Our tools can make us more efficient and productive – if we take the time to learn their secrets. I spend a lot of time in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and have learned valuable tips and features along the way from many others (links provided). SSMS
Read moreMystery of the Changing CASE WHEN Output and Data Type Precedence
I was working on a T-SQL query that had some very particular output requirements for decimal places. The problem seemed fairly easy, but when I tried to form a CASE WHEN statement that produced slightly different decimal lengths for each
Read moreSeveral Habits of a Highly Effective Troubleshooter
As a follow up to my article Anatomy of a Successful Troubleshooter, I began thinking about the habits that I have found effective when troubleshooting. I was trying to coach a teammate with troubleshooting and put together this catalog of what I have
Read moreAnatomy of a Successful Troubleshooter
I recently found myself coaching a teammate with troubleshooting advice, but it seemed like no matter what I offered they were unable to improve their situation or correct bad habits. It seemed like it just wasn’t in their DNA. So,
Read moreZero-Cost Highly Available Reporting Services within a Failover Cluster
This solution is for anyone that has a SQL failover cluster and wishes Reporting Service to be highly available and have failover capabilities. The solution I implemented seems the most natural and how Reporting Services should work right out of the box – but
Read moreAccessing Multiple Cluster Instances without Instance Names
Since I was installing a dual instance cluster, I had setup two virtual SQL database names with different IP address and the second instance required a non-default instance name. However, I wanted to access both instances using the virtual name
Read moreSQL Setup Checklist – Because SQL Defaults Suck!
When installing SQL, it is too easy to click next and accept all the default settings. Kevin Boles has preached for years that SQL Server defaults suck! Joseph D’Antoni has also addressed bad default settings in Building Perfect SQL Servers
Read moreGotchas: Installing SQL 2008R2 on Windows Server 2012R2 Cluster
I was building a new cluster with a dual instance of SQL 2012 and SQL 2008R2. Everything went easy with the SQL 2012 but not so well with the SQL 2008R2 install. As many have found out installing SQL 2008R2
Read more