Stéphane Haby

Windows 10: The new features

First, it should have been Windows 9, but finally the new Microsoft operating system is named Windows 10! In the same way as for my blog post on Windows 8, I have decided to write a few words(…)

SQL Server 2014 Tips: Create indexes directly via CREATE TABLE

This week, I discovered a new enhancement which is not hidden but not really visible in SQL Server 2014. Among Hekaton and other new features in SQL Server 2014, a little option appears in table creation.8-O On the(…)

How to find the SQL Server Management Pack in the SCOM database

While working on a customer project, I needed to retrieve the SQL Server SCOM Management Pack version. Unfortunately, the SCOM team took a while to answer and as I am the DBA, I have access to the SCOM databases.

SQL Server Perfmon does not start automatically

I have recently used perfmon (performance monitor) at a customer site. I created a Data Collector Set to monitor CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network during one day. Then, I ran the monitor and I received a “beautiful” error message…(…)

SQL Server 2014: Are DENY ‘SELECT ALL USERS SECURABLES’ permissions sufficient for DBAs?

SQL Server 2014 improves the segregation of duties by implementing new server permissions. The most important is the SELECT ALL USERS SECURABLES permission that will help to restrict database administrators from viewing data in all databases. My article is(…)

SQL Server: How to find the default data path?

I have read a lot of SQL Server blog postings and articles in order to find the default data path. This post covers different SQL Server versions (SQL Server 2012, SQL Server 2014, SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2005)(…)

Check SQL Server Error Log size with a policy

In many blogs or articles, we can read that it is recommended to recycle the error log to be sure that the size is not too big In the Best Practice Analyzer (BPA) for SQL Server, this(…)

Delayed Transaction Durability: A new feature in SQL Server 2014 CTP2

Delayed Transaction Durability is a new SQL Server 2014 feature that was not included in SQl Server 2014 CTP1 but discreetly published in CTP2. It is a very interesting functionality that helps reducing the IO contention for transaction log(…)

SQL Server 2014: Rebuilding Clustered Columnstore Indexes

I was surprised that you have to rebuild indexes that are stored In Memory. My previous posting “SQL Server 2014 – New Features: xVelocity memory optimized columnstore index” explains all processes connected with columnstore indexes. In this article, I(…)

With Power Query, converting an internet table to Excel is an easy job!

While exploring SQL Server 2014, I was surprised by the powerful Power Query feature. In the recent past, converting an internet table to Excel was a nasty work leading to format problems, implicit conversions, etc. With Power Query, importing(…)