T-SQL Tuesday #105 – Brick Wall

August 14, 2018 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

The topic for this months T-SQL Tuesday #105 (hosted by Wayne Sheffield Blog/Twitter) is:

“Tell me about a time when you ran up against your own brick wall, and how you worked it out or dealt with it.”

Gather around for story time as I relate a story from the field.

How to Move and Configure tempdb Files

August 10, 2018August 9, 2018 Jeff Mlakar1 Comment

Every SQL Server instance relies heavily on tempdb to function. Because of this it is important to properly setup and configure tempdb. If you work on a system with a sub optimal tempdb setup then you may have to move files. Read on to see a technique for getting this job done.

How to Insert Into a Table Using Excel to Write SQL

August 3, 2018August 3, 2018 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

Today I want to show off a quick trick I learned many years ago that is useful to this day.

The Scenario: you have a spreadsheet, CSV file, or some other delimited flat file and need to load that into a database. There are many options to load data into SQL Server; however, a quick method I am fond of is to use Microsoft Excel and manipulate the data to craft insert statements then paste into SSMS and execute.

Read on to see how to parse and load a CSV flat file, character delimited flat file, and columnar text.

SQL Server Database Corruption! Fixing and Preventing

July 24, 2018July 21, 2018 Jeff Mlakar4 Comments

In my previous post, SQL Server Database Corruption! Understanding and Diagnosing, we talked about database corruption. We discussed what it was so we could better understand the threat we face. Then we learned how to diagnose database corruption. Today we are going to talk about remediating and preventing database corruption.

If you haven’t already read the previous post please read it first.

SQL Server Database Corruption! Understanding and Diagnosing

July 20, 2018July 30, 2018 Jeff Mlakar4 Comments

Of all the things that can ruin your day as a DBA and possibly get you fired, database corruption ranks right up there with backups and security enforcement of the database. Database corruption can be a resume generating event! A corrupt database can affect system stability, lead to unnecessary downtime, and possibly the loss of some data. To manage the risk you must know what database corruption is, how to diagnose, how to fix, and how to prevent.

Read on to learn how to understand and diagnose database corruption.

UPDATE: Part 2 on Fixing Database Corruption

T-SQL Tuesday #104 – Code You Would Hate to Live Without

July 10, 2018July 9, 2018 Jeff Mlakar5 Comments

The topic for this months T-SQL Tuesday #104 (hosted by Bert Wagner Blog/Twitter) is:

“code you’ve written that you would hate to live without.”

I will share with you a simple snippet that I have used over the years and look forward to reading everyone’s code!

I’m Speaking – SQL Saturday Houston 2018!

June 16, 2018 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

On Saturday June 9th I’ll be speaking at SQL Saturday Houston. I am excited to be presenting a lively and practical session about Environmental SQL Server Troubleshooting.

When called in to diagnose a performance issue what are the 1st things you review? Many DBAs and developers make the mistake of diving straight into the code looking for an answer. However, often times the solution is not in the code but rather in the overall environment.

Environmental troubleshooting is often a quick and overlooked method for discovering and configuring SQL Server to perform at a higher level without the need for application change controls.

In this session we will discuss both performance pitfalls and optimizations that can be made to the system outside of code changes. We will diagnose configurations commonly misapplied and review best practices in SQL Server, Windows Server, and VMware!

If you want a preview of the talk and some supplemental info please look at these:

I’m Speaking – SQL Saturday Los Angeles 2018!

May 31, 2018June 1, 2018 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

On Saturday June 9th I’ll be speaking at SQL Saturday Los Angeles. I am excited to be presenting a lively and practical session about Environmental SQL Server Troubleshooting.

When called in to diagnose a performance issue what are the 1st things you review? Many DBAs and developers make the mistake of diving straight into the code looking for an answer. However, often times the solution is not in the code but rather in the overall environment.

Environmental troubleshooting is often a quick and overlooked method for discovering and configuring SQL Server to perform at a higher level without the need for application change controls.

In this session we will discuss both performance pitfalls and optimizations that can be made to the system outside of code changes. We will diagnose configurations commonly misapplied and review best practices in SQL Server, Windows Server, and VMware!

If you want a preview of the talk and some supplemental info please look at these:

I’m Speaking – SQL Saturday Raleigh 2018!

March 27, 2018 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

On Saturday April 14th I’ll be speaking at SQL Saturday Raleigh. I am excited to be presenting a lively and practical session about Environmental SQL Server Troubleshooting.

When called in to diagnose a performance issue what are the 1st things you review? Many DBAs and developers make the mistake of diving straight into the code looking for an answer. However, often times the solution is not in the code but rather in the overall environment.

Environmental troubleshooting is often a quick and overlooked method for discovering and configuring SQL Server to perform at a higher level without the need for application change controls.

In this session we will discuss both performance pitfalls and optimizations that can be made to the system outside of code changes. We will diagnose configurations commonly misapplied and review best practices in SQL Server, Windows Server, and VMware!

If you want a preview of the talk and some supplemental info please look at these:

There are about 40 different sessions scheduled ranging from beginner to advanced – something for everyone.

I wrote about last year’s event: Raleigh SQL Saturday 2017 – Amazing Professional Community