Microsoft's new data platform vision for BI is called BISM – Business Intelligence Semantic Model. While I focus primarily on manageability, availability and database engine features, I'd like to keep tabs on who can...
Earlier, I documented the system objects that have changed in Denali. One that caught my eye was a slew of new columns made available through sys.databases, mostly to support a feature I also blogged...
I am not sure when it happened, but at some point, bit.ly marked all URLs to connect.microsoft.com as dangerous. So for example, I created this shortened link http://bit.ly/fKKQPT which just goes to http://web.archive.org/web/*/https://connect.microsoft.com/sql/. When...
Tip : Find unused SQL Server indexes with Policy Based Management
It's been a while since I hosted a true Connect pity party digest, trying to pimp your votes for the issues I think are worthwhile. And okay, some of these bugs haven't been filed...
While it's still only the CTP1 timeframe, getting a glimpse of the changes in system objects can start preparing you for what's coming – especially when there are potential breaking changes, as you'll see...
This afternoon, Adam Machanic (blog | twitter) reminded me how the current T-SQL debugger in Management Studio is ineffective. Sure, there are some enhancements coming in Denali (I mentioned them briefly yesterday), but there...
It's the day before American Thanksgiving, and Jason Strate (blog | twitter) has asked all of us to tell the SQL community what we're thankful for. While I seem to recall doing this before,...
Tip : More intuitive tool for reading SQL Server execution plans
In SQL Server Denali, Management Studio has been entirely migrated from its earlier incarnation. Previously SSMS had slight traces here and there that it was a distant cousin to Visual Studio; in this release,...
Sadly, THROW is not mentioned on the Programmability Enhancements (Database Engine) topic of Denali's "What's New" section. So, unless you were at PASS or have been reading the various blogs from the keynotes and...
I guess the title should be, "You can't restore a SQL Server 2000 database on Denali." I had the occasion just today to recover some data from a backup I took way back in...
On Monday, the SQL Server Release Services team released cumulative updates for both SQL Server 2008 SP1 and SQL Server 2008 SP2. The cumulative update for SP2 restores the fixes that were potentially undone...
A problem that has plagued SQL Server for a long time is that a database is not very portable. Sure, you can backup or detach a database and restore or attach it elsewhere, but...
There are posts elsewhere that go through the whole rigamarole. I just wanted to highlight the key bullet points: if you want to use Books Online locally, you will need to: install Books Online...
It hasn't been 24 hours since I left behind a slew of new and old friends in Seattle, and I already feel – as someone else put it – that I've left summer camp...
If you come across a SQL Server that is not running, it can be troublesome to determine what happened and when. You can run through the Windows event viewer, but this can be a...
SQL Server 2011 introduces a feature that Oracle professionals will certainly recognize: SEQUENCE. SEQUENCE allows you to define a central place where SQL Server will maintain a counter of values for you. The last-used...
Rick Heiges comes on stage and talks about the way the Board of Directors works. He sent off Lynda Rab, a director since 2007. He introduces the new Directors-at-Large: Douglas McDowell, Andy Warren, and...
A very common request over the past, oh, 10 years, maybe more, has been better support for paging within T-SQL (this Connect request dates back to 2005). Well, you will see some broader support...
It is the second day of keynotes at PASS, and we're gearing up for Quentin Clark's presentation. There are not as many kilts around as I would have expected, and I'm only noticing because...