When I have to install a virtualized SQL Server FCI at a customer place as an SQL Server consultant, the virtualized environment usally is ready. I guess this is the same for most part of the database consulting people. Since we therefore lack practice, I have to admit that we do not always know the good configuration settings to apply…
When you learn about SQL Server, you will often hear that a commit transaction is a synchronous operation and that you can trust it. In this blog post, I will provide some details about what we mean by synchronous behavior. The reason is that sometimes, when I talk about the new delayed durability feature provided by SQL Server 2014, there…
During my audits at customer places, it still happens very often to find SQL Server databases with page verification option configured to “none”. I always alert my customers on this configuration point because it can have an impact on the overall integrity of their databases. One of my customer told me that the integrity task of its maintenance will detect…
This posting is a tutorial for installing Master Data Services on your Windows Server 2012. Microsoft SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS) is a Master Management product from Microsoft, code-named Bulldog. It is the rebranding of the Stratature MDM product, titled +EDM and acquired in June 2007 by Microsoft. Initially, it was integrated for the first time in Microsoft SQL…
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) and provides a generic script with different methods. Search with SERVERPROPERTY Since SQL Server 2012, we can use the parameter “InstanceDefaultDataPath”…
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 is a rule. But what is a good size for the error log file? I have often heard “it depends”, but in my…
Some customers or colleagues recently asked me about the SQL Server concept xVelocity and in particular the SQL Server 2014 feature new xVelocity memory optimized columnstore index. So I decided to write a few words on the dbi services blog. What is xVelocity? Introduced in SQL Server 2012, xVelocity is composed of two features: xVelocity in-memory analytics engine xVelocity memory-optimized…
I had the opportunity to attend the IT Pro day at the Microsoft Techdays in Lausanne. Let me give you a few insights on my day there. Being a SharePoint specialist but also ramping up on Microsoft SQL Server I tried to balance between SQL and SharePoint related sessions. BYOD As usual, the day started with a Keynote focusing on…
Some days ago, Microsoft published the sixth Cumulative Update (CU6) for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Service Pack one, two months after the fifth one. As usual, if this Cumulative Update solves an issue you are facing, install it quickly – otherwise, do not install it and just have a look at it. Which issues are covered by this CU6? It…
On 16 July, Microsoft published the fifth Cumulative Update (CU5) for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Service Pack One. As usual, if this Cumulative Update solves an issue you are facing, install it quickly – otherwise, do not install it. Which issues are covered by this CU5? This Cumulative Update contains 29 Hotfixes: 20 for the Engine 5 for SSRS 2 for…
Let’s talk about my third day at TechEd 2013. I started with a session about: Windows Server 2012 R2 and High Availability The goal of High Availability is to deal with possible points of failure in your infrastructure. There are multiple ways to manage HA on the market: Server Server redundancy deployments Run server inside a clustered VM Backup Monitor…
Today, I am beginning my second TechDay by a session about Optimizing T-SQL. You need to know about this if you are using SQL Database or Microsoft SQL Server 2012. Tobias Ternström, Lead Program Manager, was the speaker of this session. His team, five hundred persons, works on SQL Server engine and mostly focuses on performance. There are 3 three…
