FREE eBook - Wednesday, January 27, 2010

SQL Server Execution Plans

SQL Server Execution Plans by Grant Fritchey

Buy from Amazon : ~~$29.99~~ $22.79
Free eBook download (free registration required)

Execution plans show you what's going on behind the scenes in SQL Server. They can provide you with a wealth of information on how your queries are being executed by SQL Server, including:

·         Which indexes are getting used and where no indexes are being used at all.
·         How the data is being retrieved, and joined, from the tables defined in your query.
·         How aggregations in GROUP BY queries are put together.
·         The anticipated load, and the estimated cost, that all these operations place upon the system.

All this information makes the execution plan a fairly important tool in the tool belt of database administrator, database developers, report writers, developers, and pretty much anyone who writes TSQL to access data in a SQL Server database.

Given the utility and importance of the tool, you'd think there'd be huge swathes of information devoted to this subject. To be sure, fantastic information is available from various sources, but there really isn't any one place you can go to for focused, practical information on how to use and interpret execution plans.

This is where my book comes in. My goal was to gather as much useful information on execution plans as possible into a single location, and to organize it in such as way that it provided a clear route through the subject, right from the basics of capturing plans, through their interpretation, and then on to how to use them to understand how you might optimize your SQL queries, improve your indexing strategy, and so on.

Specifically, I cover:

· How to capture execution plans in graphical, as well as text and XML formats

· A documented method for interpreting execution plans, so that you can create these plans from your own code and make sense of them in your own environment

· How SQL Server represents and interprets the common SQL Server objects – indexes, views, derived tables etc – in execution plans

· How to spot some common performance issues such as bookmark lookups or unused/missing indexes

· How to control execution plans with hints, plans guides and so on, and why this s a double-edged sword

· How XML code appears in execution plans

· Advanced topics such as parallelism, forced parameterization and plan forcing.

Along the way, I tackle such topics as SQL Server internals, performance tuning, index optimization and so on. However, my focus is always on the details of the execution plan, and how these issues are manifest in these plans. If you are specifically looking for information on how to optimize SQL, or build efficient indexes, then you need a book dedicated to these topics. However, if you want to understand how these issues are interpreted within an execution plan, then this is the place for you.

About the Author

Grant is currently working as a development DBA for FM Global, an industry-leading engineering and insurance company. In his time as a DBA, he has worked at three failed dotcoms, a major consulting company and a global bank. He has developed large scale applications in languages such as VB, C# and Java and has lived with SQL Server from the hoary days of 6.0, right through to 2008. His nickname at work is "The Scary DBA". He even has an official name plate, and he displays it proudly.

Grant volunteers for the Professional Association of SQL Server Users (PASS) and has written and published articles on various topics relating to SQL Server at Simple-Talk, SQL Server Central, the PASS web site, SQL Standard and the SQL Server Worldwide Users Group. He is one of the founding officers of the Southern New England SQL Server Users Group (SNESSUG). Outside work, Grant kayaks, learns and teaches self-defense, brews his own beer, chops wood to heat his house, raises his kids and helps lead a pack of Cub Scouts.

Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: Red Gate Books

Buy from Amazon : ~~$29.99~~ $22.79

FREE Webcast: Tour the Top 10 Treats in Entity Framework 4 - Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Tour the Top 10 Treats in Entity Framework 4

Presented by Julie Lerman, author of Programming Entity Framework

Wednesday, January 27, 2010 10:00 am PST

Visual Studio 2010 and .NET 4.0 bring us a new version of ADO.NET Entity Framework, called Entity Framework 4. From the designer, to the APIs to entire new feature sets to support agile development, even former EF skeptics are getting excited about this version. There is a lot to see. In this one hour webcast, Julie Lerman, who is currently working on the 2nd edition of Programming Entity Framework, will highlight the ten most significant changes to the Entity Framework.

Julia Lerman is the leading independent authority on the Entity Framework and has been using and teaching the technology since its inception two years ago. She is well known in the .NET community as a Microsoft MVP, ASPInsider and INETA Speaker. She is a prolific blogger, a frequent presenter at technical conferences around the world, including DevConnections and TechEd and she writes articles for many well-known technical publications. Julia lives in Vermont where she runs the Vermont.NET User Group, was a founding board member of the Vermont Software Developers Alliance, and is a member of the Champlain College Software Engineering Advisory Board. You can read her blog at www.thedatafarm.com/blog.

FREE! eBook: "Brad's Sure Guide to SQL Server Maintenance Plans" - Thursday, January 14, 2010

Brad's Sure Guide to SQL Server Maintenance Plans

By Brad McGehee

Millions of SQL Server instances run in the offices of small and medium-sized organizations and there are many "accidental" DBAs out there whose job it is to maintain them. Often, they find that they don't have the knowledge, experience, or critically the time, to perform the correct level of maintenance on their SQL Server databases, much as they might like to. This can mean poor performance and reduced availability. Regardless of the size of your organization, if your mission critical data becomes unavailable, then business will suffer greatly.

The Maintenance Plan Wizard and Designer allow you to configure and schedule eleven core database maintenance tasks, ranging from integrity checks, to database backups, to index reorganizations and rebuilds. Brad walks through every one of these tasks covering:

The intent of each task and why it's important
How to configure each task and what all the options mean
Scheduling considerations: when and how often should you run the task?
Customizing and extended your Maintenance Plans using the Designer

Used carefully, these Maintenance Plan tools represent powerful time-saving devices for any DBA. At each stage of the book, Brad explains clearly the correct and incorrect uses for the tool, and indicates where more advanced solutions, using T-SQL or PowerShell scripting, would be more appropriate.

Table of Contents

Chapter 01: Why is Database Maintenance Important?
Chapter 02: Before you Create any Maintenance Plans
Chapter 03: Getting Started with the Maintenance Plan Wizard
Chapter 04: Task Scheduling
Chapter 05: Check database Integrity Task
Chapter 06: Shrink Database Task
Chapter 07: Rebuild Index Task
Chapter 08: Reorganize Index Task
Chapter 09: Update Statistics Task
Chapter 10: Execute SQL Server Agent Job Task
Chapter 11: History Cleanup Task
Chapter 12: Define Back Up Database (Full) Task
Chapter 13: Define Back Up Database (Differential) Task
Chapter 14: Back Up Database (Transaction Log) Task
Chapter 15: Maintenance Cleanup Task
Chapter 16: Using the Maintenance Plan Designer

About the Author

Brad McGehee is an Industry speaker, writer, and consultant on Microsoft SQL Server, specializing in SQL Server performance tuning, clustering, and high availability. He is the founder of www.SQL-Server-Performance.Com, and oversaw its growth to 350,000 visits each month. He is now Director of DBA Education at Red Gate Software. Brad is a frequent speaker at SQL PASS, SQL Connections, SQL Server user groups, and other industry seminars, and he is the author or co-author of more than 12 technical books and over 100 published articles. He spends what time he has left with his family in Hawaii. He is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP, MCSE+I, MCSD, MCT

Book Details

Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Red Gate Books

Test Drive SQL Data Services (SQL Azure) - Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Announcing the New Microsoft SQL Azure, formerly known as SQL Data Services.

SQL Data Services has been renamed to its official release name: Microsoft SQL Azure. We are very excited to also announce that the SQL Azure team is making available a CTP for customers to begin using. Please fill out a short survey and join our mailing list. We will then send you an invitation. Thank you for your interest.
— The SQL Azure team

Sign Up Now: SQL Azure Database CTP

The SQL Azure Database CTP is available for free. Please register below and we will send you an invitation. Due to high demand for the SQL Azure Database CTP, there may be some delays in receiving your invitation codes as we onboard new participants.

Click here for additional information about SQL Azure.

Free eBook - Wednesday, December 16, 2009

The Best of SQLServerCentral.com

Vol. 7

SQLServerCentral.com brings you a variety of articles on all aspects of SQL Server from administration to SML and everything in between.

The articles are written by real DBAs and developers, based on the articles and scripts they use in their daily work. This book is a collection of the best articles from the past year from over 50 authors.

Click here to download

When you download the FREE eBook, you can also choose to download a free 14-day evaluation copy of SQL Toolbelt. If you work with SQL Server enough to use this book then you'd benefit from the SQL Toolbelt.

The SQL Toolbelt allows developers and DBAs to gain access to all the SQL Sever tools we currently produce. This means that when you are working with SQL Server databases, you can have the most powerful set of tools immediately to hand.

SQL Toolbelt™
All 13 Red Gate SQL Server tools in a single installer
Relentlessly tested for accuracy, reliability and ease of use

The SQL Toolbelt allows developers and DBAs to gain access to ALL the SQL Server tools we currently produce, including new releases. This means that when you are working with SQL Server databases, you can finally have the most powerful set of tools right there to hand, when you need them.

The way of the database professional -Whether you are a DBA or a developer, you benefit from using tools that help you work better. The SQL Toolbelt is the simplest and most effective way for you to access all the SQL Server tools that you need, to get your job done, the way you want to do it, and fast.

Products included in the SQL Toolbelt:

SQL Compare® Pro: compare and synchronize schemas
SQL Data Compare™ Pro: compare and synchronize data
SQL Packager™: package, upgrade, and install databases
SQL Prompt™ Pro: seamless IntelliSense-style code completion and layout
SQL Data Generator: automatically populate databases with realistic test data
SQL Dependency Tracker™: graphical impact analysis
SQL Refactor™: a host of smart refactorings on the fly
SQL Doc™: multiple database documentation
SQL Backup™ Pro**: compress, securely encrypt and strengthen backups - fast
SQL Response™**: monitors MS SQL Server health and activity, with alerts and diagnostic data
SQL Multi Script™ Unlimited: execute multiple scripts against multiple SQL Servers with a single click
SQL Comparison SDK ™: automate functionality with our APIs
SQL Object Level Recovery Native™: recover database objects from SQL Server backups

With the SQL Toolbelt, you get it all in one go, once and for all, and you're set for the rest of the year.

50% Off all Print Books at Manning Publications - Monday, December 14, 2009

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives

Contributions from 53 SQL Server MVPs
Edited by Paul Nielsen, Kalen Delaney, Greg Low, Adam Machanic, Paul S. Randal, and Kimberly L. Tripp

Deal of the day for December 14, 2009

Megadeal! 50% off all print Books!

Enter dotd1214 in the Promotional Code box when you check out at manning.com

Check here every day for the 'Deal of the Day'.

A Technical Framework for Data Governance - Saturday, December 12, 2009

Free Downloadable Webcast

Organizations struggle every day with the tradeoffs resulting from the need to maximize benefits derived from IT, while preserving the confidentiality of customer and company data.

Using a technical framework for data governance can help you deal with privacy and security issues and develop a road map for the implementation and execution of governance, risk, and compliance efforts. This webcast will help you find out how you can employ your knowledge of your own organization's data flows and data privacy and security policies to identify threats to data resources, manage risk, and select technical controls to improve the privacy and security of your sensitive information.

Presenters:

Javier Salido, Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Shauna Cook, Audience Marketing Manager, Microsoft Corporation

To download: http://bit.ly/3nadtC

Resume Writing: Standing out from the crowd with a single page resume - Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Free Downloadable Webcast

Most technology jobs require the applicant to submit a resume. While almost everyone has to write a resume at various times in their life, most recruiters and hiring managers agree that the majority of resumes they receive are pretty poor. The good news is that if you know what the folks reading your resume really want, you can differentiate yourself pretty easily. In this webcast, Randy Guthrie shares the secrets of writing an accomplishments-based resume that can set you apart from the crowd in a really positive way and that can greatly increase the chance that you get invited for an interview.

Presenter: Randy Guthrie, Academic Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation

Randy Guthrie is an academic developer evangelist for Microsoft. In this role, Randy provides academic and research support to faculty and students at schools in the U.S. Southwest. Prior to working at Microsoft, Randy was a professor at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he taught software engineering, programming, and information systems courses. During his tenure at Cal Poly, Randy was also the volunteer director of a community employment center. Before his appointment at Cal Poly, Randy spent thirteen years working for the Northrop Grumman Corporation, where he was a contract manager on the Stealth Bomber project, a project manager, and financial analyst. Randy earned his bachelor's degree in business from the University of La Verne, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management, and a PhD in information science from Claremont Graduate University. Randy currently resides in Denver, Colorado, with his wife Jane and son Seth.

To download: http://bit.ly/8tl2f

Behavioral Interviewing: A Behavioral Answer Is the Right Answer - Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Free Downloadable Webcast

In today's competitive job market, companies are becoming increasingly sophisticated in how they interview applicants. One of the emerging interviewing trends that catch a lot of job applicants by surprise is the behavioral interview question. The proper response to these questions is to tell a story about a challenge you have successfully overcome. Being able to survive a behavioral interview requires lots of thoughtful preparation. The good news is that even if you don't get asked behavioral questions, you can use behavioral answers to respond to any interview question. In this webcast, Randy Guthrie reveals how to prepare for a behavioral interview so that you can confidently answer almost any question you get asked in a way that will set you apart from your competition for a job.

Presenter: Randy Guthrie, Academic Developer Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation

To download: http://bit.ly/29bjqs

Interviewing Skills (Part 2 of 2): Interview Formats and Approaches - Saturday, November 28, 2009

Free Downloadable webcast

Your job interview objectives remain the same regardless of the interview format, but you should at least be aware of what you might be up against. In this webcast, we provide you with the information you need to prepare and perform well at any type of job interview you experience.

Presenter: Steffan Martell, Senior Consultant, Personified

Since 1983, Steffan Martell has been helping to improve the talent acquisition and management strategies and tactics of companies in a variety of industries, including staffing and recruiting, aerospace and defense, pharmacy and biotechnology, information technology, transportation, and industrial manufacturing. Steffan's consulting clients include Rockwell Automation, Alpha Technologies, Starbucks, IBM (Rational Software Division), Maersk, GE Capital, Greenbrier, Schnitzer Industries, and MacDonald Dettwiler.

To download: http://bit.ly/62P7vE

Give Yourself a Gift (Database Developer) this Holiday Season - Thursday, November 26, 2009

Some of you have asked for pointers about where/how to start a process to increase/update your skills in order to improve your chances of obtaining the types of positions and promotions you desire. The following is one set of suggestions that can be used to guide your professional development. The learning plan suggests combinations of self study, online training, and classroom training. You can mix and substitute to fit your learning style and financial/time constraints.

Learning Plan for the Database Developer Job Role

This learning plan will help train you for the skills needed to become a Database Developer for Microsoft SQL Server 2008, and earn the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Database Developer 2008 certification.

Once you have completed this learning plan, you will be able to demonstrate your specialized technical expertise -world skills and mastery of SQL Server 2008 by earning a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) credential and a Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) credential.

The Database Developer credential validates your comprehension of the functions and features of SQL Server 2008 and your ability to design and develop a database solution and data access by using SQL Server 2008.

Note: Some steps in this learning plan qualify for a special career offer.

Click here for more information about the Database Developer role and learning plan.

Job Description

As a database developer, you probably work in a medium-sized to enterprise-scale organization and use powerful database management and data analysis tools. Your role is to design, develop, and implement complex database systems, programs, and applications. Your specialty may be writing queries and stored procedures, using data modeling tools, designing and optimizing databases, or implementing at the physical level, but you must have a thorough understanding of relational databases. You are the Microsoft SQL Server expert whose responsibilities might include supporting and securing critical information systems and providing reliable data that can be used in business-specific software solutions.

Skills

· Writing queries

· Designing, programming, and implementing databases

· Troubleshooting programming objects

· Tuning and optimizing database performance

· Designing and troubleshooting the data access layer of an application

· Gathering business requirements

· Typical required experience

· Three years or more

Responsibility scope

50 percent developing and testing solutions, 25 percent administration and management, 25 percent responding to user requests

Possible role names

· Database administrator

· SQL database developer

· Software engineer

· Database engineer

Don't put it off. Make a decision and start down your path to career stability now!

Give Yourself a Gift (BI Developer) this Holiday Season. - Thursday, November 26, 2009

Some of you have asked for pointers about where/how to start your process up increasing/updating your skills in order to improve your chances of obtaining the types of positions and promotions you desire. The following is one set of suggestions that can be used to guide your professional development. The learning plan suggests combinations of self study, online training, and classroom training. You can mix and substitute to fit your learning style and financial/time constraints.

Learning Plan for the Business Intelligence Developer

This learning plan will help you train to become a Business Intelligence Developer for Microsoft SQL Server 2008, and earn the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Business Intelligence Developer 2008 certification.

After completing this learning plan, you will be able to demonstrate your specialized technical expertise, world skills and mastery of SQL Server 2008 by earning a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) credential and a Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) credential.

The Business Intelligence Developer credential validates your comprehension of the business intelligence technologies, including Reporting Services, Analysis Services, and Integration Services and your ability to design and develop business intelligence solutions by using SQL Server 2008.

Note: Some steps in this learning plan qualify for a special career offer.

Click here for more information about the Business Intelligence Developer role and learning plan.

Job Description

As a business intelligence (BI) developer, you bring crucial analytics to business solutions and organizations. Accurate business intelligence often equals competitive advantage in the market, and you are the data expert. Expertise in relational and multidimensional database schemas is a must. You solve real-world business problems by designing and building OLAP (online analytical processing) cubes, applying data mining algorithms, writing queries, and designing reports. Responsibilities range from aggregating data from multiple sources in an efficient data warehouse to designing enterprise-level solutions for very large multidimensional databases.

Skills

· Designing and planning BI solutions

· Debugging, monitoring, and troubleshooting BI solutions

· Writing relational and multidimensional database queries

· Creating and deploying reports

· Configuring, deploying, and maintaining database servers

Typical required experience

Two years or more

Responsibility scope

50 percent developing and testing solutions, 25 percent administration and management, 25 percent responding to user requests

Possible role names

· Business systems analyst

· Application systems analyst

· Database architect

· Solutions architect

Don't put it off. Make a decision and start down your path to career stability now!

Interviewing Skills (Part 1 of 2): Researching the Opportunity - Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Free Downloadable Webcast

You can never know too much about an organization where you are seeking employment. Job interviewers are always impressed when you have conducted your research thoroughly and can ask informed, intelligent questions about the organization and the job. In this webcast, we discuss how to use your research to align your professional goals with your personal vision for success. Find out what tools you can use to gain a competitive advantage and stand out from the other candidates.

Presenter: Steffan Martell, Senior Consultant

To Download: http://bit.ly/1k2pb1

24 Hours of SQL - Saturday, November 21, 2009

24 Hours of PASS

In September, SQL PASS presented a FREE community event featuring some of the top SQL Server and Business Intelligence (BI) speakers in the industry. Over the course of one 24-hour period a series of live one-hour webcasts were broadcast. Database administrators, application developers, BI and IT professionals, and consultants will all benefit from the most up-to-date and comprehensive SQL Server knowledge available.

To enjoy the recordings of this event (free) or find out more information about the exciting topics covered by some of the top names in the SQL Server world, please click here to access the session listing.

Showcasing some of the top SQL Server Community speakers:

Adam Machanic, Andrew Kelly, Allen White, Artemakis Artemiou, Brad McGehee, Brian Knight, Dejan Sarka, Don Kiely, Don Vilen, Erik Veerman, Gail Shaw, Grant Fritchey, Greg Low, Jacob Sebastian, Jessica Moss, John Welch, Kalen Delaney, Kevin Kline, Louis Davidson, Paul Nielsen, Peter Myers, Peter Ward, Simon Sabin, Steve Jones, Thomas Grohser

Apress offers an eBook Deal of the Day for $10 - Thursday, October 29, 2009

What is the eBook Deal Of The Day?

At 12:01 AM PST, a different Apress or friends of ED eBook will be priced at $10 US for a 24-hour period. Check back everyday for a new deal. If you have any further questions, please contact support@apress.com.

If you are unsure what eBooks are, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions.

Pass DBA Virtual Chapter October Meeting - Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Topic: SQL Server High Availablity

Date: October 28th, Noon Eastern

Abstract:

SQL Server provides various High Availability and Disaster Recovery technologies. This session involves discussions on how various customers use these technologies to achieve their HA and DR goals. Focus is on deployment architectures, lessons learned and best practices from real-life customer deployment scenarios.

Speaker:

Sanjay Mishra works as Senior Program Manager in the SQLCAT team in the SQL Server product development organization. In this role, he helps customers successfully deploy the most challenging SQL Server database applications, and uses the lessons learned to drive product improvements. He pioneered the SQL Server Best Practices program though which his team imparts deep technical knowledge to the SQL Server community worldwide. The Best Practices program has become a huge success (visit www.sqlcat.com) among the Microsoft field engineers, consultants, MVPs, partners and customers. Sanjay is a huge proponent of a strong and active SQL Server community, and is a frequent speaker in events such as PASS Summit and TechEd.

Location: Online, via Live Meeting

https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=October+Live+Meeting&role=attend

Special Note: We have changed Live Meeting accounts and will no longer be using a conference call bridge. Two way conferencing will be through Live Meeting. (To use computer audio, you need speakers and microphone, or a headset.)

To save time before the meeting, check your system to make sure it is ready to use Microsoft Office Live Meeting.

First Time Users Troubleshooting

Unable to join the meeting? Follow these steps:

Copy this address and paste it into your web browser:

1. https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join

2. Copy and paste the required information:

3. Meeting ID: September Live Meeting

4. Location: https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups