Blog Post: SSIS: Variable length fixed width flat files design pattern with...
Recently while doing a POC for a client on SSIS they had some *interesting* data in flat files that they were comparing. All of the files were fixed width, which should have been relatively...
View ArticleBlog Post: How to Find ‘Secret Columns’ in Nonclustered Indexes
sp_BlitzIndex™ just can’t keep a secret. That’s a feature, not a bug. I wrote sp_BlitzIndex™ specifically so that it would rat out some things that SQL Server is doing behind the scenes to secretly...
View ArticleBlog Post: TechEd Europe 2013 videos online
Microsoft has posted ALL the session videos for TechEd Europe 2013 and they are available for free! Some great videos on the latest products and versions. Check them out here . There are four...
View ArticleBlog Post: SQL – Query to find data,log,Total Size and other Useful...
I’ve encountered a situation where I need to find out the database file,log file, total size and other useful information about a database on SQL Server 2000/2005/2008/R2 versions. The requirement is...
View ArticleBlog Post: Using an SSRS URL Which Does Not Display Breadcrumbs
Overview: Quick tip about how to structure the URL if you wish to render an SSRS report without any breadcrumbs being displayed at the top left of the browser window. Applicable to Native Mode...
View ArticleBlog Post: New MDX Divide() Function
A few weeks ago I saw Rob Collie’s blog post about the DAX Divide() function, and I was a bit surprised that I hadn’t seen it before. Then, yesterday, I found that the same function has appeared in...
View ArticleBlog Post: Reblog: July 19 to July 25
I’ve always been a fan of the feeling when I find an old blog post that’s got just the information that I need to solve a problem or answer a question. It’s that whole “cha-ching” – buried treasure!...
View ArticleBlog Post: Webcast Presentation Materials: 5 Amazing Reasons DBAs Need to...
If you are looking for a presentation that brings together bacon, unicorns, and lightsabers, then you should have seen my presentation this past Thursday for Pragmatic Works Training on the T’s . The...
View ArticleBlog Post: Security Questions: Recommended Security Book
As I mentioned in the introductory post , during the Introduction to SQL Server Security session for Pragmatic Work’s Training on the T’s , I received a large number of questions that there wasn’t...
View ArticleBlog Post: Eating the elephant, one bite at a time: Loading data using Hive
In the previous 'Eating the elephant' blogs, we've talked about tables and their implementation. Now, we will look at one of the ways to get data into a table. There are different ways to do this, but...
View ArticleBlog Post: SQL Server – Import text file using xp_cmdshell
There are several options available to import data from external sources to SQL Server. Such as Import & Export Wizard, BULK INSERT command, SSIS and OPENROWSET. Apart from this options you can...
View ArticleBlog Post: Notes on debugging Database Mail problems
I’ve had to debug database mail problems several times over the last year or so. Below is a collection of the stored procedures and queries that I’ve ended up using. I’ve added notes to most of them...
View ArticleBlog Post: Custom Coding in SQL Report Services
Reporting Services 2008 is a very powerful tool for creating reports. It contains many different tools and even allows you to place complex expressions on reports in every field. Even with all of...
View ArticleBlog Post: Last Weeks Top “Reading” Links #43
Weekly round-up of the links that I tweet out number 43. As an introduction, if you follow me on twitter ( @StrateSQL ), you’ll know that throughout the day I tweet out some links of things I find...
View ArticleBlog Post: Lessons From Sherlock Holmes
Last year, I wrote the article Lessons From Geordi Laforge and I had a ton of fun doing it. So I’m writing a bit of a follow-up article for another fictional hero of mine, Sherlock Holmes. It’s a fun...
View ArticleBlog Post: SQL Server 2014: Columnstore Index improvements
In SQL Server 2012, a new feature was added called Columnstore Indexes that resulted in huge query performance improvements. In SQL Server 2014, there have been two major improvements on this...
View ArticleBlog Post: 24 Hours Of PASS: 2013 Summit Preview Starts In Less Than 24 Hours!
If you like free SQL Server training you're in luck – starting at 12:00 PM GMT/8:00 AM EDT, July 31 (that's tomorrow!), the FREE 24 Hours of PASS: 2013 Summit Preview Edition begins. That's 24...
View ArticleBlog Post: SSIS: Using the DQS Cleansing component
In addition to actually creating and adding knowledge bases, one of the biggest benefits of Data Quality Services is actually getting to integrate published Data Quality projects into your enterprise...
View ArticleBlog Post: Reblog: July 26 to August 1
I’ve always been a fan of the feeling when I find an old blog post that’s got just the information that I need to solve a problem or answer a question. It’s that whole “cha-ching” – buried treasure!...
View ArticleBlog Post: #SQLSat #235 New York!!
SQL Saturday #235 New York is 2 weeks away! If you haven’t registered now is the time. For those of you who are asking why you should attend… Really?!?!? Don’t be that guy!! It is unfortunate...
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