Insight on replication agent status can be collected manually or programmatically. This article will consider both cases, and also when a replication agents’ status will be determined in relation with all publications, or a particular one.
February 24, 2017
Every database in a SQL Server environment has two basic states: full availability (online state) or full unavailability (offline state).
February 20, 2017
In the Understanding SQL Server database static data and how it fits into Database lifecycle management, we covered topics from the basics (what is the static data, why it is used), followed by the explanation of how to version control the static data, meaning how to initially commit, how to track changes and how to apply static data from SQL source control to a database.
February 13, 2017
When working with databases, availability and performance are of paramount importance. Performance of a database is based on multiple factors, key among them is being able to process queries quickly. That can be facilitated using indexes. Indexes are like the table of contents in a book, providing shortcuts to where the information is located. Otherwise, you would have to start reading the book from start until you find the information neededIt’s the same with databases, if it weren’t for indexes, for every query there would need to be an entire table scan.
February 8, 2017
As described in the article Understanding SQL Server database static data and how it fits into Database lifecycle management, the reasons for version controlling static data were reviewed.
February 8, 2017
As explained in this article Understanding SQL Server database static data and how it fits into Database lifecycle management including static data in SQL Server database source control is important for a successful CI/CD implementation.
February 3, 2017
Database development teams show an increasing interest in getting their SQL Server databases into source control. However, depending on the team’s actual needs, their development plan and the level of source control integration required, there are various ways to achieve getting a database under source control.
January 25, 2017
While working with a number of databases, creating a recovery plan can be challenging, especially if we want a foolproof design. Automated backup and restore strategies ensures the recovery plan is successful. However, strategies relying on frequent backups, although part of a sound strategy, can start causing issues when available storage space becomes limited. Old database backups are in many cases unnecessary, and it is often prudent to delete those backups to increase available storage. This can be done manually or automatically. There are several options to delete old backup files automatically in SQL Server:
January 19, 2017
In the article “Understanding SQL Server database static data and how it fits into Database lifecycle management” we covered what is static data in general and numerous reasons why it needs to be version controlled.
January 13, 2017For the second use case, when only data changes are made to the source control repository, a combination of 3rd party applications – ApexSQL Build and ApexSQL Data Diff, can be used to perform this Sync step. ApexSQL Build can be used to build a database from the source control repository along with its static data, while ApexSQL Data Diff can be used to synchronize data from the built database to a QA database.
January 13, 2017If only schema changes are made in the source control repository, a 3rd party tool – ApexSQL Diff can be used to perform the schema synchronization. ApexSQL Diff is a tool that can be used to compare and synchronize schema differences between live SQL database, source control repositories, database backups, script folders and ApexSQL snapshots. It can handle any dependencies, triggers, etc. and create an error-free synchronization script, while ensuring a database integrity.
January 13, 2017In order to begin this process, first the tSQLt, (SQL Server database unit testing framework) has to be installed on the database which will be used for unit testing. This can be done manually in SSMS by right-clicking the selected database in the Object explorer, find the Unit tests menu and select Install tSQLt.
January 13, 2017ApexSQL Generate is a tool that can populate SQL databases with test data using multiple generators for each column. It supports a full range of SQL data types and has an ability to recognize them in a loaded SQL database and provide real-world test data based on contained data types. It can generate: randomized test data using the Random generator and various options, and using the Regular expression generator, sequential data using the Incremental generator, and much more.
January 13, 2017
ApexSQL Build is a tool that can build a new SQL database, update an existing SQL database, and consolidate scripts. Additionally, it can deploy databases directly from the source control repository, create C# solution or executable installer, and build SQL databases from scripts, ApexSQL snapshots, or script folders.
January 13, 2017
Before proceeding with committing database changes, a database first needs to be linked to the source control repository:
January 13, 2017
Once you have your continuous integration (CI) and or continuous delivery (CD) aka Database lifecycle management process built, configured, successfully testing and ready to roll, the next decision point is when to run it and how.
January 13, 2017
In general, the term “failover” refers to switching from a previously active machine, other hardware component, or network to a passive (or unused) one, to sustain high availability and reliability. In most cases, a failover event is an automatic process, while a the similar event, switchover, requires manual intervention in switching between the active/passive elements.
January 13, 2017
When working with SQL Server database static data in the context of version control, there are several key requirements.
January 12, 2017
As a DBA considering version controlling a database, there are a lot of challenges to setting up the team with software to check in changes, to manage the development environment (shared or dedicated models) and set the rules of the game – locking vs not locking etc. But before committing to this fully, a potentially preliminary stage would be to set up a centralized system, where the database was automatically committed to source control each night. This could be done by a single person and wouldn’t require developer participation or even knowledge.
January 10, 2017
In the article, “What is a data dictionary and why would I want to build one?” a data dictionary was described and compared to other alternatives to documenting, auditing and versioning a database. The article also described the difference between a Dumb and a Smart data dictionary.
Now that we’ve whetted your appetite, this article will explain how to create a smart data dictionary using XML schema change exports from ApexSQL Diff.
January 10, 2017
