Recently I got a fun question about an “upsert” pattern as a “Dear SQL DBA” question. The question is about TSQL, so it lent itself to being answered in a blog post where I can show repro code and screenshots.
I’ve gotten a few compliments lately on the images I’ve been using in my posts. Images help engage your readers. You should also set a “featured image” for each post for thumbnail usage in your theme or in RSS readers. But it can be kind of a pain to search for images and make sure the image copyright allows you to use and share it.
Microsoft has just released a new round of cumulative updates for SQL Server 2012, and the release notes indicate that a fix to the sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats dynamic management view has been included in these updates. This is good news for index tuners using SQL Server 2012.
As of SP2 + CU12 and SP3 + CU3, SQL Server 2012 will persist index usage information even when ALTER INDEX REBUILD is run.
I’m about four months into my planned six month sabbatical.
At the beginning, I worried a little that I might not like life as a grownup without a job. Would I feel lost? Purposeless? Bored?
Nope. It turns out that I am excellent at not having a real job. I’ve learned a bunch, enjoyed life, seen a bit of the world, gotten healthier, and created some teaching materials that I’m super proud of.
If you’re a database administrator, a developer, or just someone who plays one on TV, I know you’ve got questions. Technical questions. Political questions. Questions about how to handle your coworker with stinky feet who wears flip flops to work. (Been there!)
Now you’ve got a way to get answers. Submit your question to Dear DBA.
Recently, I was thinking about nonclustered indexes in SQL Server, and how included columns are stored.
Is SQL Server smart enough to optimize the storage for small indexes with includes? Find out in this free seven minute video.
Sometimes you need to script out all the indexes in a database. Maybe you’re concerned something has changed since they were last checked in. Or maybe the indexes aren’t checked into source control, and you’re working on fixing that. (Important!)
Either way, sometimes you need to do it, and it’s not fun through the GUI. I needed to write some fresh demo code for this recently, and I needed it to give the details for partitioned tables using data compression, and I thought I’d share.
Learn why SQL Server’s table partitioning feature doesn’t make your queries faster– and may even make them slower.
Microsoft recently updated their policies and recommendations for installing cumulative updates.
I got a great question from a student recently:
In your opinion, where is the distinction between Junior DBA and Senior DBA? I’ve always worked on small teams, so sometimes it’s hard to tell where I fit.
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