Fatherjack

A close shave

2010-08-20T21:03:00.001+01:00

A slight departure from my normal blog content here but I am so impressed with this latest purchase of mine that I had to mention it. I used to shave every day with an electric shaver. That Braun lasted from approx age 16 through to late 20’s when the shaver fell to pieces. I bought another and had a few, but fewer, good years service from it. That one got replaced by a Panasonic shaver which I

When GMail goes bad

2010-07-11T16:51:00.001+01:00

Well, someone, from somewhere in Egypt (according to Google's assessment of the IP location) got into my GMail account. Thanks for that, I didnt have anything else planned for today so have spent hours changing passwords and contacting people to apologise for sending them links to Canadian Pharmacy websites. Just in case you have any similar unfortunate experience here some basic instructions/

Where's my dinner?

2010-05-23T11:38:00.001+01:00

We feeds the birds from a bird feeder in our garden, just outside the kitchen window. We get Sparrows, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Starlings, Blackbirds and occasionally Woodpeckers. Now we have for some time wondered at the way that when stocks run low we get Sparrows and Blue Tits on the window sill, tapping at the window. We are not sure whether they are just finding amusement at their

How do you use blog content?

2010-05-21T21:59:00.001+01:00

Do you write a blog, have you ever thought about it? I think people fall into one of a few categories when it comes to blogs, especially blogs with technical content. Writing articles furiously – daily, twice daily and reading dozens of others. Writing the odd piece of content and read plenty of others’ output. Started a blog once and its fizzled out but reading lots. Thought

Godrevy

2010-05-15T08:30:00.001+01:00

Well, it was really windy and a little rainy at times but I had the camera out for a good while. Sadly the wind put and end to many close-ups of the birds as it was blowing me on my feet but here is one that I am pleased with. I know the horizon wasnt that sloping but its a symptom of trying to pan with the bird in the middle of a blowy day on the top of a cliff. No apologies :).

Scary update on the future of this blog

2010-05-13T09:07:00.000+01:00

I have the great pleasure (and no small amount of anxiety if I am completely open about it) to announce that I have been invited to syndicate this blog with Simple-Talk (www.simple-talk.com). This is a brilliant opportunity for me to connect with so many more people in the world of SQL Server than via this site so I truly hope I am good enough to produce suitable quantity and quality to match the

Welcome to Jackstown

2010-05-13T08:59:00.002+01:00

I live in a small town, the population count isn't that great but let me introduce you to some of the residents. We'll start with Martin the Doc, he fixes up anything that gets poorly, so much so that he could be classed as the doctor, the vet and even the garage mechanic. He's got a reputation that he can fix anything and that hasn't been proved wrong yet. He's great friends with Brian (who

How to understand SQL Server execution plans

2010-04-26T19:50:00.000+01:00

SQL Server Execution Plans by Grant Fritchey Query Execution Plans are something that a DBA or TSQL developer will get to encounter pretty soon after starting to work with SQL Server. They are found in a number of guises - graphical, text or even XML. In either format they are a daunting array of information that seems really important but also pretty complex and technical. With Grant's book by

SQLBits VI

2010-04-18T23:12:00.000+01:00

Date: Friday 16th April 2010 Location: Church House Westminster Event: SQLBits VI Having been to one SQLBits previously I was very keen to get registered and attend this event. This time I was accompanied by my wife (she's also a DBA/Developer so it wasn't a case of having to fund a shopping trip too!) and travelling from Devon meant that we stayed over in London for the previous night. The

Testing a database connection or Who the hell (UDL) are you?

2010-04-09T19:34:00.001+01:00

If you work with software and databases then it wont be long before you encounter problems connecting to SQL server (or any other data source) and there are often many reasons why you would be presented with problems. A good way of starting to analyse your problems with no need for any specific software on a PC is to use a UDL file. Create a new text file on the desktop of the computer you

Configuring a new SQL Reporting Services server

2010-03-27T13:28:00.003Z

I am now getting into my stride on upgrading to SQL 2008. We have a reasonably compact environment here with only a handful of production servers. We use mirroring and replication in places and we have a couple of report servers to keep the data flowing to the users. I have just moved a database that has a gang of reports pointing to it and have been going through the directory settings for

PowerShell in use - moving SQL Mail Profiles

2010-03-09T15:40:00.001Z

I am in the middle of a SQL Server 2008 installation and today I needed to transfer the Mail Accounts and Profiles to the new instance in order to be ready for use by the incoming system. I never been a fan of the GUI to configure Mail on SQL 2005 as it involves a lot of back and forth clicking to get everything done. I decided to take a look at what PowerShell would let me do. After getting

The varying cost of free stuff

2010-03-08T14:29:00.000Z

That doesn't sound right does it? If something is free it doesn't cost anything and if you have lots of those things they all cost the same - right? Well, not entirely. Let me explain in a little more detail. I am learning PowerShell as you may well know if you have seen any other of my recent blog items and so am looking around the internet to find code samples and try out different methods of

Getting to SQL Server from PowerShell script interface

2010-03-04T10:06:00.001Z

Right, I'm progressing with PowerShell a little at a time. I still dont have any books but whenever I need to reference SQL information (not data, I am only getting info on Server settings not accessing customer database data) I try the PS route first. In order to connect to a SQL Server from the command line you need to add two PS snapins. To do that you issue the commands add-PSSnapin

How to slipstream SQL Server 2008 RTM and SQL Server 2008 SP1

2010-03-03T15:19:00.004Z

I have a number of SQL Servers to upgrade from 2005 to 2008 this year and as service pack 1 is already out it makes sense to install this at the same time as the main software. In Microsoft parlance this is known as 'slipstreaming'. In theory it involves getting the set up files for SQL Server 2008 and applying the service pack to them rather than to the installed software. Its covered on an

Brad's Sure Guide to SQL Server Maintenance Plans

2010-03-02T09:56:00.000Z

That's the title for the latest book from Brad McGehee and Simple Talk Publishing. Its available from Amazon here. ISBN 978-906434-34-2 Price:GBP19.99 / USD29.99 / CAN35.99 This book will enable any person responsible for data stored in a SQL Server database to ensure it is being managed to a required minimum with a small amount of effort and possibly limited experience. This is not a book long

Snapshot Isolation level

2010-02-28T16:16:00.002Z

OK, I've just a minute to put this up but I have used PowerShell to help someone with a problem. It wasnt the only way and may not have been the simplest way but it certainly work. A question was posted on www.ServerFault.com asking "How can I tell if Snapshot Isolation is turned on?", my reaction was to see if PowerShell could tell me what the Snapshot Isolation setting was on my SQL databases.

PowerShell - my first steps

2010-02-26T14:35:00.004Z

So I asked this question on ask.sqlservercentral.com/questions and the concensus of opinion seems to be that PowerShell should be in my future. I have a few books that I am deciding between but have downloaded some eBooks and have installed some new applications. It was a real hassle getting PSv2 installed as it seems to conflict with PSv1. I have downloaded PowerShell Analyzer from Shell Tools

People You May Know (Linked In version)

2010-02-22T09:22:00.005Z

That's the heading of a little box on my LinkedIn page (www.linkedin.com), if you have never heard of LinkedIn before, its like Facebook for business people, but with fewer photos.Now lots of 'social networking' sites have a way of finding other people you know that you havent yet connected with. It makes sense, the more contacts you have on thier site the more traffic will increase as there is

Keeping your database files tidy

2010-02-08T21:49:00.007Z

Behind every database there are database files, traditionally they are denoted by one of 3 file extensions - mdf is the main data file, ldf is the main log file and ndf is used for any additional log files. one mdf and one ldf are a minimum requirement for a SQL Server database.These files are locked by SQL Server when it is running, thus ensuring that the only updates go through the database

Blog challenge

2010-01-21T19:35:00.007Z

This post is a slight departure from the normal content and its part of what might be considered a challenge from the blog at http://thesqlagentman.com/2010/01/whose-blog-is-it-anyway/I woke on Sunday morning in a panic, you know the way, it's like you accelerate from 0 to 100 mph in 2s, slowly the bedroom materialised around me. I made a mental note not to read my twitter feed just before going

Writing TSQL faster with templates

2010-01-18T21:04:00.003Z

SSMS Templates The management tools that come with SQL Server are the way that most DBAs access and administer their database environment. SSMS has plenty of shortcuts and times saving features, one of which is the use T-SQL templates. SSMS templates are accessed via their own menu and are stored in folders just like you would access files on a windows explorer window. SSMS comes with a whole

Rememba Da Schema

2009-12-10T09:29:00.004Z

There are loads of great scripts out there on other blogs and elsewhere that help you administer your database and run a tight ship but a lot dont show how to account for the database schema, its not uncommon to have everything in the dbo schema but there are lots of databases I manage that also have objects in other schemas and there are a couple of extra steps to take to get a funky new admin

SQLBits round-up (The free bit)

2009-11-22T09:53:00.006Z

OK, so I couldnt get to any of SQLBits other than the free Saturday, yup, they do a whole day for free. All you need do is register in time at www.sqlbits.com and then turn up. This is the fifth happening and was held at the Celtic Manor Hotel, Newport, Wales. A very impressive hotel with plenty of staff keeping all of the debris that 300+ DBAs generate while they eat bacon/egg/sausage baps, tea/

PowerShell vs LogParser

2009-11-19T20:50:00.006Z

The scenario: We have an application server (iis) that is running slowly, the database shows no signs of stress so I want to review the web server application log to see if there are any entries that show any clues as to the issue. Easy, grab the data from the event log and quickly analyse the results; what sort of event, how many of them, when do they occur??I have two options immediately in my