Tag Archives: SQL Server

SQL Server in Virtual Machines: Myth or Reality?

Can SQL Server live inside a virtual machine? Yes and no. There are certainly reasons to do so, such as the ease of constructing high-availability databases that don’t involve the complexity and expense of Windows Clustering (for example, using virtualization-based … Continue Reading

Three Easy Ways to Improve Performance in Any SQL Server Database

The boss is yelling. Users are grumpy. SQL Server’s performance is tanking, and it’s making all of your organization’s line-of-business applications slow. And it’s your problem, just because you’re the “Microsoft person” in your environment. What’s a “reluctant DBA” to … Continue Reading

3 Tips for Tweaking SQL Server’s SharePoint Performance

If you’re a “reluctant DBA” supporting SQL Server, in an environment that uses SharePoint Server, you may sometimes find yourself wondering how you can get better performance out of the combination. SQL Server is the back-end for SharePoint, so better … Continue Reading

What SQL Azure Means for the Reluctant DBA

Fun joke heard at a recent conference: “What color is the sky when you have no clouds? Azure.” Cue big laffs at Microsoft’s expense. The reality, though, is that SQL Azure – the version of SQL Server that lives in … Continue Reading

How to Create a Simple Find Feature for your SQL Server Database

As we see in the SQL100:Introduction to Transact-SQL and SQL250:Transact-SQL for Developers courses, SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) has a view (aka panel or window) called Object Explorer that contains all the metadata of a database and much more. But … Continue Reading

Using TEXTSIZE to limit the amount of text displayed by the Select statement

My students sometimes ask me how they might limit the amount of text displayed in large text columns, like nvarchar(max), for example. Data types like nvarchar(max), varchar(max), varbinary(max), text, ntext, and image (the last three are deprecated and should not … Continue Reading

How to select multiple SQL Server database objects in SSMS

My students sometimes ask me how they can script multiple tables, views, or other database objects at once without having to do it one at a time. They correctly point out that you can select only one table at a … Continue Reading

SQL Server 2012 training now available at Interface

Interface Technical Training is offering training in the latest Microsoft SQL release, SQL Server 2012. Interface is recognized as a premier provider of training for IT and database professionals to develop insightful and robust business information capabilities. Two new courses … Continue Reading

Using parameters with multiple values in SQL Server Reporting Services

In one of my SQL courses; 6236: Reporting Services, we learn how to create an “All” option in the values dropdown list of a parameter and see how to “wire up” the All option so that, when selected, the report … Continue Reading

Video: Itzik Ben-Gan on the new features of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Denali

Interface Technical Training hosted a very special Advanced T-SQL course with SQL MVP Itzik Ben-Gan on October 17-21, 2011. We sat down with Mr. Ben-Gan to get his thoughts on various topics related to Transact SQL. In this video, Itzik … Continue Reading

Microsoft SQL MVP Itzik Ben-Gan talks about Interface RemoteLiveâ„¢ online training

We were honored to have world-renowned SQL Server MVP Itzik Ben-Gan as an instructor on October 17, 2011. Students attended Itzik’s SQL400 class both in person at our facility and online with RemoteLive. We sat down with Itzik to hear his thoughts on … Continue Reading

Advanced T-SQL Querying and Tuning Masterclass by MVP Guru Itzik Ben-Gan – One week only, Oct 17

One week only! Interface Technical Training offers SQL400: Itzik Ben-Gan's Advanced T-SQL Querying and Tuning for SQL Server 2005 and 2008 in Phoenix, October 17-21. This course can also be attended online with Interface Remote Live™ technology. This is a 5-day masterclass for writing … Continue Reading

Microsoft SQL Server & Business Intelligence Presentation at TI2011 (Jeff Jones, Tony Harris and Kathrine Lord)

Below are links to download the SQL Server / Business Intelligence sessions presented by Jeff Jones, Tony Harris and Kathrine Lord at Interface Tech Immersion 2011. Jeff Jones is a SQL Server Guru and Director of SQL Technologies at  Interface … Continue Reading

Interface Tech Immersion 2011

Our DEEP DIVE Tech Immersion 2011 was a great success! A highlight was the keynote by Microsoft Distinguished Engineer Jeffrey Snover, the father of PowerShell. Snover cleared up some of the confusion about the cloud, which we'll be hearing more … Continue Reading

SQL Server 2008 Policy Management Links by Jeff Jones – Interface Technical Training

Here are few links to blogs and open source projects related to Policy Management with SQL Server 2008. The SQL Server Policy Management Team blog – http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlpbm Bart Duncan's blog entry on Complex Server "Health" Policies – http://shrinkster.com/1bqq Codeplex project … Continue Reading

FN_Split() Table Valued Function by SQL Instructor Jeff Jones

Fn_Split() The link above is to a file with a table-valued function called fn_split(). This function allows you to pass a string of values to an IN clause of a SQL query. It breaks them down into a set of rows … Continue Reading

Who has access? – SQL Server

Occasionally you would like to find out all the tables, views and stored procedures a user can access and what permissions they have.  With a combination of the new EXECUTE AS command and the new HAS_PERMS_BY_NAME function you can figure this … Continue Reading

Integration Services Security in SQL Server by Jeff Jones

Defining security for SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is a bit complex. I want to focus on the security required by a developer to create and manage their own packages and people that are not SysAdmins but need to manage … Continue Reading