SQL Archives - Page 124 of 519 - SQL Authority with Pinal Dave

SQL Server – Knowing Deprecated or Discontinued Features Using Extended Events

May 23, 2015

This blog is in continuation to what I wrote couple of weeks back – SQL Server – Knowing the Use of Deprecated or Discontinued Features. The concept of using a deprecated feature is not by intensions by developers but is an accident for many. When I wrote that blog post, lesser…

SQL SERVER – Only Formatted Files on Which the Cluster Resource of the Server has a Dependency can be Used

May 22, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

Getting little help and learning from each other always helps. When I don’t get to know of something and I need to explore something, I try to check with my SQL friends who can guide me in the right direction. This blog is a classic example of me trying to…

SQL SERVER – Puzzle with MONTH Function – Win USD 50 Amazon Gift Card

May 20, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

Embarcadero

It has been a while since we ran the contest. I reached out to kind team of Embarcadero and they agreed to support the next contest. The contest has two steps and they are very simple. It took me a while to build contest, but it is a really fun…

SQL SERVER – Antivirus Exclusions Best Practices With SQL Server

May 19, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Utility

One of the classics as far as best practices is concerned is to exclude SQL Server files and folders on your antivirus programs running on the server. We all know this statements and often I see DBAs not adding any extra care to this recommendation. There are not many blogs…

SQL Authority News – SQL Server 2014 Service Pack 1 Available for Download

May 18, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Download, SQL Service Pack

Last month, Microsoft announced SQL Server 2014 Service Pack 1 and it had issues with SSIS catalog. Microsoft has once again released SQL Server 2014 Service Pack 1 earlier today and it is now available to download. I hope all the issue with earlier version has been taken care and the…

Interview Question of the Week #020 – What is the Difference Between DISTINCT and GROUP BY?

May 17, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Interview Questions and Answers, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Scripts

Question: What is the Difference Between DISTINCT and GROUP BY? Answer: A DISTINCT and GROUP BY usually generate the same query plan, so performance should be the same across both query constructs. GROUP BY should be used to apply aggregate operators to each group. If all you need is to remove duplicates,…

SQL SERVER – Service Pack Error – The User Data directory in the registry is not valid. Verify DefaultData key under the instance hive points to a valid directory

May 16, 2015

Pinal Dave

SQL, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks

SQL Error Messages

As a good SQL Server DBA, I always keep updating my SQL Server on my all VMs with the latest service pack available. During my last installation of service pack 2 on SQL Server 2012, I got below error. The User Data directory in the registry is not valid. Verify…