Journal

Upgrading to SQL 2008 ServicePack 3 - problems

Tallarico — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 05:02:19 +0000

I tried to apply the SP3 update to SQL 2008 and now none of my users can connect. They're greeted with "Server is in script upgrade mode".

I've done the Googling for you. Check out my "Upgrade Issues" link under the SQL heading on the right.

Analyzing SQL Server Performance: MDW

Tallarico — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 01:48:21 +0000

I recently discovered a tool that gives me a heads-up into performance across my SQL boxes: MDW. MDW provides graphical reports that allow me to quickly delve into the top waits in my system and what's causing them. Rather than rehash what's already been said about getting MDW configured in your environment I'll hit some of the things that came up in my configuration that haven't been exhaustively covered in other areas of the web. Check out my MDW link under the SQL heading to the right.

Reporting on Exchange NDR/Undeliverable E-mails

Tallarico — Wed, 04 May 2011 03:53:31 +0000

Recently I was asked to report on the non-deliverable (bounceback) e-mails we were sending from an internal mailbox. I put together a Powershell script that grabbed the information from Exchange (version 2007 or above) then imported it into a SQL Server database using SSIS.

In my first post of this series I'll be going over the Powershell script to get e-mails out of the Exchange system then will be posting one of my first (and more exciting) attempts at an ETL solution using SSIS.

Check out the Bounceback Project heading under SQL on the right.

Stay tuned!

Optimize Oracle with CLUSTER's and Index Organized Tables

Tallarico — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 04:00:37 +0000

We have a few nightly processes and day-end reports that are causing contention in the database and all around performing badly. Look at my latest post under the Oracle heading to the right, under "Oracle - performance tuning" for how I solved these issues using Oracle CLUSTER's.

Cheers!

How are they getting access?

Tallarico — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 03:55:47 +0000

I had to chase down a SQL Server permissions issue the other day. In the mess of Windows Integrated Security its sometimes difficult to unwind the tangle of permissions threads to see who actually has rights to the database.

Check out the post under SQL > Security for common queries to determine who has access to what.

Cheers

Reducing SQL transaction logs - revisited

Tallarico — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 03:44:05 +0000

My previous post was incomplete. I've updated the post to accommodate shrinking of those large .ldf files - all without taking the databases down.

Part two: E-mail Oracle query results

Tallarico — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 04:13:43 +0000

This time in a spreadsheet attachment which end users can conceivably manipulate using Excel. Not as elegant as it could be, but still quite useful.

Check out the posts under the Oracle heading.

Cheers

E-mail Oracle Query Results

Tallarico — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 05:24:56 +0000

Had an occasion to e-mail Oracle query results to internal customers. Check out my "Oracle" section on the right for an easy way to send query results in the body of an e-mail message.

Cheers!

Clean a virus off your PC

Tallarico — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 04:16:28 +0000

Had another friend ask me for help getting some insidious virus off his PC the other day, so figured I'd fire off a quick post to help anyone else out there.

The viruses these days are a lot more sophisticated than the ones I used to remove. Nowadays they paint some pretty official looking windows on the screen (almost identical to the ones from Microsoft). They're also preventing users from entering into Task Manager.

Perhaps worst of all they're going into the Internet Explorer settings and changing the proxy server setting to the localhost (127.0.0.1:6522 - where "6522" is some random port that the virus is configured to listen on once it's taken over the machine.

Pretty effective, but it looks like the procedures and tools that we've been using to remove them are still pretty good at getting them off your computers.

If you need help getting a virus off your computer I suggest you check out my post "Virus Removal" under the security heading. It's a pretty cut-and-dry method for beginners to get rid of today's nasty viruses.

Cheers!

SQL Sprawl

Tallarico — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 03:01:21 +0000

Had a chance to outline a strategy to deploy new SQL servers this week and figured I'd turn it into a blog post.

There seems to be a high demand for databases as of late and we were previously struggling with expectations as to where to put 'em all.

Check out the new post under the SQL heading.