Speaking in Portland, OR and Tumwater, WA the Week of February 8th

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I’ll be speaking in Portland, OR and Tumwater, WA the week of February 8th, 2010. The details, and the session descriptions, are below. Hope to see you there.

Oregon SQL Developers User Group

Topic: Introduction to Graphical Execution Plans
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
When: 6:30 PM
Where: KOIN Tower, Second Floor Conference Room, 222 SW Columbia ST, Portland, OR 97201

Olympia Area SQL Server Users Group

Topic: How and When to Use Indexed Views
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010
When: 2:30 PM
Where: Labor and Industries, Room S117,  7273, Linderson Way SW, Tumwater, WA 98501

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Questions About SQL Server Backups

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SQL Server backups are a “funny” topic to talk about. If you are talking with experienced DBAs, the topic of backups rarely surfaces, as this is a fundamental skill most DBAs learn early in their career. On the other hand, there are thousands of part-time, accidental DBAs who are tasked with making backups, and they need a lot of help in learning these basics.

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But We Have Always Done It That Way

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I recently ran across the following scenario. A SQL Server instance had been upgraded from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008. At the same time, the older physical hardware had been replaced by newer hardware. The DBA who had set up and configured the older server was no longer at the organization, and a new DBA had performed the upgrade. After the upgrade was completed, I was asked to review its configuration. I started by reviewing the various server and database settings, along with the assorted database maintenance jobs, and then I began to ask questions about them.

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SQL Source Control Early Access Program Open

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Managing T-SQL source code has never been easy, and has often been the bane for many T-SQL developers. Later this year, this problem will go away as Red Gate Software introduces its new SQL Source Control software, which allows T-SQL code to be managed under source control, while working directly from inside of Management Studio. It allows individual developers and development teams to keep their T-SQL code in synch during database development.

SQL Source Control is currently available as part of Red Gate Software’s Early Access Program. The current version works with the free open source Subversion version control system, and the next Early Access Release will support Microsoft Team Foundation Server.

If you would like to get a head start in using SQL Source Control, and would like to provide feedback before its initial release, you can sign up here.

DBA Checklist Updated

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I have recently updated and revised my DBA Best Practices Checklist, which is hosted on www.Simple-Talk.com. The goal of the list is not to cover every aspect of SQL Server administration, but to hit the highlights. In addition, not every item in the checklist will apply to every SQL Server instance, under every circumstance. So like any list of SQL Server best practices, don’t forget that they may or may not apply to  your environment.

If you would like to add your own items to the checklist, or to provide other feedback on the checklist, please do so here, and I will try to include your feedback the next time I update the list.