IIS Database Manager allows you to easily manage your local and remote databases from within IIS Manager. IIS Database Manager automatically discovers databases based on the Web server or application configuration and also provides the ability to connect to any database on the network. Once connected, IIS Database Manager provides a full array of management options including managing tables, views, stored procedures and data, as well as running ad hoc queries.

IIS Database Manager provides native support for SQL Server and is also fully extensible for developers to add support for other database systems. In addition, because IIS Database Manager is an extension of IIS Manager, administrators can securely delegate the management of databases to authorized local or remote users, without having to open additional management ports on the server.

Here are a few articles to get you started on using the IIS Database Manager:

• Basics of the IIS Database Manager
• Working with Tables
• Working with Views
• Working with Stored Procedures

IIS Database Manager (x86)

IIS Database Manager (x64)

Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

Buck Woody (MSFT) has published a blog post about SQL Server Desktop Screen Background. I really like the SQL Server Desktop background and I have replaced that background on my work laptop. I came across this particular post because I am regular reader of his blog. Few of the other interesting posts written by him are following.

Who do I talk to in Microsoft about…

Test your Restores, or, a Cautionary Tale

If due to any reason, the original image is moved, you can download the image by clicking on following image as well.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

Posted in Pinal Dave, SQL, SQL Add-On, SQL Authority, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLAuthority Website Review, SQLServer, T SQL, Technology ]]> http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/09/10/sql-server-sql-server-desktop-screen-background/feed/ 1 pinaldave http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/08/30/sqlauthority-news-application-and-multi-server-management/ http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/08/30/sqlauthority-news-application-and-multi-server-management/#comments Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:30:36 +0000 pinaldave http://blog.sqlauthority.com/?p=6695 ]]>

SQL Server 2008 R2 introduces new management tools to help improve IT efficiency and productivity. Investments in application and multi-server management will help organizations proactively manage database environments efficiently at scale through centralized visibility into resource utilization. Such investments can help streamline consolidation and upgrade initiatives across the application lifecycle—all with tools that make it fast and easy.

This paper introduces the new extensions in SQL Server Management Studio and the Control Point Explorer, and it walks through the simple process of setting up a SQL Server managed server group, including SQL Server Control Point installation, enrolling an instance into central management, extracting Data-tier Applications from existing deployments, and deploying Data-tier Applications to the new managed server group.

Read whitepaper Application and Multi-Server Management

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

Posted in Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing, SQL, SQL Add-On, SQL Authority, SQL Documentation, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL White Papers, SQLAuthority News, T SQL, Technology ]]> http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/08/30/sqlauthority-news-application-and-multi-server-management/feed/ 0 pinaldave http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/08/01/sqlauthority-news-download-microsoft-sql-server-management-pack-for-operations-manager-2007-4/ http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/08/01/sqlauthority-news-download-microsoft-sql-server-management-pack-for-operations-manager-2007-4/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:30:58 +0000 pinaldave http://blog.sqlauthority.com/?p=6337 ]]>

The SQL Server Management Pack provides the capabilities for Operations Manager 2007 to discover SQL Server 2000, 2005 and 2008 installations and components and to monitor them, primarily from the perspective of availability and performance. The availability and performance monitoring is done using a combination of scripts and native Operations Manager capabilities.

The following list gives an overview of the features of the SQL Server management pack.

• Support for Enterprise, Standard and Express editions of SQL Server 2000, 2005 and 2008 and 32bit, 64bit and ia64 architectures.
• Support for both simple and complex SQL configurations such as clustered installations, multiple instances and 32bit roles running on a 64bit OS. For full details on supported configurations refer to the guide included with the management pack.
• Discovery and monitoring of SQL Server roles such as DB Engine, Reporting Services, Analysis Services, Integrations Services.
• Discovery of SQL components such as databases, the SQL Agent and SQL jobs.
• Over 20 views covering areas such as database free space, SQL related performance, SQL related alerts, and lists of the various SQL roles and components which are discovered and their related state.
• Reports for longer-term analysis of common problem areas related to SQL Server such as SQL Server lock analysis and top deadlocked databases, SQL Server service pack levels across discovered roles, user connection activity. Likewise the generic reports from the Microsoft Generic Report Library can be used against the roles and components discovered by the SQL MPs to review availability and performance across many systems and over longer periods of time.
• Role and component specific tasks which provide access to common tools, triage information, or corrective actions without needing to leave the Operations Console in most cases.
• Monitoring of databases covers database status, database free space, log shipping monitoring for both the source and destination, and transaction log free space.
• Monitoring of key SQL related services.
• Monitoring for persistent SPID blocking.
• Monitoring of numerous SQL events and performance data points. Alerts bring the issue to your attention and provide knowledge on the impact and possible resolutions.

Download Microsoft SQL Server Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

Posted in SQL, SQL Add-On, SQL Authority, SQL Download, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQL Utility, SQLAuthority News, T SQL, Technology ]]> http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/08/01/sqlauthority-news-download-microsoft-sql-server-management-pack-for-operations-manager-2007-4/feed/ 5 pinaldave http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/06/12/sql-server-2008-customize-toolbar-remove-debug-button-from-toolbar/ http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2009/06/12/sql-server-2008-customize-toolbar-remove-debug-button-from-toolbar/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 01:30:58 +0000 pinaldave http://blog.sqlauthority.com/?p=5430 ]]>

In today’s article I have combined two different questions. I was fond of SQL Server Debugger feature in SQL Server 2000. To my utter disappointment, this feature was withdrawn from SQL Server 2005. However, because of loads of requests from developers it was re-introduced in SQL Server 2008.

Developers were extremely happy with “return of debugger”, however, it issued forth a new problem. The button of debugger is similar to a play button and is used to run debugging commands of Visual Studio. For SQL Server, the button to execute code is exclamation mark (!).  Both these buttons are placed very close to each other, which confuses developers. Developers want to debug code in Visual Studio but the same debugging is completely different in SQL Server. Developers want to execute the code in SQL Server Management Studio.

Because of this reason, it gets very much infuriating for developers when they are developing on both – Visual Studio and SSMS. However, there is a very simple solution to this perplexing problem. Simply remove the button of debugger from tool bar. Customization of toolbar is a very helpful feature. Developers have the option to add many more buttons and remove any desired button from SSMS.

Let us now see how we can remove debugging button from SQL Server Management Studio.

Click on a small arrow on the extreme right side of the toolbar. It will bring down menu -”Add or Remove Buttons”. Next, go to “Customization”.

Click on the button at the bottom of the screen with label “Rearrange Commands…”.

On the screen of “Rearrange Commands” select the radio button of “Toolbar”. Once that is selected, on the right side of the drop down bring up “SQL Editor”. After that, click on “Debug” and remove by clicking “Delete”.

Now, your toolbar will not have debug button anymore. If you have ever customized your SSMS, I am interested to learn the reason behind it and the benefits you gained upon customization.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

At present, I am running Windows Vista Ultimate as OS in my computer. I have installed SQL Server 2008 developer’s version in my computer.

A couple of months back, I learnt that SQL Server Book On-Line (BOL) update has been released. I usually depend on my Windows Update of SQL Server to install all updates in my OS, so I do not have to  bother myself with installing updates manually.

However, this time I was quite taken aback to find that my computer was not updated with the latest updates released by Microsoft. Further, I noticed that my SQL Server Book On-Line is not up to date. This experience was nerve-wracking, as I expected my computer to have all the latest updates. I probed into the matter and found that there was an issue with some previous incomplete updates available with Windows Update. I was getting vexed with the following error every time I tried to run Windows Update.

Windows Update; Error Code 8000FFFF

I attempted to reboot, uninstall antivirus but had no luck fixing this error. I finally sent out an email to my friend who is expert in troubleshooting OS issues.  He sent me some steps to resolve the issue.

Fix/Solution/Workaround:

After I performed the following steps, windows updated started to work normally and I was able to successfully download all SQL Server related updates.

1. Click on Windows button and search ‘regedit’.
2. Right click on the regedit and “Run as Administrator” (See Image 1).
3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >> COMPONENTS and look for keys described in steps 4, 5 and 6. In the absence of  any  key  go to  the next step (See Image 2).
4. Find key PendingXmlIdentifier and delete it.
5. Find key NextQueueEntryIndex and delete it.
6. Find key AdvancedInstallersNeedResolving and delete it.
7. Restart the computer.
8. Once restarted now attempt Windows Updates;  it  should work fine now.

Do let me know if this solution helps you.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

Introduction

SQL Server Profiler is a powerful tool that is available with SQL Server since a long time; however, it has mostly been underutilized by DBAs. SQL Server Profiler can perform various significant functions such as tracing what is running under the SQL Server Engine’s hood, and finding out how queries are resolved internally and what scripts are running to accomplish any T-SQL command. The major functions this tool can perform have been listed below:

• Creating trace
• Watching trace
• Storing trace
• Replaying trace

Trace includes all the T-SQL scripts that run simultaneously on SQL Server. As trace contains all the T-SQL scripts running on SQL Server, it often tends to become considerably huge. Hence, it is always a good practice to capture only those data that are actually required for analysis.

Dilemma to use on Production Server

SQL Server Profiler has a lot of potential as a tool and offers several advantages. Unfortunately, developers have been keeping their hands off from this tool and usually give two major excuses.

• Reason 1: Profiler adds too much overhead to production server.
• Reason 2: Profiler accumulates plethora of data making it extremely intricate to analyze them afterwards.

Read Complete Article here.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

I often work on consulting projects with umpteen clients from across the globe. The nature of the works I usually receive necessitates me to take on the role of a system admin. Now, this role is trailed by come common issues. This article revolves around one such concern.

Most of the time, I get login and DBA from my clients. However, sometimes I face login-related problems, primarily because my clients forget to confer admin rights on me. Anticipating this situation I perform a simple task, which saves my time and saves me from exasperation.  Whenever I receive a server login I run the following query to verify if  the client has assigned me the role of system admin or not.

SELECT IS_SRVROLEMEMBER('sysadmin');

If I have been assigned system admin role then the result will be 1 else it will be 0.

I have listed below valid roles that can be verified using the above function.

sysadmin
dbcreator
diskadmin
processadmin
serveradmin
setupadmin
securityadmin

If you pass an invalid role to the above function, it will return value NULL.

I hope my article is clear to all my readers. Please send me your feedback. I want my readers to come up with more issues that need to be tackled.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

The SQL Server Management Pack provides the capabilities for Operations Manager 2007 to discover SQL Server 2000, 2005 and 2008 installations and components and to monitor them, primarily from the perspective of availability and performance. The availability and performance monitoring is done using a combination of scripts and native Operations Manager capabilities.

Scripts in the SQL Server 2008 management pack rely on SQL Data Management Objects (SQL-DMO) to query information from the SQL Server. SQL-DMO is now deprecated and is not shipped as a part of SQL Server 2008. Every system with SQL Server 2008 that will be monitored must have SQL-DMO installed from the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Backward Compatibility Components. For instructions on how to download and install the SQL Server 2005 Backward Compatibility Components refer to the management pack guide.

Download Microsoft SQL Server Management Pack for Operations Manager 2007

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services is a comprehensive, server-based reporting solution designed to help you author, manage, and deliver both paper-based, ad hoc, and interactive Web-based reports.

Each report pack consists of a set of predefined reports, a sample database, a readme file, and an End User License Agreement (EULA). You can use these sample reports as templates to quickly author and distribute new interactive reports.

Report Pack contains following sample reports

• SQL Server 2005 Integration Services Log Reports
• SQL Server 2005 Report Pack for Microsoft Dynamics Axapta 3.0
• SQL Server 2005 Report Pack for Microsoft Dynamics Navision 4.0
• SQL Server 2005 Report Pack for Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains 8.0
• SQL Server 2005 Report Pack for Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains 9.0
• SQL Server 2005 Report Pack for Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)
• SQL Server 2005 Report Pack for Financial Reporting

Download SQL Server 2005 Report Packs

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

Owing to my personal experience so far, I can undeniably say that Microsoft Windows products are outstanding. One of the reasons that make them exceptional is their little nifty tricks. For instance, every time I double click myfilename.sql it opens Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). The reason how Windows discerns that it has to open SSMS is because the extension of file I had clicked is .sql. I explored and found that SQL Server has few more filetypes associated with it, which are as follows.

SQL Server - .sql
SQL Server Compact 3.5 SP1 - .sqlce
SQL Server Analysis Service – .mdx, .xmla

Moving on, I would like to talk about another command that can open SQL Server Management Studio. Just type sqlwb in command prompt to open SSMS and bring credential prompt on screen.

I hope you find this article useful. Let me have your feedback so that we can take this topic further.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

Pinalkumar Dave describes the top 5 features of SQL Server Management Studio 2008.

This article describes the top 5 features of SQL Server Management Studio 2008. With the release of SQL Server 2008 Microsoft has upgraded SSMS with many new features as well as added tons of new functionalities requested by DBAs for long time.

SQL Server 2008 has been released for a year now. In SQL Server 2000, DBA had to use two different tools to maintain the database as well as the query database, specifically SQL Server Enterprise Manager and SQL Server Query Analyzer. With the release of SQL Server 2005 both of these tools are combined into one tool: SQL Server Management Studio. For a while DBA who were fan of Query Analyzer requested to bring it back but as they keep on using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) they realized that it was much more convenient if every task related to SQL Server could be accomplished using SSMS. With the release of SQL Server 2008 Microsoft has upgraded SSMS with many new features as well as added tons of new functionalities requested by DBAs for long time.

Let us go over a few of the important new features of the SSMS 2008. The list of SQL Server 2008 SSMS improvements is very long. I have selected my favorite 5 features and we will go over them.

1. IntelliSense for Query Editing
2. Multi Server Query
3. Query Editor Regions
4. Object Explorer Enhancements
5. Activity Monitors

Read Complete article here.

It goes without saying that Database Backup is the most important task for any Database Administrator (DBA). Naturally, large organizations always have a team of DBAs who execute Database Backup tasks. No matter how big or small an organization is, the importance of database backup remains the same across the board. It’s a common practice in several organizations to upload the backup to their remote location for additional safety. I totally vouch for this safety measure of having their additional backup on remote/satellite location. This redundancy comes in handy whenever a catastrophe of not having proper backup surfaces abruptly.

While I was searching online for a very simple solution for one of my clients, I came across a small-sized but feature-rich application from SqlBackupAndFTP.com. This practical application has been created by Pranas.NET (http://pranas.net) I have made extensive use of this tool for some time now and undoubtedly, this tool is very impressive by all standards!

To put it simply, SQLBackupAndFTP is MS SQL Server backup software. This tool performs several tasks such as running scheduled backups of SQL Server or SQL Server Express databases, zipping the backups, storing them on a network or on a FTP server, removing old backups, and finally, sending an e-mail confirmation on job’s success or failure. Besides, SQLBackupAndFTP Free is freeware, which is free from any spyware. Best of all, this ingeniously simple tool is extremely affordable for all. You just need to install it on the server and you can get up and running really fast.

Given below are some important tasks which this tool can perform using daily scheduler:
•    Backup SQL Server Database
•    Zip the backups
•    Encrypt the backups
•    FTP the backups to remove FTP server
•    Move file to local area network
•    Send final status of tasks in email.

Let us now see how we can take backup and move it to the desired folder.

Image 1: First, connect to the desired server.

Image 2: As you can see, all the settings are very easy as described in the following image. Pay attention to these very simple, one screen settings. From database selection to job scheduling, you can configure everything from this page itself.

Image 3: This screen describes all the steps that are being performed. User can easily view the status of all the jobs – either success or failure – on this page.

Image 4: The following screen displays the settings for advanced users who have to deal with large database.

Image 5: This screen displays email regarding final status of tasks, which is sent to the user after task completion.

Now, a question that might baffle your mind is – how this tool is better than maintenance tasks available in SQL Server. Well, here goes the answer. Maintenance tasks are easy to set up for backups; however, SQLBackupAndFTP have integrated solution for encryption, FTP and email which make it superior to maintenance tasks in every aspect.

I would like to present my unbiased view about this tool. At the same time, I want to give my readers a broad perspective about backup tools in general.  On comparing this tool with other backup tools I have experienced that it is not the fanciest tool to manage backups or check their health. This is one tool that smoothly performs the job in a few steps compared to native SQL Server backup, which takes numerous steps to execute the same job.

SQLBackupAndFTP is best suited for developers/DBAs who just want to ensure that they have schedule job that takes care of backup and moves them to appropriate place. In fact, it is ideal for any SQL Server database where backups need to be sent every day to a remote FTP server. It saves maintenance time on any SQL Server version. Besides, it is especially useful for SQL Server Express 2005 and SQL Server Express 2008, as they lack built in tools for backup.

This tool is compatible with almost all the known SQL Server versions. It works with SQL Server 2008 (all versions) and many of the previous versions.

While testing this tool, I noticed that there are few limitations. It does not support differential or transaction backups. I also found that this tool only works on local SQL Server instances and cannot connect to another SQL Server on LAN. When I contacted support, I came to know that they are planning to release its updated version in April 2009, which will not have any such limitations.

I strongly recommend this tool to all the DBAs. They must try it as it is absolutely free and does exactly what it promises. You can download your free copy of the tool from here.

Please share your experience about using this tool. I am eager to receive your feedback regarding this article.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

While I was working with SQL Server 2008 IntelliSense, I realized that it was not functioning as I expected. Even after I had enabled IntelliSense it was still not opening any suggestions at all. After a while, I figured out some vital information regarding how to make sure IntelliSense smoothly works all the time without you giving any trouble.

Given below are four different ways through which you can enable IntelliSense.

1) Make sure you are connected to SQL Server 2008 Edition.
IntelliSense does not work with the previous versions of SQL Server.

2) IntelliSense should be enabled.
There are two ways to verify whether IntelliSense is enabled or not.
a) From Toolbar

b) Go to Tools >> Options >> Text Editor >> Transact-SQL >> IntelliSense

3) IntelliSense should be refreshed with the latest changes in database.
a) Press CTRL+SHIFT+R
b) Go to Edit >> IntelliSense >> Refresh Local Cache

4) Go to Tools >> Options >> Text Editor >> Transact-SQL >> General >> IntelliSense
Select Auto List Members and Check Parameter Information.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

I received question from Aloke Sinha after reading my article SQL SERVER – 2008 – Activity Monitor is Empty – Fix Activity Monitor for All Users.

Hello Pinalbhai,

Thank you for your post about activity monitor, but I can not find activity monitor under Menu — Tools. How to activate it?

[Other unrelated information removed]

Take care,
Aloke Sinha

The reason I decided to write about this subject is because I totally understand why Aloke is confused here. Activity Monitor can not be activated from any menu from top menu bar. There are two different methods to activate Activity Monitors.

From Standard Toolbar (Standard Toolbar can be made visible from here : Menu >> View >> Toolbar >> Standard) and from “Right Click” of SQL Server Node.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

I was asked question by Jr. DBA that “What is AWE?”. For those who do know what is AWE or where is it located, it can be found at SQL Server Level properties. AWE is properly explained in BOL so we will just have our simple explanation.

Address Windowing Extensions API is commonly known as AWE.  AWE is used by SQL Server when it has to support very large amounts of physical memory. AWE feature is only available in SQL Server Enterprise, Standard, and Developer editions with of SQL Server 32 bit version.

Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 server supports maximum of 64GB memory. If we have installed SQL Server 32 bit version which can support maximum of 3 GB memory on Windows 2000/2003, we can enable AWE feature to use available physical memory of server to improve performance of SQL Server. In simple words, AWE provides memory management functions which lets windows to allow more than 3GB memory to standard 32 bit application.

There are many other modification needs to be done before AWE option can be used. Please refer SQL Server BOL Using AWE for additional details.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com)

Today I am blog about something which I found recently while working with SQL Server Profiler.

Profiler can be invoked just typing profiler in command prompt. I am using Windows Vista Ultimate 32 bit (License Version) and SQL Server 2008 Development (License Version). The reason I have put “License Version” because I encourage everybody to use only licensed software.

SQL Server Profiler gives feature where we can specify which column filter. Column filter can have value which can be validated with atucal data and based on it, it will store information in profiler stress.

I was always under impression that adding filter will reduce the load on CPU as profiler will have to do less amount of the work. I found that my assumption is wrong while doing testing with very large sample data and collecting very little information with column filter. In fact, column filter increase my CPU usage. After thinking it more I realize why this is happening. I am assuming that SQL Server Profiler has to collect all the necessary information in all the condition but in case of column filter, it will have to compare all the data with filter data, which can be the reason for higher CPU Load. For additional, testing I had removed few of the column filter and found that CPU load is reduced.This validates my theory that when there is filter, CPU has to work harder to filter the data. One good thing is that SQL Server does not store data which is removed, thus it reduces the storage space.

I am eager to know if SQLAuthority.com readers have ever faced situation like this. What is your opinion about it?

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

Today we will go over two step easy method to restore ‘master’ database. It is really unusal to have need of restoring the master database. In very rare situation this need should arises. It is important to have full backup of master database, without full backup file of master database it can not be restored.

It is necessary to start SQL Server in single user mode before master database can be restored. It is very easy to start SQL Server server in single user mode. Follow the tutorial SQL SERVER – Start SQL Server Instance in Single User Mode.

Once SQL Server instance is running in single user mode, immediately connect it using sqlcmd and run following command to restore the master database.

RESTORE DATABASE master FROM DISK = 'C:\BackupLocation\master.back' WITH REPLACE;
GO

I have tested it couple of times and it has worked fine for me. If you encounter any error please leave a comment and I will do my best to solve it.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)

There are certain situation when user wants to start SQL Server Engine in “single user” mode from the start up.

To start SQL Server in single user mode is very simple procedure as displayed below.

Go to SQL Server Configuration Manager and click on  SQL Server 2005 Services. Click on desired SQL Server instance and right click go to properties. On the Advance table enter param ‘-m;‘ before existing params in Startup Parameters box.

Make sure that you entered semi-comma after -m. Once that is completed, restart SQL Server services to take this in effect. Once this is done, now you will be only able to connect SQL Server using sqlcmd.

Make sure to remove newly added params after required work is completed to restart it in multi user mode.

Reference : Pinal Dave (http://blog.SQLAuthority.com)