With its debut in SQL Server 2019, Accelerated Database Recovery (ADR) represents a paradigm shift in database recovery and performance enhancement. The primary objective of ADR is to drastically cut down the time databases require to recover from crashes, failures, or restarts. This is particularly important in environments where long-running transactions are common, ensuring that databases remain available and performant, even in the face of unexpected disruptions.
Automating SQL Server Database Refreshes with PowerShell
In today’s agile software development environment, keeping lower environments like development and testing synchronized with production data is essential. It not only helps in identifying issues early but also ensures that features are developed and tested against the most current dataset. This blog introduces a PowerShell script that automates the process of refreshing a SQL Server database in lower environments using a “copy only” backup from a production environment. By diving into the script, we aim to shed light on how automation can simplify database management tasks, making them more efficient and error-resistant.
Optimizing SQL Server Performance with SQL Plan Guides
In SQL Server performance tuning, the inability to directly modify query text—often due to restrictions in application code or the use of legacy SQL Server versions that lack modern features like Query Store—poses a significant challenge. However, SQL Plan Guides offer a powerful alternative, providing a means to influence query execution plans and optimize performance without altering the queries themselves. This post delves into the concept of SQL Plan Guides, illustrating their utility and guiding through their creation and application.
Leveraging C# within PowerShell for Advanced ETL Operations in SQL Server
The ability to efficiently perform Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) operations is essential for database administrators and developers, particularly those working with data warehouses and others with large data transformation. While PowerShell is a powerful tool in its own right for database management, embedding C# within PowerShell scripts can significantly enhance your ETL processes. This blog post will guide you through a practical example of using C# code within a PowerShell script to perform ETL operations on SQL Server tables. We’ll start with extracting data from a SQL Server, followed by transforming it using C#, and finally, loading it back into a different table.
Navigating Asynchronous Statistics Updates in SQL Server 2022
Keeping database statistics updated is crucial for the smooth functioning of your queries. The database engine is pretty smart; it automatically refreshes these statistics to stay in sync with changes in your data. This is key for the query optimizer, the brain behind the scenes, to churn out the most efficient plans for your queries. While up-to-date statistics often improve query plan quality, the extra time added to some query executions due to statistics update may be undesirable, particularly in transactional workloads with short queries, where updating statistics may take longer than query execution itself. For this reason, the SQL Server database engine also supports an option to update statistics asynchronously.
Automating SQL Server Index Maintenance with PowerShell
In this blog post, we’ll focus on automating index maintenance using PowerShell. We’ll present a complete script to assess index fragmentation and perform necessary maintenance tasks, followed by a detailed explanation of each part of the script, showcasing how PowerShell can be a powerful tool in the arsenal of any SQL Server administrator.
Understanding the Implications of the TRUSTWORTHY Database Setting in SQL Server
As a SQL Server DBA, understanding the nuances of database settings is necessary for maintaining security and integrity. One such setting that often becomes a topic of discussion due to its significant impact on security is the TRUSTWORTHY database setting. The TRUSTWORTHY database setting in SQL Server is a configuration option that affects the security of certain database operations, particularly those involving code execution contexts. It plays a critical role in the security context of modules that use WITH EXECUTE AS, as well as CLR (Common Language Runtime) assemblies marked as EXTERNAL_ACCESS or UNSAFE.
Exploring Programming Constructs in T-SQL – Part 1: Variables and Conditional IF Statements
Welcome to the first installment in our blog series on understanding and using programming constructs in T-SQL (Transact-SQL). This series aims to unravel the intricacies of T-SQL, Microsoft SQL Server’s powerful extension to SQL (Structured Query Language). Our journey will cover the most common and impactful programming constructs, equipping you with the knowledge to write more efficient, dynamic, and robust SQL scripts.
Understanding the Intricacies of SQL Server Virtual Log Files
We as SQL Server DBAs often overlook the importance of the transaction log. It plays a pivotal role in ensuring data integrity and recoverability. To manage this effectively, SQL Server employs a system of segmentation known as Virtual Log Files, or VLFs. The intricacies of VLFs and their management are fundamental to the seamless performance of SQL Server databases.
Mastering SQL Server Extended Events for Proactive Database Troubleshooting
SQL Server Extended Events (XE) are an essential tool for modern database professionals, offering a lightweight, efficient solution for monitoring and diagnosing SQL Server. Outperforming older methods like SQL Trace, Extended Events provide a detailed view of database operations with minimal impact on performance. They are integral for identifying, analyzing, and resolving complex database performance issues and are built directly into the SQL Server engine for maximum scalability and precision.