As I’ve been translating a lot of my TSQL script to Windows PowerShell with SMO, here’s another articleI wrote on how to check for the default SQL Server backup folder
PostInstalling SQL Server 2008 Failover Cluster on a Windows Server 2008 R2?
I did a demo fest on installing SQL Server 2008 Failover Cluster on a Windows Server 2008 system a few weeks back for a user group event and the attendees requested that I post more information about how to do a slipstream of service pack in a SQL Server 2008 installation. With Windows Server 2008 […]
PostCheck the last backup date in SQL Server using Windows PowerShell
This article highlights how to use Windows PowerShell to retrieve database properties using SMO. Notice how easy it is to check the database properties using pretty common syntax One of the challenges I have when I was starting out as a SQL Server DBA was to check for the last backup date for a database. […]
PostA thousand and one reasons for a generic error message.
I’ve spent a couple of hours trying to troubleshoot a clustered SQL Server 2008 installation. All I know is that it throws this error message after the installation process and does not give me any clue at all The cluster resource ‘SQL Server (MSSQLSERVER)’ could not be brought online. Error: The group or resource is […]
PostBroken BACKUP and RESTORE sequence?
Have you ever had the to scratch your head because your database backups won’t work even if you are practically sure that you have tested them properly? Imagine this – you have a regular FULL and DIFFERENTIAL database backups working together as part of your backup process. Your FULL backups run every Sunday and your […]
PostSo you can recover from database snapshots…but…
SQL Server 2005 has given us the option to create database snapshots to create a point-in-time image of the database. This gives us the option to restore from a point-in-time in case of user errors, like maybe accidentally truncating a table. MSDN has provided us a procedural approach on how to restore from database snapshots. […]
PostDid you check your MSDB.dbo.suspect_pages after a database restore?
In SQL Server 2005, the default behavior of a RESTORE command is to simply continue even if there are corrupted pages in your backups. The only way to find out if there are corruptions is when a user gives you a call saying that they could not query some records and probably gets an error […]
PostYou don’t trust your database backups? Use mirrored backup media sets in SQL Server 2005
What could be more frustrating than knowing that your database backups went missing? This is specifically true if you are dealing with transaction log backups which are dependent on log sequence numbers. You don’t want to lose a single transaction log backup in the chain. In previous versions of SQL Server, we just execute a […]
PostAutomating SQL Server 2005 Express Backups and Deletion of Older Backup Files
I’ve compiled a couple of my scripts – both TSQL and VBScript – to create a tip for MSSQLTips.com on automating backups and deletion of SQL Server 2005 Express databases to mimic that of creating a database maintenance plan. You can check out the article for more details. Feel free to post comments on the […]
PostLazy DBA: Backup all your databases using a script
I have a compilation of scripts which I use on a daily basis to help me make my work a bit easier. I always mention during my presentations that the laziest people are administrators who happen to have a programming background. Here’s one that I frequently use. A message on my instant messenger popped up […]
