SQL Server

Move SQL Server database files to different folders with PowerShell

In my previous post, I explained how to move SQL Server databases files programmatically by leveraging the high availability of an Availability Group (AG).But when you can afford to have a database unavailable for a short time, and(…)

Move secondary database files in SQL Server AG with PowerShell

For some circumstances, you may want to move data and log files for a database to a different location.Usually, this operation has to be made offline. But with an Availability Group (AG) environment, it is possible to choose an(…)

Estimate the Downtime for an Offline MS SQL Migration: On-Premise to Azure SQL Database

As you want to migrate your database workload to the Azure Cloud, you must test different aspects of the migration. An important factor for an offline migration is to estimate the duration of the migration process, so the service(…)

Disaster Recovery Solution to Azure SQL Database

Executive Summary As preparation for migrating his MS SQL workload to the cloud, a customer ask for a disaster recovery solution from an On-Premise MS SQL Instance to an Azure Cloud. The starting point for the disaster recovery(…)

SQL Server: Heap page deallocation and IndexOptimize

Introduction HEAP tables are a type of data structure that, unlike a clustered index table, does not have a specific ordering of its rows, making them faster to insert and delete data. They are often used for temporary(…)

Installing Azure AZ Module on Windows

Since Azure (or AzureRM) module is marked as deprecated some years ago, AZ module is the official replacement to manage Azure resources with PowerShell. This module is running with at least PowerShell 7.0.6 LTS (Long Term(…)

Azure SQL Managed Instance link feature overview

In one of my last blog-posts I spoke about Striim which is a data replication platform that can be used for migrations but also for offloaded reporting or even real-time analytics.A new Azure feature, currently on preview, named(…)

Patch a SQL Server instance automatically with PowerShell

In my last blog post I explained how to automatically download the last Service Pack and Cumulative Update for all versions of SQL Server.Here I will show you how to patch your SQL Server instances automatically with some(…)

SQL Server: Find who forced a plan in Query Store with this new XEvent

The latest Cumulative Update for SQL Server 2019 has been released this week on Monday. It brings many bug fixes and some small improvements. One of these improvements is the addition of an extended event to identify the(…)

SQL Server: Automatic Soft-NUMA and uneven CPU load

SQL Server has CPU limitations depending on the Edition. If your VM is not configured properly you can reach these limits very easily. In a previous post, I described the effect VM misconfigurations can have on performance because not(…)