Welcome to Database Weekly

Database Weekly is the seven-day roundup from SQL Server Central. We scour the internet with a fine-toothed set of queries to compile the most informative weekly newsletter about SQL Server. Over 670,000 SQL Server professionals rely on it to kick-start their week.

Here at Databaseweekly.com you can sign up for the newsletter, browse the latest news or take Brad’s weekly “DBA Time-Out!” challenge. We’ll keep track of your scores each week so you can keep track of your personal best.

How to Fix Orphaned SQL Users Recently I had to involve in a database migration task. I backed up the database and restored successfully in the new server. However when I access the database through the web site, database login didn’t work. The problem was even though the database user is included in the restored database; the login information was not there. So I re-created the login in the server, but it also didn’t work. This phenomenon is called "orphaned users". read more... Wildcards and Indexes I was asked a good question the other day, one that I wasn’t sure of the answer. The question was “does SQL Server use an index if you have a wildcard in the search predicate?” read more... How do I map a differential/transaction log backup to its full backup without using MSDB? If you have multiple full, differential and transaction log backups, there are chances you may end up facing the following error below during the restore process: “This differential backup cannot be restored because the database has not been restored to the correct earlier state”. read more... Writing T-SQL Merge Statements the Right Way The first of a series articles which David Stein hopes will clear up some of the misconceptions around use of the MERGE statment in SQL Server. read more... Microsoft Free Software – a personal top ten Hyper-V Server, Microsoft Security Essentials, System Center Advisor, SQL Server Express and more... read more... AdventureWorks on Azure now hosted by Red Gate software Red Gate Software takes on hosting the AdventureWorks 2012 sample database on the Azure platform. read more... sp_spaceused Alternative Andrew Kelly provides his own alternative to sp_spaceused. read more... How to Manage Vendor Databases [Video] Are you frustrated by third party applications that you can’t change, but you have to support? Tired of beating your head against the wall when your users complain about things you can’t fix? In this 30-minute session, Brent Ozar will show you his favorite tricks to get the most performance without losing support. read more... Read-Only Access to Virtual Center for DBAs Jonathan Kehayias shows how easy it is to configure permissions for vCenter, as a reference for DBAs to provide to VM administrators when requesting access. read more... Querying the VMware vCenter Database (VCDB) for Performance and Configuration Information Virtual Center uses a database for storing information about the virtual data center and the most common database platform used for this purpose is SQL Server. Virtual Center can use an existing SQL Server in the environment, or it can install SQL Server Express during setup. Jonathan Kehayias has compiled a series of Transact-SQL scripts for pulling information from this VIM_VCDB database. read more... Partial DNS Forwarding Using Individual Windows DNS Zones Mark S. Rasmussen provides a workaround that will allow you to setup partial DNS forwarding using individual Windows DNS zones. read more... Looking at Database Snapshot Performance What is the performance impact of a database snapshot on database write workload? Jonathan Kehayias investigates. read more... SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 Cumulative Update 11 Microsoft has released SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 Cumulative Update 11, which is Build 10.0.5840.00. There are six hotfixes in the public fix list. There is no corresponding cumulative update for earlier service pack levels for SQL Server 2008, since they are retired. read more... Myth-Busting SQL- And Other Injection Attacks Black Hat injection-attacks instructor dishes on the complexity of SQL injection and the prevalence of lesser-known injection attacks read more... Disaster Recovery Planning for Microsoft SQL Server - Getting Backups and Restores Right I'm responsible for ensuring that my SQL Servers can be recovered properly in the event of a disaster. I've heard a lot of the acronyms, but how do I apply this to practical steps with respect to my environment? What else do I need to know other than the magic acronyms? read more... Performance and Stability-Related Fixes in All SQL Server 2008 SP3 Cumulative Updates If you are running SQL Server 2008, you need to be on SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 (Build 10.0.5500) or newer, since all previous SQL Server 2008 Service Pack Levels have been retired and are considered “unsupported service pack” levels by Microsoft. read more... SQL Server 2012 Integration Services - Using PowerShell to Configure Project Environments Marcin Policht demonstrates the use of PowerShell in implementing and utilizing project environments. read more... Statistical Formulas For Programmers Being able to apply statistics is like having a secret superpower. Unfortunately, not enough programmers have this superpower. That's a shame, because the application of statistics can almost always enhance the display and interpretation of data. read more... Azure does Powershell too Grant Fritchey takes a first look at how you can manage your Windows Azure SQL Database through PowerShell. read more... Deploying Database Changes with PowerShell A lightweight way to deploy database changes to multiple environments, consisting of four PowerShell scripts. read more...