative update for SQL Server 2005 without having to call Microsoft's support team (they are called CSS now but...
Using System Restore for Cumulative Update Rollback?
Just wanted to post a brief warning about expecting to be able to roll back a cumulative update or hotfix by reverting to a restore point. In short: don't do it! These two features...
SQL Server 2005 SP3 is publicly confirmed
Microsoft has committed publicly to releasing Service Pack 3 for SQL Server 2005. Francois Ajenstat first talked about it very recently here. While there were some casual mentions of the release in some responses...
I'll trade you consistency for meeting your deadline
While playing with the new Policy-Based Management (PBM) features of SQL Server 2008 the other day, I came across a really annoying syntax implementation that is going to trip up a lot of people...
Why is the 8.3 filename convention still biting us?
It is 2008. Not 1992. Why are we still intentionally creating filenames that conform to the limitations of ancient DOS and Windows 3.1 naming standards? This came up today in one of the SQL...
SQL Server 2008 is getting close… I can smell it!
No, this is not a "funny funny, ha ha!" April Fool's Day post (though I do find those entertaining, and considered posting one myself). This is for real, and it almost made me tingle...
Is SQL Server "keeping up" with MySQL?
I read a comment in a Connect suggestion today that implied that implementing their suggestion would allow SQL Server to "keep up with MySql." Regardless of the actual suggestion, that made me laugh out...