Tag Archives: sql server

SQL Server and Fragmentation

There are several types of fragmentation that affect SQL Server, all of which have the potential to cause performance problems.   1)      At the disk/OS level individual files can become fragmented due to growth over time. This can be addressed by a defragmentation tool at the SAN or Windows level. Ask your storage team aboutContinue reading “SQL Server and Fragmentation”

SQL Server 2008 setup may report a Windows 2008 cluster validation failure

You may receive the error “The cluster either has not been verified or there are errors or failures in the verification report” while installing a SQL Server clustered installation on Windows 2008. When see this error you must fix the underlying error that caused Windows validation to fail. Even though in some cases you couldContinue reading “SQL Server 2008 setup may report a Windows 2008 cluster validation failure”

How to tell what edition your SQL Server setup files are

The setup files for SQL Server look pretty much the same for all editions. If you saved the files somewhere but didn’t indicate in your directory name or a readme file which edition they are for, how do you tell the edition? Running setup doesn’t necessarily help, the initial setup screens for SQL Server 2005Continue reading “How to tell what edition your SQL Server setup files are”

How to use PsGetSid for SQL Server

To translate a SID to a name or vice versa, you can use this tool from sysinternals:     PsGetSid v1.43 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb897417.aspx   You can use it to translate the SID in these registry keys into the SQL Domain Groups or local groups used for SQL Server 2005/2008 instance permissions. The SID is stored inContinue reading “How to use PsGetSid for SQL Server”

Checklist for upgrading to a new version of SQL Server

Here is the basic process for a full version upgrade (such as 2000 to 2008) of the SQL Server engine. The steps will be different for RS or AS. I did not include all the details of variations such as replication, mirroring, log shipping, full-text search, or clustering. They are covered in the white paperContinue reading “Checklist for upgrading to a new version of SQL Server”

Considerations for installing SQL Server on VMWare

You still need to follow the standard SQL Server best practices, security, and preparation when you install on a VMware VM. Below are some additional considerations with regards to VMware.   Key points: ·         You must double check that your combination of VMWare, Windows, and SQL will be supported. o   By Microsoft: http://windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvpwizard.htm, http://support.microsoft.com/?id=956893 o   ByContinue reading “Considerations for installing SQL Server on VMWare”

SQL Server and TCP Chimney

If you are using SQL Server or Analysis Services: I suggest you double check that your SNP settings, especially TCP Chimney Offset, are all OFF unless your NIC vendor has verified they support it and you have installed their version of drivers that support it. Windows 2003 SP2 turned it on by default, you can disableContinue reading “SQL Server and TCP Chimney”

How to automate Update Statistics

For SQL Server 2005 here are some options to update statistics with the default settings that samples the data instead of reading every row:   1) If you are also defragmenting your database with REBUILD and/or REORGANIZE you will want to integrate your Update Statistics into that schedule. When you do a REBUILD you areContinue reading “How to automate Update Statistics”

SQL Server with NetApp SAN

If you are planning to use  NetApp as the SAN for your SQL Server instance(s), take a look at these documents in addition to the normal SQL Server IO planning best practices documents. TR-3779 Sizing best practice guide. http://media.netapp.com/documents/tr-3779.pdf TR-3696 This is for the storage layout best practices. http://www.netapp.com/us/library/technical-reports/tr-3696.html White Paper on 1 TB DSS systemsContinue reading “SQL Server with NetApp SAN”

x64 Windows – Upgrade from 32bit SQL Server to 64bit SQL Server

Many people are now upgrading from 32bit to 64bit SQL Servers. Most of you have a match between your operating system and your SQL Server platform. For example, most of you install a 32bit SQL Server on 32bit Windows, and if you have the x64 platform of Windows, you usually install the x64 SQL Server.Continue reading “x64 Windows – Upgrade from 32bit SQL Server to 64bit SQL Server”

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