Blogging ideas
Below is my list of blog ideas. I’ve been collecting them for years. Anytime I have a thought (and I have the list available) I add to it. Not every blog I do is from the list, not everything on the list is suitable for a blog. If you’d like to blog from one of these ideas feel free! Obviously, I have plenty and I’m not going to get to them all. In fact, even if you blog about it it doesn’t mean that I won’t at a later date 🙂
Warning: These are MY ideas, for MY use. If you can’t understand them, don’t like certain ones, that’s fine. You can always start your own list. In fact, I highly recommend it regardless.
- Timesheets vs customer service
- Read only tables
- Linked Server properties
- https://twitter.com/SQLSoldier/status/974364015811026944
- Restrict/allow query access, restrict/allow SP access, distrib transactions
- Dropping indexes before a big insert
- Stretch database
- Backup to Azure
- Explore SSMS
- Different stuff under View
- Different things under options
- Documentation
do it, make it readable, easily understood, & easily found - Index on a calculation
- Index on LEN(columnname) for example
- Column order in an index
- Command line scripting tool just announced
- How many layers of views is ok?
- Database creation date will be overwritten by a restore but you can still find it in msdb.dbo.backupset (and the restore history in restorehistory).
- Trigger order
- Cross DB joins in Azure SQL DB
- sys.dm_exec_query_statistics_xml
- Ways to remove 90% of a table.
- Review 3 options by Aaron http://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/95085/efficently-remove-90-of-a-tables-data/95104
- Try out BCP out / BCP in
- Try out ordered deletes
- What’s in a bacpack & what’s not
- Using SSDT to manage a database
- AG aware jobs
- 32x for SSIS – check if I’ve done this before
- Databases with both read_only and read_write tables
- Unlock a SQL Server login without changing the password
- Confirm I haven’t done this one before
- https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/2758/how-to-unlock-a-sql-login-without-resetting-the-password/
- Cursors: Using a temp table to deal with creating a cursor from dynamic data
- Cursors: Using WHERE CURRENT OF
- Discuss limitations of logins in Azure SQL DB
- No USE in SQL DB
- The real meaning of MAXDOP
- Adding a non-null column with a default 2012+
- Can you use COUNT DISTINCT with an OVER clause?
- Is that ID used for anything? Constructed EmployeeId for example
- Is it displayed anywhere?
- Azure: Move a database up to a cloud VM
- Azure: Make sure that the DB is compatible before you move it to sql DB
- Azure: Get that database back again
- Azure: The differences between moving a DB up to the cloud for SQL Database.
- Azure: Cloud resource links
- DBA Myths: Layered transactions
- You only really have one transaction (compare the point of a transaction with behavior of rollback as proof)
- reference Paul Randal post
- Calendar tables
- Creating, the use of, the benefit of
- https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/4054/creating-a-date-dimension-or-calendar-table-in-sql-server/
- Partitioning on a nullable column causes problems with SWAPs
- Explain what’s wrong with
BEGIN TRAN INSERT INTO tbl VALUES ( REPLICATE('a',5000) ) GO 100 COMMIT GO - DBA Definitions
- minimally logged
- Covering index
- checkpoint
- SARGable
- lock escalation
- What happens when you get enough locks to move to a tab lock
- The tail of the log
- INCLUDE
- When/why should it be used
- Synchronous vs Asynchronous
- Give examples.
- calling a job & service broker – Asynch
- running an SP, general T-SQL – Sync
- Pseudo Simple mode
- Refers to FULL recovery before first backup
- SSIS – Derived columns: New column vs Replace column
- Size of the column is either total size if new, or size if replace.
- Backing up a single table
- Updating intellisense
- Clustered index vs Non-Clustered index that includes all other columns.
- Sharing a query plan with others
- You’re looking at it. How do you export it so others can see it?
- Built in reports (agent, database and server levels)
Headerdatabase table sizes- To be written: (need to come up with a few more ideas before posting the completed ones)
- Process Explorer to find a related windows process when killing a related thread
- Using in memory tables instead of temp tables
- Stress test your database
- Ostress.exe : One of the RML utilities https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/944837
- Can’t get into properties of a database (can’t reproduce)
- Owner_sid was a sql id that’s been deleted?
- Owner_sid was a windows id that’s been removed from the sql server but not windows?
- Owner_sid was a windows id that’s been removed from windows but sql server?
- Owner_sid was a windows id that’s been removed from windows & sql
- The ON clause – a detailed explanation
- ON clauses that don’t match up with the associated JOIN
- http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic1605922-2799-1.aspx#bm1606135
- The +/- in a query window
- Where are tables physically located.
- Unique constraints
- Moving the associated index to an alternate location
- DDL triggers
- Where do you find them?
- http://dba.stackexchange.com/questions/114960/linking-from-database-a-to-a-view-on-database-b-where-is-processing-done#114960
- Why you shouldn’t use string variables without declaring a length
- Within a command, as a variable etc
- Create table is required when turning on SSIS logging the first time on a given SQL Server instance. (with SSISDB may not be true anymore)
- Table Valued Parameters
- Security admin cannot actually grant sysadmin. But it can grant control server.
- Why should you use Control Server instead of sysadmin
- Weird errors that mean you haven’t installed SSIS
- When should you add that perfect covering index (as opposed to one that can be re-used by multiple queries).
- Creating a test database with statistics
- Grant talks about scripting the statistics and then turning off auto update on the new server. This way the compiled plans will be the same.
- http://www.scarydba.com/2015/07/06/but-i-dont-have-a-test-server/
- DBCC CLONEDATABASE
- Find the win win
- Life is hard enough as it is. If you can find that compromise where everyone wins then you are a step ahead.
- Filtered indexes that don’t have the column in the where clause aren’t used
- Being a DBA is a service job
- Your customers are important.
- Don’t let them walk over you though.
- Using SELECT instead of PRINT when debugging.
- Making SSIS see non-default & multiple instances – check 2012 & up
- OPTION (FAST) – what does it do?
- http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1881728/how-do-i-select-the-first-row-per-group-in-an-sql-query
- SELECT INTO vs INSERT INTO SELECT part 2
- TF 610
- Minimally logged conditions
- Basics of using AD Users and Computers
- Don’t over think your import – Picking the right import method
- SSIS package if complex & needs to be repeatable
- IMPORT/EXPORT wiz
- BULK IMPORT
- BCP
- Single row import just write a quick SELECT INTO
- EXEC (@ExecStr) vs sp_executesql @ExecStr
- Methods of recompiling
- recompile
- WITH RECOMPILE
- sp_recompile
- exec sp_name a,b WITH RECOMPILE
- check Kimberly Tripp blog about clearing single use plans
- dbcc freesystemcache(‘sql plans’)
- http://www.sqlskills.com/blogs/kimberly/plan-cache-adhoc-workloads-and-clearing-the-single-use-plan-cache-bloat/
- http://michaeljswart.com/2012/06/visualizing-transaction-isolations-for-sql-server/
- what does “backupset will expire” really do
- sys.dm_io_virtual_file_stats(NULL, NULL)
- What type of lock does TRUNCATE take
- Comment from Itzik Ben-Gan that it’s DDL
- https://twitter.com/John_Deardurff/status/526578645972705280
- SID changed for a local windows account & how to fix
- CTEs can be updateable
- So can derived tables & inline functions
- https://twitter.com/SQL_Kiwi/status/512690803982880768
- Is your query truly asleep or is it having a very active dream?
- Demonstrate that even though a query says “sleeping” doesn’t mean it’s not doing anything
- Tempdb autogrowth
- Demonstrate uneven autogrowth if sized differently
- Demonstrate even autogrowth if sized the same
- Put an expression on a variable in SSIS
- Contained users
- sys.sysowners Argenis & SQLSoldier
- Indexed views
- Requirements to create
- restrictions once created
- get around restrictions by dropping index then re-creating
- Open query vs linked server
SQL Studies 