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SQL SERVER – Database Auditing and Compliance

ApexSQL Audit is a tool which is used to audit SQL Server events for the purpose of general auditing as well as to meet strict SQL Server compliance standards. ApexSQL Audit can be used to audit more than 170 SQL Server events, including DDL and DML operations, SQL Server logins, security events, query execution… ApexSQL Audit can be used by DBA to meet complex database auditing requirements as well as several compliance standards, including HIPAA, SOX, PCI, FISMA, FERPA, FDA and more.

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SQL SERVER 2016 – WARNING: Setup Limited to Reporting Services for SharePoint

I have a habit of generally reading the “What’s New” section whenever a new version is around in the block. This is a great way to actually check, learn everything that is getting released in a nutshell. These often don’t just mean we can master them in that single page, but it gives us enough information to start our journey for exploration. Let us learn about Setup Limited to Reporting Services for SharePoint warning.

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How to Send Execution Plan in Email? – Interview Question of the Week #079

A few days ago, I sent emails to everyone who subscribed to my newsletter (if you have not subscribed, you are missing out some real fun) that they can send me one performance problem of theirs like and I will help them solve it in 24 hours. I received over 1082 responses in the first 24 hours and honestly, I could not keep my commitment to reply each in 24 hours (even though I answered emails for 18 hours straight). It took me over 4 days to respond to EVERY SINGLE EMAIL, and on the top of it, I was still getting more emails. Finally, I caught up with everything on the fifth day and I had received a total of 2187 performance problems in the email. I have responded to each of them. During this marathon of answering emails, I saw that many users do not know how to send the execution plan in an email.

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SQL SERVER – Detected a DTC/KTM in-doubt Transaction with UOW

Recently, one of my clients contacted me to assist in fixing and issue which was causing their production database to be in SUSPECT state. The learnings I am getting from various consulting engagements is awesome and the after effect of this is a number of blogs I have published in the recent past. They were using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (SP2) in a clustered environment. They had a disaster and had a hard failure of SQL cluster. Initially there were issues with DTC and they were able to fix them by installing the DTC component in the cluster. Now, once they reinstalled DTC, the production database was in SUSPECT state. Let us learn about how to detect DTC/KTM in-doubt Transaction with UOW.

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SQL SERVER – Fix Error Msg 13602 working with JSON documents

My saga of working with JSON documents and finding out the various errors continues. With JSON being one of the new data structures introduced inside SQL Server 2016, I have been exploring to how these are fundamentally different from using the FORXML constructs. The more I have been working and testing with this capability, the more similarities I am seeing in them. Coming from a generation of working with SQL Server for more than a decade, I try to explore and learn the new concepts keeping some reference. This helps in faster learning and can accelerate the way you work with the new concepts.

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SQL SERVER 2016 – Getting Started with R Services and Forecasting – Notes from the Field #131

[Notes from Pinal]: R Services are very much new thing and trust me, I still have to get my hand dirty on this subject. I know the basics of it, but still I personally do not know enough that I can blog about it and teach others. This is when I reach out to Eduardo, he has this incredible ability to learn new thing and teach others in the lucid easy way. I requested Eduardo to help me out with R Services and Forecasting and he happily accepted.

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SQL SERVER – Create Database and BI (SSAS, SSRS, SSIS) Documentation

ApexSQL Doc is a simple but powerful tool which is used for documenting SQL Server databases, SSIS packages, SSAS cubes and SSRS items. It enables users to customize the documentation by including/excluding needed database objects and settings and to generate the documentation in various output formats like, CHM, HTML, PDF and Word formats. Let us learn about how to create BI (SSAS, SSRS, SSIS) documentation.

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SQL SERVER 2016 – InMemory OLTP LOB Datatype Enhancement

My exploration with SQL Server 2016 features are just continuing and I am delighted every other day to figure out something new been added to the capabilities which in the opinion were of limited capacity in the prior versions of SQL Server. I will spare the ranting exercise for now but will look at some of the things that caught my attention in my recent exploration with SQL Server InMemory OLTP enhancements.

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SQL Server Agent – Unable to start the service – The request failed or the service did not respond in a timely fashion

Rarely, it also happens when someone becomes accidental DBA and may get stumped with simple things. This blog is result of troubleshooting which I have done for a company where I found one such DBA. I don’t say you cannot become a DBA in this manner, it is the hard work that goes behind this that needs to be understood. Let us learn about error related to SQL Server Agent.

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