MSSQL

Policy Based Management Podcast – Part 1

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ August 19, 2009 ⋅ 5 comments

Brent Ozar (@BrentO) and I got together for a quick podcast on SQL 2008 Policy Based Management. In part one we discuss how to import the sample policies that are included with SQL 2008 by default (but not enabled), find some databases that Brent has placed the data and logs on the same drive, and [...]

MSSQLTips – Backup History Tip

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ May 9, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

A few weeks back I was asked how long a backup took for a specific database. I knew the info was in the msdb somewhere so I pieced together a bit of code and then thought to myself “hey, this might be a good thing to share with others at MSSQLTips”. Well, OK, I actually [...]

PASS 2009 Summit Early Bird is Ending!

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ April 27, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

I have been quite busy the past few weeks. So busy that I completely forgot to blog about this last Friday. Oh well, better late than never.
The early bird discount for the PASS 2009 Community Summit ends this Friday, May 1st. For a complete price breakdown, check out this page. If you (or your boss, [...]

What Causes Deadlocks?

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ April 22, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

Application code, that’s what causes deadlocks. And what I mean by that is that the database engine does not suddenly seize up and start deadlocking transactions arbitrarily because it is tired one day. No, certain conditions must exist in order for a deadlock to happen, and all of those conditions require someone, somewhere, to be [...]

Why I Dislike Newsgroups

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ April 21, 2009 ⋅ 13 comments

I forget when I first discovered newsgroups. After all, I have been online for what seems like my entire life and have bounced from one forum to another. But as the Internet has evolved one thing remains true for me: newsgroups are an awful way to communicate and get help.
Would you consider posting a question [...]

EXECUTE AS and Linked Servers

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ April 14, 2009 ⋅ One comment

Well today was one of those days where there just does not seem to be enough time to take care of everything on your plate. Of course you want to finish what you have, after all it is just sitting there, and it would be rude to not finish your meal, your host might be [...]

Now Writing for MSSQLTips.com

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ April 7, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

Every now and then I see requests come to our team that say “hey, buddy, when was the last time that database was restored?” My first thought has been, historically, “how the hell am I supposed to know that?” After all, the management tools given to us (EM, SSMS) never list a “last restore date” [...]

Implementing SQL 2008 SQL Server Audit

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ March 5, 2009 ⋅ One comment

Last week I attended another Hands-On-Lab at the MTC center in Waltham, MA. One of the new SQL 2008 features I was able to kick around was SQL 2008 SQL Server Audit. Truthfully, I did not even know about this feature until I was handed the lab sheet. Fortunately I was already planning on spending the day [...]

SQL Database Triggers

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ March 1, 2009 ⋅ 10 comments

I hate database triggers.
Whew. It feels good to get that out in the open. I have been holding that in for almost ten years. It got harder to admit after I became a DBA, and as time went by it started to feel as if I was trapped in a story by Edgar Allen Poe. [...]

Find Orphaned AD Logins using sp_validatelogins

By Thomas LaRock ⋅ February 2, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

One of my favorite new features for SQL 2008 is the ability to run commands against all your registered instances immediately. For me that saves time as I have over 150 instances (and growing). The other day I was reading Tim Ford’s blog entry about xp_logininfo which led to an exchange of emails between Tim [...]