So, you are asked to find out which table uses up the most index space in a database. Or how many rows are in a give table. Or any other question about the metadata of the server. Many people will immediately jump into writing a T-SQL or Powershell script to get this information. However, SSMS can give you all the information you need about any object ......

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All DBAs have been asked to copy a database from one SQL instance to another. Even if the instances are identical, the relationship (SID) between the logins and table users are broken. Microsoft includes sp_change_users_login to help mitigate this problem, but using the stored procedure must be done database by database, or even user by user, which ......

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As companies begin migrating to AZURE, DBAs are tempted to save terrestrial (non-AZURE) backup files to “the cloud” to leverage the unlimited amount of space that is available. No more alarms in the middle of the night due to a lack of disk space. Ole Hallengren has even added this option to his maintenance solution (https://ola.hallengren.com/). Others ......

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Many SQL developers shy away from the CROSS APPLY, because it is not very well understood. There is not a lot of documentation or examples available online; CROSS APPLY is the SQL Query’s Redheaded step-child, but also a well-kept secret. Essentially, all a CROSS APPLY does is connect 2 queries that cannot be resolved as stand-along queries. Using the ......

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SQL offers many different methods to produce the same results. There is a never-ending debate between SQL developers as to the “best way” or the “most efficient way” to render a result set. Sometimes these disputes even come to blows….well, I am a lover, not a fighter, so I decided to collect some data that will prove which way is the best and most ......

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Occasionally I am asked to create a report is SSRS, and there are a few common user requests that are not exactly intuitive to a developer. Since I constantly find myself looking at other reports and “borrowing” code, this blog entry is mostly for me so that I can change my thieving ways, but I hope that it helps you as well. Alternate background colors ......

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In a complex SSIS Control Flow, there is often a need to have a common last step, regardless of the number of Control Flow end points. Consider the following example: In this case, we are using the Completion constraint (blue line), and an Expression to determine which path to follow. If there are records, we upload them, if not we end without doing ......

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When you have an SSIS package error, it is often very helpful to see the data records that are causing the problem. After all, if your input has 50,000 records and 1 of them has corrupt data, it can be a chore. Your execution results will tell you which column contains the bad data, but not which record…..enter the Data Viewer. In this scenario I have ......

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If you are like me, you dread the 3AM wake-up call. I would say that the majority of the pages I get are false alarms. The alerts that require action often require me to open an SSIS package, see where the trouble is and try to identify the offending data. That can be very time-consuming and can take quite a chunk out of my beauty sleep. For those reasons, ......

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I recently created a DLL and I wanted to reference it from a project I was developing in Visual Studio. In previous versions of Windows, doing so was simply a matter of dropping the DLL file in the C:\Windows\assembly folder. That would add the DLL to the Global Assembly Cache (GAC) and make it accessible in Visual Studio. However, as is often the case, ......

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