OK so this will be another first for me…. I’ve done plenty of remote presentations (via LiveMeeting) for PASS Chapters around the world but this will be the first time I’ve actually flown to another PASS Chapter (OKPASS)  and presented live in person!

Something that I’ve always envied about speakers in the US is how easy it is for them to travel (either by plane or driving) to other PASS chapters that are nearby.  From where I live (Edmonton) the ONLY PASS Chapter that is not an minimum of a 10 hour drive is Calgary PASS (Where I’ll be presenting in July) so this is really exciting for me.

PASS is trying to help Regional Mentors get out to the chapters in their region for more “face time” by (currently on a trial basis) allocating some budget money for regional mentors travel expenses.  I think this is an amazing opportunity for Regional Mentors to get out to a chapter that they haven’t been to before, do a presentation, and get some face to face contact.  I know I wouldn’t of been able to present in person for OKPASS if it wasn’t for this so I’m really excited (and thankful) for the opportunity!

Meeting details below:

Date: May 26th 2012
Time: 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Location: Landmark II Building, Suite #702, 1708 Dolphin Ave. Kelowna, B.C.
Speaker: Colin Stasiuk
Topic: SQL 2012 – When Worlds Collide

Session Abstract:

This intro to SQL Server 2012 presentation is going to look at some of the new features and functionality for not only the DBAs (EDMPASS) but also the developers (EDMUG). For the developers in the audience we’re going to discuss and demo new features like paging, result sets, sequence numbers and throws and for the DBAs in the room we’ll discuss AlwaysOn, contained databases, and user defined server roles. Hopefully this will help get you prepared and excited for the upcoming newly released version – SQL Server 2012.

Presenter Information: Colin Stasiuk ( blog | twitter )

Colin Stasiuk is an MCP, MCTS SQL 2005/2008, MCITP DBDEV, and MCITP DBA. Currently, he is an independent consultant contracted to Invidi Technologies Corporation and also provides remote database support and monitoring through his SQL Wingmen service offering. Colin is an accomplished Microsoft SQL Server DBA who has been working with SQL Server since 1996. He is the owner of Benchmark IT Consulting and is always willing to lend a hand with questions in many SQL Server community forums and via Twitter. His specialties include SQL Server Administration, Performance Tuning, Security, Best Practice / Standards, Upgrades, and Consolidation. Colin is the Regional Mentor for PASS Canada, President and founder of EDMPASS, and co-author of Pro SQL Server 2008 Policy-Based Management.

If you’d like to chat with me about this or anything else (SQL or other) please leave a comment or hit me up on my Twitter: @ColinStasiuk

Msg 4922, Level 16, State 9, Line 1

ALTER TABLE DROP COLUMN ColumnName failed because one or more objects access this column.

So what is a nice quick and easy way to list all the statistics that are dependant on that column?

My googling skills are obviously subpar this morning cause I couldn’t find anything to help me and it seems to me that this would be something that lots of people have run into. This is what I came up with:

DECLARE @SearchColumnName	nvarchar(100)
SELECT	@SearchColumnName = 'SearchColumn'
 
SELECT	OBJECT_NAME(A.object_id) as 'TableName',
		C.stats_column_id AS 'StatisticID',
		B.name as 'StatisticName',
		COL_NAME(C.object_id, C.column_id) AS [Name]
FROM	sys.tables AS A	INNER JOIN
		sys.stats B ON B.object_id = A.object_id INNER JOIN
		sys.stats_columns C ON C.stats_id = B.stats_id AND C.object_id = B.object_id
WHERE	COL_NAME(C.object_id, C.column_id) = @SearchColumnName

I dunno… seems like there should be a sp_ListAllStatisticsForAColumn system stored proc or something LOL.

If you have something easier/better please post it in a comment!!

UPDATE:
Change your WHERE Clause to this:

WHERE	COL_NAME(C.object_id, C.column_id) = @SearchColumnName AND
		B.name  NOT IN (Select ISNULL(name,'') from sys.indexes)

If you want to filter out the statistics that are created based on indexes (which can’t be dropped anyways)

Enjoy!!

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/3046360747

Please be sure to not only click the “Add to my calendar” but also the “Register” button so that we can plan accordingly for food and drinks.

Date: March 29th 2012
Time: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: 3rd floor 10180-101 st. (Manulife Place – King Edward Room)
Speaker: Colin Stasiuk
Topic: SQL 2012 – When Worlds Collide

Session Abstract:

This intro to SQL Server 2012 presentation is going to look at some of the new features and functionality for not only the DBAs (EDMPASS) but also the developers (EDMUG). For the developers in the audience we’re going to discuss and demo new features like paging, result sets, sequence numbers and throws and for the DBAs in the room we’ll discuss AlwaysOn, contained databases, and user defined server roles. Hopefully this will help get you prepared and excited for the upcoming newly released version – SQL Server 2012.

Presenter Information: Colin Stasiuk ( blog | twitter )

Colin Stasiuk is an MCP, MCTS SQL 2005/2008, MCITP DBDEV, and MCITP DBA. Currently, he is an independent consultant contracted to Invidi Technologies Corporation and also provides remote database support and monitoring through his SQL Wingmen service offering. Colin is an accomplished Microsoft SQL Server DBA who has been working with SQL Server since 1996. He is the owner of Benchmark IT Consulting and is always willing to lend a hand with questions in many SQL Server community forums and via Twitter. His specialties include SQL Server Administration, Performance Tuning, Security, Best Practice / Standards, Upgrades, and Consolidation. Colin is the Regional Mentor for PASS Canada, President and founder of EDMPASS, and co-author of Pro SQL Server 2008 Policy-Based Management.

Agenda:
5:00 pm – Pizza and Socializing
5:30 pm – Sponsor Presentation
5:45 pm – Feature Presentation
7:00 pm – Wrap Up and Draws

If you haven’t signed up already at EDMPASS.com please do so now to receive meeting notifications, news, and updates from EDMPASS.

Hope to see you there.
ATTENDEE LIVEMEETING LINK – (coming soon)

If you’d like to chat with me about this or anything else (SQL or other) please leave a comment or hit me up on my Twitter: @ColinStasiuk

I was trying to troubleshoot a problem and got to the point where I was questioning everything I knew about backups/restores because I just couldn’t explain what was going on and why a restore was taking so long to finish.

Then I came across this little nugget of awesomeness to help me along the way:

DBCC TRACEON (3004, 3605, -1)

Don’t worry little birdies I’ll feed ya…

Trace Flag 3004 – This gives you a very detailed explanation as to what your restores (and backups) are doing during execution

Trace Flag 3605 – This will write out the results of your Mgmt Studio query to the SQL Server Log rather than to the results window

The results will look something like this (click to enlarge):

To disable (turn off) these trace flags:

DBCC TRACEOFF (3004, 3605, -1)

If you’d like to chat with me about this or anything else (SQL or other) please leave a comment or hit me up on my Twitter: @ColinStasiuk

(my wife LOVES this game)

“Creates a sequence object and specifies its properties. A sequence is a user-defined schema bound object that generates a sequence of numeric values according to the specification with which the sequence was created. The sequence of numeric values is generated in an ascending or descending order at a defined interval and can be configured to restart (cycle) when exhausted. Sequences, unlike identity columns, are not associated with specific tables. Applications refer to a sequence object to retrieve its next value. The relationship between sequences and tables is controlled by the application. User applications can reference a sequence object and coordinate the values across multiple rows and tables.”

MSDN Link for CREATE SEQUENCE

So what did I get from this:

• It’s like Identity but not
• Can reuse values once a limit has been reached
• Sequence can be “shared” between many tables as it is it’s own object
• Has to be assigned to a schema

There are plenty of great examples on how to create and reference a SEQUENCE on the MSDN link above but where I’m struggling is why I would want to use this new functionality?

Some problems/questions I have right off the bat:

• Inserting conflict – what if 2 transactions ask for the next sequence (NEXT VALUE FOR) and both try and commit the same “OrderID”?
• IDENTITY columns can’t be updated “accidentally” … other then the use of a trigger I don’t see how you could prevent an update to a column referencing a sequence
• Reusing sequences just sounds dangerous

I did a quick test of the “Inserting Conflict” issue and created a SEQUENCE:

CREATE SEQUENCE dbo.TestSequence1 AS INT
START WITH 1
INCREMENT BY 1

Then I opened 2 mgmt studio query windows and ran the following:

DECLARE @NextSequence AS INT
 
BEGIN TRAN
SELECT @NextSequence = NEXT VALUE FOR dbo.TestSequence1
 
SELECT @NextSequence

and I’m happy to report that getting the “NEXT VALUE” increments the sequence so as long as you do this within a transaction you should be good to go without worrying about an INSERT conflict.

So where does that leave me?

It leaves me still asking WHY… so where is where the “win a prize” comes in…

HOW TO WIN A PRIZE

In the comments section if you can give me a reason or a use-case as to why/how you would use this over IDENTITY you could win a prize

Now the winner is going to be the reason/use-case/comment that best explains to ME how/why you would use SEQUENCE and why it would be a better solution than an IDENTITY.

Contest end date of: Feb 10th

If you’d like to chat with me about this or anything else (SQL or other) please leave a comment or hit me up on my Twitter: @ColinStasiuk

I start thinking about what I don’t know (a new feature or function, etc) and work through it and then write a blog post about it.  After 4 years of blogging I still haven’t figured out that there are some people out there that don’t know what I know.

I’ve worked 15 years in the SQL Server world and I still assume that everyone not only knows what I know but probably knows more LOL

I’m not sure at what point (if ever) that feeling goes away but a late goal to add to my 2012 list of things to do is to blog more… and while it might not be ground breaking or new stuff for me personally; I’m hoping that it will help some of my readers who might not know some of what I know or who maybe hasn’t had a chance to work with the particular feature I’m talking/blogging about.

Anyways… that’s it I guess just a revelation that I came up with last night sometime.

If you’d like to chat with me about this or anything else (SQL or other) please leave a comment or hit me up on my Twitter: @ColinStasiuk

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2653305107

Please be sure to not only click the “Add to my calendar” but also the “Register” button so that we can plan accordingly for food and drinks.

Date: January 12th 2012
Time: 5:45 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: 6th Floor Room 7 (Stanley A Milner Library)
Speaker: Ryan Adams
Topic: Mirroring: The Bare Necessities

Session Abstract:

Remember Baloo the bear from the Jungle Book? Well we are going to get down to the “bear” necessities of mirroring and more. Mirroring can be an integral part of your high availability and disaster recovery planning. We’ll cover what mirroring is, how it can fit into an HA/DR plan, the rules surrounding its use, configuration via the GUI and T-SQL, as well as how to monitor mirroring. This presentation is designed to not only give you an overview of mirroring, but to also walk you through a basic implementation. At the end you will have learned what mirroring is, how it can fit into your environment, what business requirements it solves, and how to configure it.

Presenter Information: Ryan Adams ( blog | twitter )

Ryan is a highly skilled Microsoft oriented administrator and has worked for a Fortune 100 company for 14 years (2 of those as a contractor). In his time there he has supported everything from desktop to server. Most recently he has served as a senior Active Directory Architect and Identity Management (MIIS, ILM, FIM) Consultant. He is the sole SQL Server DBA for his group, supporting both vendor databases and custom databases. His primary focus is database design and performance, but also works with SSRS report development, and SSIS ETL. He enjoys being involved in the SQL community and serves on the Board of Directors for the North Texas SQL Server User Group as well as the PASS Performance Virtual Chapter. He also serves as a Regional Mentor for the Professional Association for SQL Server. He is well versed in many core Microsoft technologies, has implemented and supported them both nationally and internationally for a company of 250k+ users, and holds the following certifications: MCP MCSA MCSE MCDBA MCTS MCITP

Agenda:
5:00 pm – Pizza and Socializing
5:30 pm – Sponsor Presentation
5:45 pm – Feature Presentation
7:00 pm – Wrap Up and Draws

If you haven’t signed up already at EDMPASS.com please do so now to receive meeting notifications, news, and updates from EDMPASS.

For those who are unable to attend in person here is the Live Meeting Attendee Link:

https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/usergroups/join?id=78DJ42&role=attend&pw=X%5E2Bxh2wg

Hope to see you there.

EDMPASS HOMEPAGE

If you’d like to chat with me about this or anything else (SQL or other) please leave a comment or hit me up on my Twitter: @ColinStasiuk

Cheers and I look forward to catching up with all of you in the new year.

If you’d like to chat with me about this or anything else (SQL or other) please leave a comment or hit me up on my Twitter: @ColinStasiuk

http://swflorida.sqlpass.org/ – SWFSSUG

Doing virtual presentations add a bit of a “weird” dynamic as you can’t see the faces in the room and get a read/feel for things like:

• Is anyone lost?
• Am I going too slow/fast?
• Is anyone asleep?

Here are some of the things that I try and do to help make virtual presentations run smoothly:

• Use good equipment (high speed internet, good lighting, professional microphone, HD camera)
• Clear all distractions (no Twitter, phone, dogs, family, etc)
• Periodically ask if there are any questions/concerns/too fast/too slow
• Print the slide deck w/notes on hand
• If you’re making video of yourself available try to appear as you would of you were presenting live (no housecoats and boxer shorts)

I guess this list really can be used for both physical and virtual presentations but I think the focus on making sure these things do not become a distraction are that much more important when you don’t have a “warm body” in the room with the session attendees.

If you have any additions to the list please leave a comment and I’ll be sure to update the post!

If you’d like to chat with me about this or anything else (SQL or other) please leave a comment or hit me up on my Twitter: @ColinStasiuk

I was able to breakdown what #SQLFamily means to me into 3 categories:

• Technology
• Professional Development
• Personal Relationships

Technology

I cannot think of another technical community out there that offers so many great opportunities to learn about a product like SQL Server.  I’m not just talking about the “paid” events like the PASS Summit, SQLConnections, or SQLRally.

I’m also talking about all the free training out there the local PASS Chapter meetings, SQLSaturdays, 24 hours of PASS, websites, blogs, etc…. people are PASSionate about SQL Server and love sharing their knowledge which is AMAZING.

There are also social networking tools like Twitter (#SQLHelp, #SQLPASS, #SQLFamily), Facebook, LinkedIn, and my new found friend Yammer to use to find even more knowledge.

There are so many ways to get amazing information from some of the best in the business.

Professional Development

Being part of the #SQLFamily means that you are able to surround yourself with people who are like you and people that you aspire to be like.  I can honestly say that if I didn’t jump into the SQL Server Community with both feet I wouldn’t of met the people responsible for helping me:

• Start Blogging here at BenchmarkITConsulting.com
• Start EDMPASS (The Edmonton PASS Chapter)
• Co-Author my first book (Pro SQL Server 2008 Policy Based Management)
• Become the Western Canada Regional Mentor for PASS

All of which has helped me professionally to grow my knowledge,  name, and business as an Independent Consultant.

Personal Relationships

This is what I believe REALLY sets the #SQLFamily apart from other technology communities.

(This is the hardest section of this blog post to describe because to me it is such a phenomenon so bare with me)

The people care, they really do care.  It really is like a family… you might not see everyone as much as you’d like but when you do it’s like you haven’t skipped a beat.  The friendships and camaraderie that I’ve developed through the #SQLFamily are not just “work friends” but real honest to goodness friends.

If someone’s child is sick, they care.  If someone needs to find a new job, they help.  If someone needs an extra $25 in his Movember campaign to take first place, they donate (thanks Jason Strate BTW)

I’m a better person professionally and personally because of my #SQLFamily.

If you’d like to chat with me about this or anything else (SQL or other) please leave a comment or hit me up on my Twitter: @ColinStasiuk