All Articles - SQL Authority with Pinal Dave

SQL SERVER – Finding What Policies Are Enabled on Our Databases

April 15, 2015

When I wrote about Policy Management last week (SQL SERVER – Introduction to Policy Management), lesser did I know I will get queries from blog readers on the basics. As I always said, Policy Management is always an underappreciated capability inside SQL Server. In one of the mails, I was asked…

SQL SERVER – Script – Removing Multiple Databases from Log Shipping

April 14, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Backup and Restore

Have you ever come across a situation where you have large number of databases in log shipping and you have to remove all of them? If you use SQL Server Management Studio, it would take a long time because you have to Right Click on each database, go to properties,…

SQL SERVER – Is XP_CMDSHELL Enabled on the Server?

April 13, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Scripts, SQL Server, SQL Stored Procedure

I am not a big fan of using command line utilities in general. But from time to time I do explore and play around with command line tools that make my life easier. Having said that, when working with SQL Server, I do often give out the recommendation of not trying to use the native xp_cmdshell commands with SQL Server. Even the SQL_Server_2012_Security_Best_Practice_Whitepaper talks about xp_cmdshell and recommends to avoid the same if it is possible. These are basic building blocks of security that I highly recommend my customers from time to time.

Interview Question of the Week #015 – How to Move TempDB to Different Drive

April 12, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL Interview Questions and Answers

SQL TempDB

Here is one of the most popular questions I often come across- Question – How to move the TempDB to different drive when the log files are filled? Answer – In most of the cases which I have observed one has to move the TempDB to different drive when TempDB log…

SQL SERVER – CONCAT function and NULL values

April 11, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Function, SQL String

CONCAT is the new T-SQL function introduced in SQL Server 2012. It is used to concatenate the values. It accepts many parameter values seperated by comma. All parameter values are concatenated to a single string. A simple example is SELECT CONCAT('SQL Server',' 2012') which results to SQL Server 2012 The…

SQL SERVER – Login Failed For User – Reason Server is in Script Upgrade Mode

April 10, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Error Messages

I just can’t get enough of the error messages that land into my Inbox almost every single day. I do my due diligence of making a search in my blogs and I try to hang around in the forums from time to time to learn what people are getting as…

SQL SERVER – The Basics of the File System Task – Part 2 – Notes from the Field #075

April 9, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

Notes from the Field, SQL Backup and Restore, SSIS

[Note from Pinal]: This is a new episode of Notes from the Field series. SQL Server Integration Service (SSIS) is one of the most key essential part of the entire Business Intelligence (BI) story. It is a platform for data integration and workflow applications. In this episode of the Notes from the…

SQL SERVER – Introduction to Policy Management

April 8, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

Policy Management

As March comes, most of us are trying to chase our dreams and hope the much awaited yearend review comes good for us. I know many pray and don’t realize it is just an assessment of what was done the whole of last year. It is not a myopic view,…

SQL SERVER – What is Filtered Statistics?

April 7, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Statistics

Continuous learning is the only way to keep myself up-to-date with SQL Server product features. While I was working for a demo to show usage of SQL Server Statistics, I came across feature called Filter Statistics which was introduced in SQL Server 2008. There are many times when we have…

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SQL SERVER – Transaction Log Backup Failing After Rebuilding Database Log File

April 6, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Scripts

Speaking at community events get me really energized. It is wonderful to connect with people who build some of the greatest code ever for their respective organizations. Last weekend, I was at a conference in Delhi and it was an awesome opportunity for me to meet a number of you.…