Orphaned users

Servers have Logins, and databases have Users.

A Login and a User account are linked, sharing the same name and the same SID. Naturally, for each Login there can be many User accounts – one in each database.

Now, if you backup a database on one server and restore it onto another server. It may contain Users within that database, that do not have a corresponding Login on the second server.

Execute this command (against each user database) to list any orphaned Users

SELECT 	DP.type_desc,
        DP.SID,
        DP.[name] UserName
FROM [sys].[database_principals] DP
LEFT JOIN [sys].[server_principals] SP
       ON DP.SID = SP.SID
WHERE SP.SID IS NULL
AND DP.authentication_type_desc = 'INSTANCE';

To fix this you can either remove the orphaned user account or create a matching login. Removing a user account is tricky to script as you need to remove individual attributes first.

Creating a login depends on the type, SQL or Windows. For SQL logins paste the name, SID, and password* into this command and execute it.

USE [master]
GO
CREATE LOGIN [SomeLogin]
WITH PASSWORD = 'SomePassword',  
SID = 0xSomeSid;

(*If you do not know the SQL login password that was used on the old server then create a new one. They are not linked)

To create a Windows login use this command …

USE [master]
GO
CREATE LOGIN [SomeDomain\SomeLogin] 
FROM WINDOWS 
WITH DEFAULT_DATABASE = [master];

Greetings

Welcome to my technical blog. I like data and databases they seem to be at the heart of everything, although my perspective may be a tad biased :).

Here I plan to jot down things that trip me up in work, along with things I find interesting. There will be no “level” to my posts, some will seem blindingly obvious. Hopefully others will be deeper and of more interest.

I enjoy performance tuning and feel I bring a holistic perspective to the task. When I have time I like to reverse engineer slow code – rather than just refactoring the slow bits :).

Below, I will mostly write in the first person (“… this worked for me” rather than “this may work for you if your environment is similar to mine”) in the hope that you can adapt my succinct notes that ACTUALLY WORKED to your situation.

Set every users default schema to DBO where its blank

In this quick script I am assuming the Windows domain is called ‘DOM’ …

-- ChangeDefaultSchemaToDboWhereNull.sql

DECLARE @cmd varchar(1000) 

SET @cmd = 
'USE ? IF DB_ID(''?'') > 4 SELECT ''USE ?; ALTER USER ['' + name + ''] WITH DEFAULT_SCHEMA = [dbo]''
 FROM sys.database_principals
 WHERE default_schema_name IS NULL
 AND [name] LIKE ''DOM\%'''

IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#output') IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #output
CREATE TABLE #output
(command varchar(1000))

INSERT INTO #output
EXEC sp_MSforeachdb @cmd

SELECT * 
FROM #output


SQL Snapshot worksheet

— snapshots.sql

–1. create a snapshot

USE master;
GO
CREATE DATABASE Credit_Snap
ON  
    (
    NAME = CreditData,
    FILENAME = 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL15.SQL2019\MSSQL\DATA\CreditData.ss'
    ),
    (
    NAME = CreditCatalog,
    FILENAME = 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL15.SQL2019\MSSQL\DATA\CreditCatalog.ss'
    )
AS SNAPSHOT OF Credit;

–2. restore database from a snapshot

USE master;
GO
DECLARE @kill VARCHAR(8000) = '';
SELECT @kill = @kill + 'kill ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(5), spid) + ';'
  FROM master..sysprocesses
 WHERE dbid = DB_ID('Credit')
   AND spid > 50;
EXEC (@kill);
RESTORE DATABASE Credit FROM DATABASE_SNAPSHOT = 'Credit_Snap';

–3. delete snapshot

USE master;
GO
DROP DATABASE Credit_Snap;

— testing

SELECT *
FROM [Credit].[dbo].[member]
WHERE member_no = 22

BEGIN TRAN
UPDATE [Credit].[dbo].[member]
SET Firstname = 'DRY'
WHERE Firstname = 'CRRY'
ROLLBACK TRAN

SELECT aa.*
FROM [Credit].[dbo].[member] aa
JOIN [Credit_Snap].[dbo].[member] bb
  ON aa.member_no = bb.member_no 
WHERE aa.Firstname <> bb.Firstname;

Transactional Replication causing High CPU

In Publication Properties the setting “Subscriptions never expire …” has a surprising effect on the job “Distribution clean up: distribution”.

This job removes orphaned and replicated transactions from the Distribution database once the retention period has expired.

However, “Subscriptions never expire …” stops this procedure from removing orphaned transactions – left by a deleted subscription – or for any other reason.

This results in the Distribution database growing and high CPU.

To fix this, allow subscriptions to be able to expire.

So failed subscriptions may be deleted if not fixed within a year. This preserves the robustness of “Subscriptions never expire”, whilst allowing orphaned transactions to be cleaned up.

Change SQL Server Collation

To change the default collation of my SQL 2019 instance on my laptop to “SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS” I …

– Found the saved the location of sqlservr.exe into notepad.

– Added [cd ] in front of the path (that’s cd and a space, without the square brackets)

– Added a second line in notepad [sqlservr -m -T4022 -T3659 -s”SQL2019″
-q”SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS”] (without the square brackets)

– Stopped the SQL Server service

– Opened a Command Prompt as Administrator

– Executed the first command (cd …)

– Executed the second line (sqlservr …)

– Rebooted.

Save emergency contact details to Azure Blob Storage

This was part of the business continuity plan, so that HR had a list of employees next-of-kin etc, off-site.

I created a Job with 2 steps (Export using BCP and Import using AZCopy).

-- bcp.sql


-- Create the command to be executed

	DECLARE @cmd VARCHAR(1000) = 
                'bcp SomeDatabase..SomeView out 
                E:\SomePath\SomeFileName.txt -c -t, -T -S' + @@servername;

-- Run this if command-prompt is disabled

	IF (SELECT value_in_use FROM sys.configurations WHERE name = 'xp_cmdshell') = 0
	BEGIN
		EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1; RECONFIGURE; -- show advanced options
		EXEC sp_configure xp_cmdshell, 1; RECONFIGURE; -- enable command-shell
		EXEC xp_cmdshell @cmd; -- run the command
		EXEC sp_configure 'xp_cmdshell', 0; RECONFIGURE; -- disable command-shell
		EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options', 0; RECONFIGURE; -- hide advanced options
	END;

-- Run this if command-prompt is enabled
		
	ELSE
		EXEC xp_cmdshell @cmd;

Step-1 overwrites the file each time.

In preparation for the azcopy command I used Azure Explorer to connect and create a fileshare called “BCExtract”.

Right-Clicking on this I chose “Generate Shared Access Signature”, and “Ad hoc Shared Access Signature”. I left all the defaults as they were except I increased Expiry time a bit.

I pasted the “Shared Access Signature URI” into notepad, added a backslash, then the “Shared Access Signature Token” making one long string.

Before this string I added “azcopy copy ” then the local path to the CSV file in double quotes.

-- azcopy.sql


-- Create the command to be executed

	DECLARE @cmd VARCHAR(1000) = 
		'azcopy copy "E:\SomePath\SomeFileName.txt" 
                "https://SomeLocation/SomeSharedAccessToken"'

-- Run this if command-prompt is disabled

	IF (SELECT value_in_use FROM sys.configurations WHERE name = 'xp_cmdshell') = 0
	BEGIN
		EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options', 1; RECONFIGURE; -- show advanced options
		EXEC sp_configure xp_cmdshell, 1; RECONFIGURE; -- enable command-shell
		EXEC xp_cmdshell @cmd; -- run the command
		EXEC sp_configure 'xp_cmdshell', 0; RECONFIGURE; -- disable command-shell
		EXEC sp_configure 'show advanced options', 0; RECONFIGURE; -- hide advanced options
	END;
	
-- Run this if command-prompt is enabled
		
	ELSE
		EXEC xp_cmdshell @cmd;

Dropping a user that owns a schema (Error: 15138)

Manually highlight and run #1. Paste the result into #2.

-- DropFailedForUser.sql

-- The statement (that caused the error)

   USE [master] -- in this case
   GO
   DROP USER [Dom\SomeUser]
   GO

/* The Error ...

   Drop failed for user 'Dom\SomeUser'
   The database principal owns a schema in the database
   and cannot be dropped. Error: 15138
   */

-- #1. find the name of the schema

   SELECT [name]
   FROM sys.schemas s
   WHERE s.principal_id = USER_ID('Dom\SomeUser');

-- #2. transfer ownership of the schema to 'dbo'

   ALTER AUTHORIZATION ON SCHEMA::[SomeSchemaName] TO dbo;

-- repeat "The Statement"

Redgate SQL Data Compare

I love this tool for refactoring. With a result set of over 3,000 rows across 60 columns, eyeballing similar outputs in a spreadsheet just would not do.

To use this tool, I modified the original query to output INTO a new table “_output” in the current database. Near the start of the query I put an IF EXISTS/DROP statement (more commonly used with temp tables), and at the bottom of the query I selected star from _output.

After improving the original query code (and saving it with a new name), I modified it similarly to the above – outputting results INTO table “_output” but in a DIFFERENT database.

I configured “SQL Data Compare” to use every column of the first “_output” table as a “comparison key”. And can now confirm the two tables called “_output” in different databases are identical.

Drop all tables that start with underscore

In an ironic twist of fate I adapted my ‘Drop all temp-tables’ script, to drop all tables beginning with an underscore.

Yes, it is ironic, because it uses a temp-table to store the working list of tables to be deleted. Whilst my original script used a real table to store a list of temp-tables.

Well … ok then

-- DropAllTablesStartingWithAnUnderscore.sql

IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#tables') IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #tables
SELECT [name] 
INTO #tables
FROM sys.tables
WHERE [name] LIKE '/_%' ESCAPE '/'

DECLARE @table VARCHAR(200), @cmd VARCHAR(500)
WHILE (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #tables) > 0
BEGIN
	SET @table = (SELECT TOP(1) [name] FROM #tables)
	SET @cmd = 'drop table ' + @table
	EXEC(@cmd)
	DELETE FROM #tables WHERE [name] = @table
END

In case you were wondering why I created these underscore-tables in the first place. I was refactoring a stored-procedure that took over an hour to run, and had a large number of temp-tables. I wanted to persist those temp-tables for another day, and not have to start from scratch.

(one day I’ll write a book on how I refactor / re-write)

Find the partner of a bracket in SSMS

Faced with a barrage of tabbed T-SQL in SSMS it can sometimes be quite difficult to see the close bracket that signifies – for example – the end of a CTE.

TIP: swipe from the inside of the bracket outwards to highlight (in grey) the bracket itself, and also its partner. EG: swipe right-to-left across an open bracket.

Running CHECKDB on TempDB

Normally I would not bother, but when CHECKDB runs on TempDB it cannot use a snapshot so has to lock all the temp tables. This script will wait for exclusive access for up to a minute.

DECLARE @outcome VARCHAR(50) = 'TempDB is currently too busy for CHECHDB', 
	@endtime DATETIME = DATEADD(mi,1,GETDATE())
WHILE GETDATE() < @endtime
BEGIN
  IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.dm_tran_locks WHERE request_mode = 'X' AND resource_database_id = 2)
  BEGIN
    DBCC CheckDB([tempdb]) WITH NO_INFOMSGS;
    SET @outcome = 'success'
    BREAK;
  END
  WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:01';
END
SELECT @outcome

A TDE test restore

Post migration, I wanted to make sure an encrypted database on a new SQL 2014 Enterprise edition server could be restored.

I installed SQL 2014 Developer edition on a second machine and initially got the expected error …

Msg 33111, Level 16, State 3, Line 2
Cannot find server certificate with thumbprint.
Msg 3013, Level 16, State 3, Line 2
RESTORE DATABASE is terminating abnormally

1. I checked if the target server was enabled for TDE …

SELECT * FROM sys.symmetric_keys

This returned one row, I checked against the source server and that returned two rows. I concluded that the target server was NOT yet TDE enabled.

2. To enable TDE on the target …

USE Master
GO
CREATE MASTER KEY ENCRYPTION
BY PASSWORD = '[SomePwIJustMadeUp]';
GO

3. Next I copied over the two files (*.cer and *.pvk) from the backup location to the target server and installed the certificate into Master …

USE Master
GO
CREATE CERTIFICATE [NameOfTheDatabase]_Cert2
FROM FILE = '[PathAndNameOfLocalCopyOfCertFile].cer'
WITH PRIVATE KEY (FILE = N'[PathAndNameOfLocalCopyOfPvkFile].pvk',
	  DECRYPTION BY PASSWORD ='[TheSourcePwIGotFromKeepAss]');
GO

4. After which I was able to restore the database as normal.

Docker installs

The traditional way to the install something like 7zip on a Windows laptop would be:-

  • Use Google to find the software’s website.
  • Go there and download a zip or MSI file
  • Run the (unzipped) installer or MSI file
  • Start the software by clicking a desktop icon or finding it in “all programs”.

The equivalent steps in docker would be:-

  • Find the software on docker hub with docker search
  • Downloads the software image with docker pull
  • Create a container from the image with docker create
  • Start the software by running the container with docker start

However, a better way would be:-

  • Find the software on docker hub with docker search
  • Download, unpack, install, and start the software with docker run

Searching every Procedures for a string.

To search every stored procedure in every database on every server (ranging from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2016) for the string ‘QueryTraceOn’, I first registered every server within SSMS.

Right-clicking on the registered server folder, I chose ‘new query’ and ran ‘select 1’ to exclude from my list any server with issues.

Once I had an error free list, I ran this code (which took around 40 minutes) …

-- SearchProcs4String.sql

EXEC sp_MSforeachdb 'use ?
SELECT db_name() [Database], ROUTINE_SCHEMA + ''.'' 
+ ROUTINE_NAME [Proc]
FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.ROUTINES WITH (NOLOCK)
WHERE ROUTINE_DEFINITION LIKE ''%QUERYTRACEON%'';'

Getting away from Dedupe jobs

Duplicate data should ideally be stopped at the front end. However if a table already contains duplicate data you may want to bash out some code to clean it up. And schedule a SQL job to run the code regularly.

However, there are mechanisms baked right into SQL Server to manage this more efficiently (step away from scripting everything – devops 😉 )

True enough, you need to run code (once) to clean out all the current duplicates, but going forward a unique filtered index can keep them out.

For this particular project “duplicate data” meant that an CustID column should not contain a number already in that column if the Country was ‘GB’ and the PackageID was ‘5’.

Here is a simplified example of my solution …

-- ix_BlockDupCustIDs.sql

IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#t1') IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #t1;
CREATE TABLE #t1 (CustID INT, CountryCode CHAR(2), PackageID INT);

CREATE UNIQUE INDEX ix_BlockDupCustIDs 
ON #t1 (CustID) 
WHERE CountryCode = 'GB' AND PackageID = 5;

INSERT INTO #t1 VALUES (1, 'GB', 5) -- yes
INSERT INTO #t1 VALUES (2, 'GB', 5) -- yes
INSERT INTO #t1 VALUES (1, 'GB', 4) -- yes
INSERT INTO #t1 VALUES (1, 'US', 5) -- yes
--INSERT INTO #t1 VALUES (1, 'GB', 5) -- no, duplicate
--INSERT INTO #t1 VALUES (2, 'GB', 5), (3, 'IR', 1) -- no for both
--UPDATE #t1 SET PackageID = 5 WHERE PackageID = 4 -- nope

SELECT * FROM #t1;

How to run SQL Server within Docker

Here is my bare-bones walk-through for setting up SQL Server Developer Edition within Docker for those of us who don’t have time to learn docker right now.

1. I navigated to the Docker website and read about Docker Desktop before installing Docker Desktop for Windows (and creating an account) from my Windows 10 Pro laptop.

During installation I chose to use Windows containers by default, rather than Linux.

2. To find SQL Server Developer Edition, I reached out to the Docker Hub online library from my laptop with this command (typed into a Command-Prompt or Powershell window)

docker search mssql

… which brought back this list …

Annotation 2020-04-04 113431

The second item down on the list is from Microsoft, is in a Windows container, and is the Developer edition.

I copied the name into Notepad and composed this command around it to download, extract, and run SQL Server within a docker container …

docker run -d -p 1433:1433 -e sa_password=Pa55word# -e ACCEPT_EULA=Y --restart always -v C:\temp:c:\temp -v sqldata:c:\var\opt\mssql microsoft/mssql-server-windows-developer

Breaking down that command …

  • Docker = invoke Docker
  • Run = download, extract, and execute something from Docker Hub.
  • -d = detached mode. That is, run independent of the command line.
  • -p 1433:1433 = map external port 1433 to internal port 1433.
  • -e sa_password=Pa55word# = create an environment variable called sa_password containing the text “Pa55word#” (without the double quotes).
  • -e ACCEPT_EULA=Y = create another variable called ACCEPT_EULA containing the value “Y”.
  • –restart always = automatically start when Windows starts
  • -v c:\temp:c:\temp = map my laptop folder c:\temp to the docker folder c:\temp
  • -v sqldata:c:\var\opt\mssql = persist user databases
  • microsoft/mssql-server-windows-developer = this is the thing to “Run” (see above).

When complete (after 30 minutes or so) I connected via my regular laptop SSMS (IE: outside of the container) …

Annotation 2020-04-04 110654

… and added it to my registered servers as “Docker SQL Server Developer edition”

(Incidentally, that server name “dot” implies the local default instance on the default port. I could just as correctly have typed “localhost” or “localhost,1433”. Or from another laptop I would have used the IP address of the host laptop.)

Next I changed my Windows setting so the Docker icon would always be visible …

Capture

… so that on subsequent boots, I just need to wait for the icon to stop wobbling before connecting to the database via SSMS (and no need for any pesky Docker commands).

To import a backup I moved it to my laptop c:\temp and restored from there using SSMS.

“And finally” (as the late, great, Ronnie Corbett used to say), if after a while it all goes horribly wrong, as software tends to do, you can either uninstall docker and start this article again.

Or venture into the docker command-line to list (docker ps), stop (docker stop ~), then remove the SQL container (docker rm ~). Before using the green command above again.

More on pesky Docker commands soon.

Migrating to SQL Server 2017 / 2019

(for JH) When migrating to SQL Server 2017 or SQL Server 2019 the name of the game is “Risk Mitigation”. Avoid the temptation to bundle other improvements into the project. Business continuity is first, last, and everything in between.

Server Architecture should be duplicated Exactly in the new environment.

Server Rationalization – nope. Before the migration would be best, because if unexpected issues arise you are on familiar ground. But you have unused logins? databases? jobs? – double nope (Before or after, not during).

SQL Server Role based security – nope. That has been best practice for the last 20 years. This is not the time to make up for lack of database administration. 21 years will be fine.

High Availability – Avoiding downtime is important and HA helps with that. But as long as you have a mature backup system in place, this can wait until the migration is complete. Nope.

Backups – Are less clear cut. But even if the old system is a quirky high maintenance mill stone. It is still familiar, and you don’t want to add unfamiliar complexity at this time. This should be next on your list though.

Disaster Recovery – There are new toys, like clusterless AG’s but again – nope.

Compatibility Level – Should match the old system. A few months after the deed is done, you can quietly try switching less important databases, one at a time (database administration is a perpetual business).

SSIS Packages – Should be rationalized from Packages to Projects … after the migration. Oh and if a package fails after being moved and upgraded, change the environment NOT the package.

Encryption is much easier with modern versions of SQL Server. Schedule this for a few months down the line.

Cardinality Estimator – You may have picked up on a theme here 🙂 – nope. Set it to legacy for reliable performance, for now.

Start SSMS as another user

There are a few ways to open SQL Server Managaement Studio as another Windows user. You can simply hold down the Shift key and right-click SSMS. Alternativly, you can create a shortcut on the desktop that uses the built in ‘Runas.exe’ command.

In notepad I assemble the 3 parts needed …

1. Full path to runas.exe
2. The Windows account I want to use
3. The full path to the SSMS executable.

Here is an example …

C:\Windows\System32\runas.exe /user:ZGROUP\rsmithadmin "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 18\Common7\IDE\Ssms.exe"

Log Shipping for Migration

The trouble with backing up databases in ‘old production’ then restoring them to ‘new production’ is that it takes time.

And there may be some unforeseen delay switching the front-end apps over.

Resulting in ‘old production’ being updated with new data, and ‘new production’ becoming out of date.

Log-shipping is an ideal, built-in, tool that can be used to keep ‘new production’ in sync with ‘old production’ during that phase between backup/restore and switching the front-end to ‘new production’.

This time around there was no need to script the setting up of log-shipping. There were only 13 databases, so using the GUI did not take long.

The idea is to complete the backup/restore a week or so before the switch-over and set-up log-shipping to keep the data in sync.

Then at the designated switch-over time, it takes only a moment to bring ‘new production’ on-line, as a fully up-to-date copy of ‘old production’.

Here is my crib-sheet …

 

Preparation

  • Primary and secondary servers should have as near as possible the same instance settings eg: max-memory, numa configuration, CLR, max dop, etc
  • Ensure user databases are using full recovery model
  • Create shared folder (on the target ideally)
  • Default backup compression is enabled (ideally)
  • Reduce VLF counts
  • Configure file share folder and connectivity
  • Disable tlog backups on primary

Preparation – Secondary Instance

  • Ensure enough space for databases
  • Matching drive letters for datafiles and logfiles (ideally)
  • Configure file share

Preperation – Monitor Instance

  • Ideally separate from primary and secondary

Security

  • Config login is a sys admin role
  • SQL server service account on primary needs read/write permission on backup directory (for the backup job)
  • SQL server service account on secondary needs read permission on backup share and read/write permission to secondary share (for copy / restore jobs)

Configuring log-shipping

  • Manually backup and restore database (with no recovery)
  • Use notepad to cut and paste connection strings and paths
  • Transfer logins, jobs and linked servers

The switch over

  • Manually execute the backup, copy, and restore jobs a final time
  • Manually restore each database “with recovery”
  • Detach old databases (so there is no chance of them being updated)
  • Point front-end-applications to new back-end server

Post Migration

  • Full backups (the old ones cannot be restored now)
  • Update all statistics
  • Check compatability level
  • Execute dbcc checkdb
  • Enable plan-store (read/write)
  • Monitor health and performance

Installing SQL 2017 on a cluster

Remote onto node-1 with the SQL DVD inserted (or mounted), and Windows Failover Cluster already created with shared drives D, L, T, and S. (and ideally Z for backups, but not in this case).

Preperation

  • Re-boot (if “access denied” end task “Service Host: DCOM Server Process Launcher (4)”)
  • From Failover Cluster Manager run “validate cluster” (expect warnings for software level and only one network)
  • Copy media to local drive (IE: SQL Server, CU, and maybe SSMS)
  • Ensure you have service accounts for Engine and Agent.
  • Take a screenshot of Windows uninstall screen – to aid possible uninstall

Run on each node individually

  • Advanced
  • Advanced cluster preparation
  • Product Key, next
  • Licence Terms, tic, next
  • Microsoft Update, next
  • Prepare Failover Cluster Rules (Windows Filewall Warning), next
  • Feature Selection #1, [Database Engine Services]
  • Feature Selection #2, root = [S:\]
  • Instance Configuration, instance name, Instance ID
  • Server Configuration, Agent and Engine (automatic), svc accounts, Grant perform VMT tasks
  • Feature Configuration Rules, next
  • Ready to Install, install

On Active Node

  • Advanced
  • Advanced cluster completion
  • Cluster Node Configuration, Create AD name for instance
  • Cluster Resource Group, next
  • Cluster Disk Selection, tic all required disks (EG: D, L, T)
  • Cluster Network Configuration, tic IPv4, untic DHCP, choose address within subnet (EG: 10.8.0.1)
  • Server Configuration, next

Shared Settings

  • Database Engine Configuration #1: sa pw, add current user, sql service account.
  • Database Engine Configuration #2: Root = D:\, Data = D:\MSSQL, Log = L:\MSSQL, Backup = D:\Backup
  • Database Engine Configuration #3 (tempdb): Data = T:\MSSQL, Log = L:\MSSQL
  • Ready to Install, Install

Uninstall – if needed

  • If it failed before “Advanced cluster completion” just remove from each node via Contol Panel.
  • If it fails at the very end. You will need to run “Remove node from Cluster”, in the Maintenance tab of the media installation program.

 

Azure Backups and Restores

Backups

“Azure SQL Database” includes automatic (compressed) backups. The retention period is 7 days for Basic and 35 days for Standard and Premium. Backups are geo-replicated. The backup schedule is weekly full, hourly diff, and tlog backups every 5 minutes.

All backups support point-in-time recovery with a 12 hour RTO, and 5 minute RPO for in-region backups.

Max backup storage size is twice the tier database size limit (EG: Standard = 500GB of backup space). If exceeded a) request to reduce retention period. b) pay extra at standard read rate.

Long term backup archiving can be done using a) manual export to BACPAC on Azure Blob Storage. b) Long-Term-Retention to Azure Backup Vault for up to 10 years.

Restores

Databases can be restored (if within retention period). Further, all databases and their backups are deleted if you drop a Server.

Local restores can be to a point-in-time, can be renamed, but cannot overwrite an existing database.

Install Azure SQL Server and Databases

Portal click-by-click

1. Create SQL Server
– Home / SQL Servers / Add
– Subscription: “FT”
– Resource Group: “(New) SD-resource”
– Server Name “SD-server”
– Region: “(Europe) UK South” (London)
– Admin login “SD-login” / pw
– Allow Azure Services to access this server: “No”
– Enable advanced security: “Not now”
(wait 2 minutes)

2. Create SQL Database
– Home / SQL Databases / Add
– Database name: “SD-db”
– Elastic pool?: No
– Resources: “5 DTU’s (Basic)”
– Data source: “None” (blank database)
(wait 2 minute)
– Home / SQL Databases
– Database Features
– TDE: “Off”

3. Server level Connectivity
– Home / SQL Servers / Server name: “SD-server.database.windows.net” (cut)
– SSMS (paste) / SQL Server Authentication / SD-login / pw

3b. Messages
– “The requested name is valid, but no data of the requested type was found” =
server name was wrong.
– “New Firewall Rule” = your i/p is not on the server firewall list. Do you want to add it ? = Yes

4. (optional) database connectivity
a. exec sp_set_database_firewall_rule dbfwrule1, ‘86.168.15.119’, ‘86.168.15.119’;
b. select * from sys.database_firewall_rules
c. exec sp_delete_database_firewall_rule dbfwrule1

Notes
– Azure SQL DB offers 3 service tiers: Basic, Standard, and Premium.
– These tiers define performance and recovery.
– Performance is measured in DTU’s
– Multiple DB’s can share resources through Elastic Database Pools.

Postcode search

The root cause of the slow search was that 90 MILLION stored postcodes were being retrieved and manipulated (to remove spaces) before being compared with ONE search input.

--- OLD CODE -----------------

DECLARE @PostCode VARCHAR(8)
SELECT Forename,
       Surname,
       AccountNumber AS CustomerNo,
       AccountStartDate,
       AddressLine2 AS Address,
       PostCode,
       DateOfBirth
FROM [dbo].[SV_Customers]
WHERE (CountryCode = 'GB')
  AND (REPLACE(Postcode, ' ', '') = @PostCode);

My insight was to manipulate just the ONE input postcode before comparing it TWICE (with and without a space) to the un-manipulated postcodes stored in the database.

The first task then, was to split the input postcode into two parts. In all formats the last 3 characters were number, letter, letter.

So after saving the last part of the postcode separately, it was easy to deduce that the first part must be the whole thing minus the last part.

--- NEW CODE -----------------

DECLARE @PostCode VARCHAR(8);
DECLARE @pc2 CHAR(3) = RIGHT(@PostCode, 3);
DECLARE @pc1 VARCHAR(4) = REPLACE(@PostCode, @pc2, '');

SELECT Forename,
       Surname,
       AccountNumber AS CustomerNo,
       AccountStartDate,
       AddressLine2 AS Address,
       Postcode,
       DateOfBirth
FROM [dbo].[SV_Customers]
WHERE CountryCode = 'GB'
  AND (PostCode = @pc1 + @pc2         -- without space
   OR  PostCode = @pc1 + ' ' + @pc2); -- or with space

T-SQL Window Functions

“Window” sounds a bit like the singular of Microsoft’s Operating System, huh?

But no, imagine that each cell in a spreadsheet has two little glass “Windows”, one in the ceiling of its cell and one in the floor.

Then the occupant of cell C3 could look up at the occupant of C2 and wave, or down at C4 and blow a raspberry.

But there’s more, the occupant of cell C3 can now look up and down past cells C2 and C4 at ALL the occupants of the C column.

Now instead of cells in a spreadsheet imagine cells in a database table.

create table #t1 (c int)
insert into #t1 values (10), (20), (30), (40)

select * from #t1

select *,
    lag(c, 1) over(order by c) [Waving up],
    lead(c, 1) over(order by c) [Rasberrying down],
    SUM(c) OVER() [Sum of c]
from #t1

drop table #t1

WindowResults3

Stored Procedure Template

I always try to adopt the local standards. But where I’m setting one, here’s my Stored Procedure starting template …

-- NewProcTemplate.sql

USE DemoDW
GO

/* ========================================================================
Author:		Richard (RbS)
Date:		19 July 2019
Usage:		To list SalesPeople by Store. 
Example:	Exec [DemoDW].[dbo].[SPU_DimSalespersonGetByStore] @Store = '1'
Safe4Prod:	NO! {by default}
============================================================================ */

ALTER proc SPU_DimSalespersonGetByStore -- SPU_{Object}{Action}
               @Store NVARCHAR(50)
AS
BEGIN; SET NOCOUNT ON;

 SELECT StoreName, SalespersonName
 FROM [DemoDW].[dbo].[DimSalesperson]
 WHERE StoreName = @Store;

END
GO

NOTE: I do not develop within this template. To stay open minded I always start development from a simple select star statement. Then when that’s all good, its pasted in here, parameterized, tested, and adjusted (thanks Doug).

Migration with Log-Shipping

I had a requirement to script a repeatable SQL 2014 ent to SQL 2016 std migration. This was to be for up to 200 databases and therefore needed to be automated.

I chose to encapsulate a blend of TSQL and Powershell in a non-scheduled SQL Job. And as we were going UP a version but DOWN an edition, I felt log-shipping would be the best option.

I idea was to run the job a week or so before hand. Then at the time of the migration (a weekend), just 15 minutes of data (per database) would need to traverse the network.

The SETUP job had 9 steps :-
1. Create a control table
2. Backup (because you never know)
3. Decrypt
4. Move Logins and Fix Orphans
5. Shrink the log-file
6. Log-Ship: Initial Full backup to remote-server
7. Log-Shipping: Initial Restores on Remote in recovery mode.
8. Log-Shipping: Create BACKUP jobs locally
9. Log-Shipping: Create COPY and RESTORE jobs remotely.

Step-1

-- 1.ControlTable.sql

USE msdb;
GO

IF OBJECT_ID('[msdb].[dbo].[LSList]') IS NOT NULL
    DROP TABLE [msdb].[dbo].[LSList];
GO

CREATE TABLE [msdb].[dbo].[LSList] ([database] NVARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
                                    backup_directory NVARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
                                    backup_share NVARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
                                    backup_destination_directory NVARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
                                    pre_mig_backup INT NOT NULL,
                                    is_encrypted INT NULL,
                                    LS_backup INT NULL,
                                    start_time_offset INT NOT NULL);

INSERT INTO [msdb].[dbo].[LSList] ([database],
                                   backup_directory,
                                   backup_share,
                                   backup_destination_directory,
                                   pre_mig_backup,
                                   start_time_offset)
VALUES (N'DatabaseName1', N'h:\shipping', N'\\LocalServerName\shipping', N'\\RemoteServerName\shipping', 0, 2);

INSERT INTO [msdb].[dbo].[LSList] ([database],
                                   backup_directory,
                                   backup_share,
                                   backup_destination_directory,
                                   pre_mig_backup,
                                   start_time_offset)
VALUES (N'DatabaseName2', N'h:\shipping', N'\\LocalServerName\shipping', N'\\RemoteServerName\shipping',0, 4);

-- populate encryption flag

UPDATE [msdb].[dbo].[LSList]
    SET is_encrypted = 1 -- yes
    WHERE [database] IN (SELECT db.[name]
                                          FROM sys.databases db
                                          JOIN sys.dm_database_encryption_keys dm
                                          ON db.database_id = dm.database_id );

-- select * FROM [msdb].[dbo].[LSList]

Step-2

-- 2.PreMigBackups.sql

-- select * from [msdb].[dbo].[LSList]
-- update [msdb].[dbo].[LSList] SET pre_mig_backup = 0

DECLARE @Query  NVARCHAR(MAX),
        @dbname VARCHAR(200);

WHILE (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM [msdb].[dbo].[LSList] WHERE pre_mig_backup = 0) > 0
BEGIN
    SET @dbname = (   SELECT TOP 1 [database]
                        FROM [msdb].[dbo].[LSList]
                       WHERE pre_mig_backup = 0);

    SET @Query = N'BACKUP DATABASE [' + @dbname + '] 
	TO  DISK = N''H:\SQL Backup\' + @dbname + '_' + replace(convert(varchar(16), getdate(),126), ':','') + '.bak'' 
	WITH COPY_ONLY, NOFORMAT, INIT,  STATS = 10';

    EXEC sp_executesql @Query;

    UPDATE [msdb].[dbo].[LSList]
    SET pre_mig_backup = 1
    WHERE [database] = @dbname;
END;

Step-3

-- 3.decrypt.sql

DECLARE @Query  NVARCHAR(MAX), @dbname VARCHAR(200);

/* 
 is_encrypted 
 null = no
 1 = yes
 0 = not any more
*/

WHILE (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM [msdb].[dbo].[LSList] WHERE is_encrypted = 1) > 0
BEGIN

    SET @dbname = (SELECT TOP 1 [database] FROM [msdb].[dbo].[LSList] WHERE is_encrypted = 1);

  /* 1 set encryption off */

    SET @Query = N'ALTER DATABASE [' + @dbname + N'] SET ENCRYPTION OFF;';
    EXEC sp_executesql @Query;

  /* 2 pause until decrypted */

    WHILE (  SELECT dm.encryption_state
                    FROM sys.databases db
                    LEFT JOIN sys.dm_database_encryption_keys dm
                       ON db.database_id = dm.database_id
                    WHERE [name] = @dbname)  1
    BEGIN
        WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:10';
    END;

  /*3 drop key */

    SET @Query = 'USE [' + @dbname + ']; DROP DATABASE ENCRYPTION KEY';
    EXEC sp_executesql @Query;

  /* 4 log changes then move on */

    UPDATE [msdb].[dbo].[LSList]
       SET is_encrypted = 0
     WHERE [database] = @dbname;

END;

-- Stop MLB

-- DECLARE @Query  NVARCHAR(MAX),
--        @dbname VARCHAR(200);

IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#tlist') IS NOT NULL
    DROP TABLE #tlist;
SELECT [database]
  INTO #tlist
  FROM [msdb].[dbo].[LSList];

WHILE (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM #tlist) > 0
BEGIN

    SET @dbname = (SELECT TOP 1 [database] FROM #tlist);

    SET @Query = N'EXEC [msdb].[smart_admin].[sp_set_db_backup]
					@database_name = [' + @dbname + N'],
					@enable_backup = 0'; -- off

    EXEC sp_executesql @Query;

    DELETE FROM #tlist
     WHERE [database] = @dbname;

END;

Step-4

Powershell.exe "Export-DbaLogin -SqlInstance LocalServerName -Append  -Path C:\temp\LocalServerName-logins.sql"

Powershell.exe "Export-DbaUser -SqlInstance LocalServerName -Append  -Path C:\temp\LocalServerName-users.sql"

Powershell.exe "Copy-DbaLogin -Source LocalServerName -Destination RemoteServerName -ExcludeSystemLogins"

Step-5

Powershell.exe "Repair-DbaOrphanUser -SqlInstance RemoteServerName"

Managed Backups

Managed Backups were a great new feature with SQL 2014 and above. They allow backups to the cloud and are managed from within SSMS.

There is a GUI but its just for initialization. Configuration all happens through TSQL. Here is my work sheet …

-- managedBackups.sql

-- view server config

USE msdb;
SELECT * FROM smart_admin.fn_backup_instance_config();

-- view server config details

USE msdb;SELECT db_name, is_managed_backup_enabled, retention_days, storage_url, encryption_algorithm
FROM smart_admin.fn_backup_db_config(NULL)

-- disable individual log backup

USE msdb;
EXEC smart_admin.sp_set_db_backup
@database_name = [DISC_Green_Abbey_8230003_test],
@enable_backup = 0;

Caching result sets

(For Sam) I wanted to performance tune a stored-procedure that was just one big SELECT statement (used to return all current Orders).

The code was just about as optimum as it could get, and returned around 8,000 rows each time, taking about 35 seconds to do so.

I saved the output over a few consecutive days and noticed (crucially) that most of the rows were the same each day.

My big-idea then, was to pre-cache (and pre-format) the results on “Day One”, and just append new rows to that going forward.

The final working stored-procedure contained 5 labeled areas:-

 - (1. Create and fill a cache-table if there isn't one)
 - 2. Save a thin version of the current data to a temp-table
 - 3. Add only NEW data to the cache-table
 - 4. Remove DELETED data from the cache-table
 - 5. Output the cache-table

1. If the cache-table didn’t exist, run the original query, but saving INTO a cache-table. Mostly this step was not executed, but I wanted the stored-procedure to be complete.

There was a DateTime column in the results set that was guaranteed to be unique. I made this the primary-key of the cache-table.

2. In a separate window, I stripped back the original query until just the DateTime column was returned. Unnecessarily, I added code to the top to delete any temp-table called “#thin” if it already existed (my habit). Then I added code to save the stripped back query results INTO a temp-table … called “#thin”.

This step would run every time, and the output could be compared with the old data (in the cache-table) to add any new rows, and knock off any old ones.

3. The original query was executed but with a WHERE clause added, like WHERE prod.DateTime not in (SELECT DateTime FROM #thin). The 2 or 3 (fat) rows returned from this step were appended to the cache-table.

4. A simple DELETE removed any rows from the cache-table where the DateTime was not in the #thin table.

5. The Cache-table was SELECT’ed in full as the stored-procedures output. Which typically ran in around 7 seconds. Despite the extra round-trip to the database.

Testing. After a day or two compare the old / new result sets in spreadsheet tabs and adjust indexing accordingly (As always, full responsibility lies with the implementer).

Addendum. To help performance I later changed Step-3 from …

WHERE prod.DateTime not in (SELECT DateTime FROM #thin)

… to …

LEFT JOIN cache.table cac ON cac.DateTime = prod.DateTime
WHERE cac.DateTime IS NULL

ORDER BY CASE

In TSQL I recently discovered how to use the CASE command in the ORDER BY clause to sort results in custom ways.

For example, to order countries with the UK and USA at the top then the rest alphabetically would in the past have caused me to either generate a calculated ‘CountrySort’ column or UNION two queries.

Now I can do this …

ORDER BY CASE
		WHEN countryid = 1 THEN 'AAA'
		WHEN countryid = 23 THEN 'AAB'
		ELSE countryname END

Which translates as …

‘Order by countryname
having first replaced the countryname with ‘AAA’ where the countryid is 1
and ‘AAB’ where its 23′.

Here are the results (including countryid for clarity)…

countrysort

Column Max Length

From my “Spreadsheet sizer” script, this one helped me move sensibly away from pesky varchar(max) columns.

-- ColumnMaxLength.sql

DECLARE @TableName VARCHAR(255) = 'customers' --<< input
DECLARE @SchemaName VARCHAR(255) = 'dbo' 
DECLARE @sqlcmd varchar(max) 

select @sqlcmd = stuff((SELECT ' union all
select ' 
+ QUOTENAME(table_schema,'''') + ' [Schema], ' 
+ QUOTENAME(TABLE_NAME,'''') + ' [Table], ' 
+ quotename(column_name,'''') + ' [Column],
max(datalength(' + quotename(column_name) + ')) MaxLength 
from ' + quotename(table_schema) + '.' + quotename(table_name)
from information_schema.columns
where 1=1
AND table_name =  @TableName
AND table_schema = @SchemaName
order by column_name
for xml path(''),type).value('.','varchar(max)'),1,11,'')

exec(@sqlcmd)

Comparing Stored-Procedures

Had a bit of a problem today with the re-write project.

I had been checking new stored-procedures in the DEV database, and (if good) pasting them into the WEB database.

The issue was that some DEV stored-procedures that I had already checked-in to WEB had been modified again.

Rather than trying to enforce version-control (mmm), or download Redgate’s SQL Compare, I modified my ‘Whats New” routine to compare the modify-dates between the DEV and WEB databases.

-- CompareSP.sql

SELECT [dev].[type_desc],
       (SELECT [name] FROM [companydev].[sys].[schemas] WHERE [schema_id] = [dev].[schema_id]) [schema],
       CASE [dev].[parent_object_id]
           WHEN '0' THEN [dev].[name]
           ELSE OBJECT_NAME([dev].[parent_object_id]) + '.' + [dev].[name]
       END [object_name],
       [dev].[create_date],
       [dev].[modify_date], -- or create-date if there isn't one
	   '' v,
	   [web].[modify_date] web_modify_date , 
	   DATEDIFF(MINUTE, [dev].[modify_date], [web].[modify_date]) mod_diff
FROM [companydev].[sys].[objects] dev
JOIN [companyweb].[sys].[objects] web
  ON [dev].[name] = [web].[name]
WHERE [dev].[is_ms_shipped] = 0 -- exclude system-objects
AND [dev].[type] = 'P' -- just stored-procedures
--AND [dev].[modify_date] > '21 nov 2018'
ORDER BY [dev].[modify_date] DESC;

Adding a NOT NULL column to an existing table

-- AddingNotNullColumnToExistingTable.sql

-- 1. Add new column to the old table, as NULL for now

	ALTER TABLE [dbo].[TableName] 
	ADD [ColumnName] INT NULL

-- 2. Set the default to zero for new rows

	ALTER TABLE [dbo].[TableName] 
	ADD CONSTRAINT [DF_TableName_ColumnName] 
	DEFAULT(0) FOR [ColumnName]

-- 3. Change all existing null values to zeros

	UPDATE [dbo].[TableName] 
	SET [ColumnName] = 0 
	WHERE [ColumnName] IS NULL

-- 4. Change column from NULL to NOT NULL

	ALTER TABLE [dbo].[TableName] 
	ALTER COLUMN [ColumnName] INT NOT NULL

-- Undo (while testing)

	ALTER TABLE [dbo].[TableName] 
	DROP CONSTRAINT [DF_TableName_ColumnName]

	ALTER TABLE [dbo].[TableName] 
	DROP COLUMN [ColumnName]

Calendar UK

Must be that time of year again :). Adapted from Aaron’s beautiful US calendar script …

-- CalendarUK.sql
use [Dev];

-- initialize period

	DECLARE @StartDate DATE = '20000101', @NumberOfYears INT = 30;

-- prevent set or regional settings from interfering with 
-- interpretation of dates / literals

	SET DATEFIRST 7; -- sunday is the first day of week
	SET DATEFORMAT mdy; -- thats month/day/year
	SET LANGUAGE US_ENGLISH;

	DECLARE @CutoffDate DATE = DATEADD(YEAR, @NumberOfYears, @StartDate);

-- 1. this is just a holding table for intermediate calculations:

	IF OBJECT_ID('tempdb..#cal') IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE #cal
	CREATE TABLE #cal
	(
	  [date]       DATE PRIMARY KEY, 
	  [day]        AS DATEPART(DAY,      [date]),
	  [month]      AS DATEPART(MONTH,    [date]),
	  FirstOfMonth AS CONVERT(DATE, DATEADD(MONTH, DATEDIFF(MONTH, 0, [date]), 0)),
	  [MonthName]  AS DATENAME(MONTH,    [date]),
	  [week]       AS DATEPART(WEEK,     [date]),
	  [ISOweek]    AS DATEPART(ISO_WEEK, [date]),
	  [DayOfWeek]  AS DATEPART(WEEKDAY,  [date]),
	  [quarter]    AS DATEPART(QUARTER,  [date]),
	  [year]       AS DATEPART(YEAR,     [date]),
	  FirstOfYear  AS CONVERT(DATE, DATEADD(YEAR,  DATEDIFF(YEAR,  0, [date]), 0)),
	  Style112     AS CONVERT(CHAR(8),   [date], 112),
	  Style101     AS CONVERT(CHAR(10),  [date], 101)
	);

-- use the catalog views to generate as many rows as we need

	INSERT #cal([date]) 
	SELECT d
	FROM
	(
	  SELECT d = DATEADD(DAY, rn - 1, @StartDate)
	  FROM 
	  (
		SELECT TOP (DATEDIFF(DAY, @StartDate, @CutoffDate)) 
		  rn = ROW_NUMBER() OVER (ORDER BY s1.[object_id])
		FROM sys.all_objects AS s1
		CROSS JOIN sys.all_objects AS s2
		ORDER BY s1.[object_id]
	  ) AS x
	) AS y;

-- 2. create the real table

	IF OBJECT_ID('dbo.CalendarUK') IS NOT NULL DROP TABLE dbo.CalendarUK
	CREATE TABLE [dbo].[CalendarUK]
	(
	  DateKey             INT         NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
	  [Date]              DATE        NOT NULL,
	  [Day]               TINYINT     NOT NULL,
	  DaySuffix           CHAR(2)     NOT NULL,
	  [Weekday]           TINYINT     NOT NULL,
	  WeekDayName         VARCHAR(10) NOT NULL,
	  IsWeekend           BIT         NOT NULL,
	  IsHoliday           BIT         NOT NULL,
	  HolidayText         VARCHAR(64) SPARSE,
	  DOWInMonth          TINYINT     NOT NULL,
	  [DayOfYear]         SMALLINT    NOT NULL,
	  WeekOfMonth         TINYINT     NOT NULL,
	  WeekOfYear          TINYINT     NOT NULL,
	  ISOWeekOfYear       TINYINT     NOT NULL,
	  [Month]             TINYINT     NOT NULL,
	  [MonthName]         VARCHAR(10) NOT NULL,
	  [Quarter]           TINYINT     NOT NULL,
	  QuarterName         VARCHAR(6)  NOT NULL,
	  [Year]              INT         NOT NULL,
	  MMYYYY              CHAR(6)     NOT NULL,
	  MonthYear           CHAR(7)     NOT NULL,
	  FirstDayOfMonth     DATE        NOT NULL,
	  LastDayOfMonth      DATE        NOT NULL,
	  FirstDayOfQuarter   DATE        NOT NULL,
	  LastDayOfQuarter    DATE        NOT NULL,
	  FirstDayOfYear      DATE        NOT NULL,
	  LastDayOfYear       DATE        NOT NULL,
	  FirstDayOfNextMonth DATE        NOT NULL,
	  FirstDayOfNextYear  DATE        NOT NULL
	);
	GO

-- 3 populate the real table from the temp table

	INSERT dbo.CalendarUK WITH (TABLOCKX)
	SELECT
	  DateKey     = CONVERT(INT, Style112),
	  [Date]        = [date],
	  [Day]         = CONVERT(TINYINT, [day]),
	  DaySuffix     = CONVERT(CHAR(2), CASE WHEN [day] / 10 = 1 THEN 'th' ELSE 
					  CASE RIGHT([day], 1) WHEN '1' THEN 'st' WHEN '2' THEN 'nd' 
					  WHEN '3' THEN 'rd' ELSE 'th' END END),
	  [Weekday]     = CONVERT(TINYINT, [DayOfWeek]),
	  [WeekDayName] = CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), DATENAME(WEEKDAY, [date])),
	  [IsWeekend]   = CONVERT(BIT, CASE WHEN [DayOfWeek] IN (1,7) THEN 1 ELSE 0 END),
	  [IsHoliday]   = CONVERT(BIT, 0),
	  HolidayText   = CONVERT(VARCHAR(64), NULL),
	  [DOWInMonth]  = CONVERT(TINYINT, ROW_NUMBER() OVER 
					  (PARTITION BY FirstOfMonth, [DayOfWeek] ORDER BY [date])),
	  [DayOfYear]   = CONVERT(SMALLINT, DATEPART(DAYOFYEAR, [date])),
	  WeekOfMonth   = CONVERT(TINYINT, DENSE_RANK() OVER 
					  (PARTITION BY [year], [month] ORDER BY [week])),
	  WeekOfYear    = CONVERT(TINYINT, [week]),
	  ISOWeekOfYear = CONVERT(TINYINT, ISOWeek),
	  [Month]       = CONVERT(TINYINT, [month]),
	  [MonthName]   = CONVERT(VARCHAR(10), [MonthName]),
	  [Quarter]     = CONVERT(TINYINT, [quarter]),
	  QuarterName   = CONVERT(VARCHAR(6), CASE [quarter] WHEN 1 THEN 'First' 
					  WHEN 2 THEN 'Second' WHEN 3 THEN 'Third' WHEN 4 THEN 'Fourth' END), 
	  [Year]        = [year],
	  MMYYYY        = CONVERT(CHAR(6), LEFT(Style101, 2)    + LEFT(Style112, 4)),
	  MonthYear     = CONVERT(CHAR(7), LEFT([MonthName], 3) + LEFT(Style112, 4)),
	  FirstDayOfMonth     = FirstOfMonth,
	  LastDayOfMonth      = MAX([date]) OVER (PARTITION BY [year], [month]),
	  FirstDayOfQuarter   = MIN([date]) OVER (PARTITION BY [year], [quarter]),
	  LastDayOfQuarter    = MAX([date]) OVER (PARTITION BY [year], [quarter]),
	  FirstDayOfYear      = FirstOfYear,
	  LastDayOfYear       = MAX([date]) OVER (PARTITION BY [year]),
	  FirstDayOfNextMonth = DATEADD(MONTH, 1, FirstOfMonth),
	  FirstDayOfNextYear  = DATEADD(YEAR,  1, FirstOfYear)
	FROM #cal
	OPTION (MAXDOP 1);

-- 4 add holidays

	;WITH x AS 
	(
	  SELECT DateKey, [Date], IsHoliday, HolidayText, FirstDayOfYear,
		DOWInMonth, [MonthName], [WeekDayName], [Day],
		LastDOWInMonth = ROW_NUMBER() OVER 
		(
		  PARTITION BY FirstDayOfMonth, [Weekday] 
		  ORDER BY [Date] DESC
		)
	  FROM dbo.CalendarUK
	)
	UPDATE x SET IsHoliday = 1, HolidayText = CASE
	  WHEN ([Date] = FirstDayOfYear) THEN 'New Years Day'
	  WHEN ([DOWInMonth] = 3 AND [MonthName] = 'April' AND [WeekDayName] = 'Friday') THEN 'Good Friday'                  -- (3rd Monday in January)
	  WHEN ([DOWInMonth] = 1 AND [MonthName] = 'May' AND [WeekDayName] = 'Monday') THEN 'May Day'                        -- (first Monday in May)
	  WHEN ([LastDOWInMonth] = 1 AND [MonthName] = 'May' AND [WeekDayName] = 'Monday') THEN 'May Bank Holiday'           -- (last Monday in May)
	  WHEN ([LastDOWInMonth] = 1 AND [MonthName] = 'August' AND [WeekDayName] = 'Monday') THEN 'August Bank Hoiliday'    -- (last Monday in August)
	  WHEN ([MonthName] = 'December' AND [Day] = 25) THEN 'Christmas Day'
	  WHEN ([MonthName] = 'December' AND [Day] = 26) THEN 'Boxing Day'
	  END
	WHERE -- IsHoliday
	  ([Date] = FirstDayOfYear)
	  OR ([LastDOWInMonth] = 1 AND [MonthName] = 'May' AND [WeekDayName] = 'Monday')
	  OR ([DOWInMonth] = 1     AND [MonthName] = 'May' AND [WeekDayName] = 'Monday')
	  OR ([LastDOWInMonth] = 1 AND [MonthName] = 'August'    AND [WeekDayName] = 'Monday')
	  OR ([MonthName] = 'December' AND [Day] = 25)
	  OR ([MonthName] = 'December' AND [Day] = 26);


-- 5. create a function to calculate easter etc

	IF OBJECT_ID('dbo.GetEasterHolidays') IS NOT NULL DROP FUNCTION dbo.GetEasterHolidays
	GO

	CREATE FUNCTION dbo.GetEasterHolidays(@year INT) 
	RETURNS TABLE
	WITH SCHEMABINDING
	AS 
	RETURN 
	(
	  WITH x AS 
	  (
		SELECT [Date] = CONVERT(DATE, RTRIM(@year) + '0' + RTRIM([Month]) 
			+ RIGHT('0' + RTRIM([Day]),2))
		  FROM (SELECT [Month], [Day] = DaysToSunday + 28 - (31 * ([Month] / 4))
		  FROM (SELECT [Month] = 3 + (DaysToSunday + 40) / 44, DaysToSunday
		  FROM (SELECT DaysToSunday = paschal - ((@year + @year / 4 + paschal - 13) % 7)
		  FROM (SELECT paschal = epact - (epact / 28)
		  FROM (SELECT epact = (24 + 19 * (@year % 19)) % 30) 
			AS epact) AS paschal) AS dts) AS m) AS d
	  )
	  SELECT DATEADD(DAY,-2,[Date]) [Date], 'Good Friday' HolidayName FROM x
		UNION ALL SELECT DATEADD(DAY, 1,[Date]), 'Easter Monday' FROM x
	  );
	GO

-- 6. use the function to insert easter etc

	;WITH x AS 
	(
	  SELECT d.[Date], d.IsHoliday, d.HolidayText, h.HolidayName
		FROM dbo.CalendarUK AS d
		CROSS APPLY dbo.GetEasterHolidays(d.[Year]) AS h
		WHERE d.[Date] = h.[Date]
	)
	UPDATE x SET IsHoliday = 1, HolidayText = HolidayName;

-- 7. show results

	SELECT * 
	FROM dbo.CalendarUK
	WHERE [year] = '2019'
	--WHERE [year] in ('2019', '2020')
	AND (IsHoliday = 1
	OR HolidayText IS NOT NULL)
	--and DateKey = '20181231'

RCSI testing

Here’s some code to create a large number of ghost records.

--rcsi_testing.sql

-- create and populate a test table

CREATE TABLE dbo.demo_table
  (
      ID    INT       NOT NULL    IDENTITY (1, 1),
      C1    CHAR(100) NOT NULL
  );
  GO
   
  INSERT INTO dbo.demo_table (C1)
  SELECT TOP (1000)
         CAST(TEXT AS CHAR(100)) AS C1
  FROM   sys.messages
  WHERE  language_id = 1031;
  GO
    
  CREATE UNIQUE CLUSTERED INDEX cuix_demo_table_Id
  ON dbo.demo_table (Id);
  GO

 
-- start a 1 minute workload
 
  SET NOCOUNT ON;
  GO
  BEGIN TRANSACTION; ---------**********KEY
  GO
  	-- Insert new record into dbo.demo_table
  	DECLARE	@finish_date DATETIME2(0) = DATEADD(MINUTE, 1, GETDATE());
  	WHILE @finish_date >= GETDATE()
  	BEGIN
  		-- wait 10 ms before each new process
  		INSERT INTO dbo.demo_table(C1)
  		SELECT C1
  		FROM   dbo.demo_table
  		WHERE  Id = (SELECT MIN(Id) FROM dbo.demo_table);
    
  		-- Wait 10 ms to delete the first record from the table
  		WAITFOR DELAY '00:00:00:010';
    
  		-- Now select the min record from the table
  		DELETE dbo.demo_table WHERE Id = (SELECT MIN(Id) FROM dbo.demo_table);
  	END
  ROLLBACK TRAN;
  GO

Monitoring RCSI

I created a sql-job to run every 10 minutes to a) save the current ghost count, and b) email me if its a new high!

Step-1 create the table

CREATE TABLE [maint_db].[dbo].[rcsi_monitor] 
	(
	date_time DATETIME, 
	table_name VARCHAR(50), 
	ghost_records BIGINT
	);

If this step succeeded the job would end there. If the step failed (-say- because the table already existed) the job would continue to step-2

Step-2 save the current counts to the table

INSERT INTO [maint_db].[dbo].[rcsi_monitor]

SELECT	GETDATE(),
	OBJECT_NAME(object_id),
	version_ghost_record_count
FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), null, null, null, 'sampled')
WHERE version_ghost_record_count > 0;

The SELECT statement above is the only novel thing here, and perhaps the most useful take-away. (Note: the DB_ID() means the current database, so ensure it runs under the right one).

Step-3 send an alert – if the current count is the new HIGH SCORE!

IF 
	(SELECT MAX(version_ghost_record_count) FROM sys.dm_db_index_physical_stats(DB_ID(), null, null, null, 'sampled'))
>=
	(SELECT ISNULL(MAX(ghost_records), 0) FROM [maint_db].[dbo].[rcsi_monitor])
AND
	(SELECT ISNULL(MAX(ghost_records), 0) FROM [maint_db].[dbo].[rcsi_monitor]) > 0
BEGIN
	RAISERROR ('Too many Ghost! AAAAAaaarrrrrrggggghh!', 16, 1)
	RETURN
END

The RAISERROR and RETURN would force the job to fail, triggering an email via Notifications.

 

Fix sp_BlitzLock

I notice whenever there is corruption in a single extended events deadlock report …

Capture
… sp_BlitzLock would not work at all …

Msg 9411, Level 16, State 1, Procedure sp_BlitzLock, Line 185 [Batch Start Line 12]
XML parsing: line 37, character 166, semicolon expected

My work-around was to replace line 196 …

AS ( SELECT CONVERT(XML, event_data) AS deadlock_xml

… with this …

AS ( SELECT CONVERT(XML, REPLACE(event_data,'&',';')) AS deadlock_xml

Stored-Proc to insert into PostgreSQL

It turned out Not to be so straight forward, executing a SQL Server stored-procedure from Entity Framework to insert data into Postgres (yes, I know, I said that in the meeting).

(A stored-procedure with an ordinary INSERT executed perfectly from within SSMS, using a linked server with an ODBC driver.)

After a fruitless day tweeking RPC and Distributed Transactions, my pragmatic (dreary) solution was to manually create a Postgres table, then a Postgres function to do the insert, then a stored-procedure to pass parameters to that function.

Here’s the code …

-- in postgres

-- DROP TABLE public.errorlogs;

CREATE TABLE public."ErrorLogs"
(
     "id" serial primary key,
     "edesc" char(500),
     "etype" int,
     "appid" int
)
WITH (
    OIDS = FALSE
)
TABLESPACE pg_default;

ALTER TABLE public.ErrorLogs
    OWNER to postgres;

Then to create the insert function …

--in postgres
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION pg_insert_new_error(edesc varchar(500), etype int, appid int) RETURNS VOID AS
$$
BEGIN
    INSERT INTO "ErrorLogs" (edesc, etype, appid) VALUES (edesc, etype, appid);
END
$$
  LANGUAGE 'plpgsql';

And finally the stored-proc …

-- in sql server
alter procedure [PostgreSQL].[SPU_InsertNewErrorLog]
	@description varchar(500),
	@messagetype int,
	@appid int
as

BEGIN

	DECLARE @cmd VARCHAR(500) = 'SELECT a.* FROM OPENQUERY(pgserver,''select pg_insert_new_error(''''' + @description + ''''', ' 
								+ CONVERT(VARCHAR(5), @messagetype) + ', ' + CONVERT(VARCHAR(5), @appid) + ')'') a'

	EXEC (@cmd)

END

GO

(Notice, I had to encapsulate the whole query and its parameters to work with OPENQUERY).

Whats New!

This very handy little script lists stored-procedures, tables, etc with the most recent at the top.

Great when you have been away, or even as the foundation of a migration tracking SSRS report.

-- WhatsNew.sql

SELECT [type_desc],
       (SELECT [name] FROM sys.schemas WHERE schema_id = ob.schema_id) [schema],
       CASE parent_object_id
           WHEN '0' THEN [name]
           ELSE OBJECT_NAME (parent_object_id) + '.' + [name]
       END [object_name],
       create_date,
       modify_date -- or create-date if there isn't one
FROM sys.objects ob
WHERE is_ms_shipped = 0 -- exclude system-objects
--AND [type] = 'P' -- just stored-procedures
-- ORDER BY [schema] DESC, modify_date DESC
ORDER BY modify_date DESC;

Audit Logins (light)

This is a partial update of my “DBA Audit” post, using code more suited to SQL 2014 and beyond.

Before a migration I created a job called “Audit Logins” scheduled to run every minute to help flag unused logins.

The first step ‘setup’ creates and populates a table with all enabled logins …

/* initial setup */

	/* create table */

	CREATE TABLE [master].[dbo].[LoginAudit] (
		LoginName VARCHAR(200), LastLoginDate DATETIME)

	/* populate with logins */

	INSERT INTO [master].[dbo].[LoginAudit] (LoginName, LastLoginDate)
		SELECT [name], NULL 
		FROM [master].[sys].[server_principals] 
		WHERE type  'R' /* is not a Role */
		AND is_disabled  1; /* is not Disabled */

Step-1 fails after the first run by design (as the table already exists) and continues onward with step-2 ‘update’ …

/* update logins */

	SELECT MAX(login_time) LoginTime, login_name LoginName
	INTO #LoginTempTable
	FROM [sys].[dm_exec_sessions]
	WHERE login_name  '' /* exclude ef */
	GROUP BY login_name;

	UPDATE [master].[dbo].[LoginAudit]
	SET LastLoginDate = tmp.LoginTime 
	FROM #LoginTempTable tmp
	WHERE LoginAudit.LoginName = tmp.LoginName;

I called it ~light as it is designed to have one row per login. Therefore if it is forgotten, and runs for years, the audit table will never grow.

Copying all tables to a new database

As part of an e-commerce re-write project I was tasked with copying over 300 tables from one database to another, including all data, identity columns, indexes, constraints, primary and foreign keys.

I was unable to simply backup / restore due to space and security issues. Here is my solution …

1. Script Create statements for every table. On the ‘old’ database I expanded the database and clicked ‘Tables’ then clicked ‘View’ / ‘Object Explorer Details’ so all the tables were listed in the right-hand pane. Then I was able to highlight all the tables there, and right-click ‘Script Table as’ / ‘Create To’ / ‘New Query Editor Window’.

When finished I changed connection to the ‘new’ empty database and ran the script to create all the tables – without data.

2. Disable all foreign-key constraints. (from here https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11639868/temporarily-disable-all-foreign-key-constraints). I ran this script on the new database …

-- disable fks
use targetdb
go

DECLARE @sql NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'';

;WITH x AS 
(
  SELECT DISTINCT obj = 
      QUOTENAME(OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(parent_object_id)) + '.' 
    + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME(parent_object_id)) 
  FROM sys.foreign_keys
)
SELECT @sql += N'ALTER TABLE ' + obj + ' NOCHECK CONSTRAINT ALL;
' FROM x;

EXEC sp_executesql @sql;

3. Populate all the tables using the SSIS wizard. In SSMS I right-clicked the old database / ‘Tasks’, ‘Export Data…’. In the wizard I accepted the old database as the Source and typed in the new database details as the Target. I ticked all tables, and clicked ‘edit Mappings’ to tick ‘Enable identity insert’. I then deselected the Views, and executing the SSIS package.

4. To Re-enable all foreign keys – I ran this script (from the same web page as 2.) on the new database …

-- re-enable fks
use targetdb
go

DECLARE @sql NVARCHAR(MAX) = N'';

;WITH x AS 
(
  SELECT DISTINCT obj = 
      QUOTENAME(OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME(parent_object_id)) + '.' 
    + QUOTENAME(OBJECT_NAME(parent_object_id)) 
  FROM sys.foreign_keys
)
SELECT @sql += N'ALTER TABLE ' + obj + ' WITH CHECK CHECK CONSTRAINT ALL;
' FROM x;

EXEC sp_executesql @sql;

To check progress I used my old ‘database_compare’ script.

Deadlocks from Entity Framework

Entity Framework was squirting raw SELECT statements at the database and causing deadlocks.

To fix, I captured the query text with sp_BlitzLock and executed it in Plan Explorer.

Plan Explorer confirmed that the data was being retrieved using a non-clustered index combined with the clustered-index (ahah!)

The Plan Explorer / Index Analysis tab, showed the non-clustered index had failed to retrieve over 15 columns.

I was able to create a new index that covered 100% of the columns within the Index Analysis screen.

I executed the query again to confirm it was no longer using the clustered index, and was therefore quicker and less likely to cause a deadlock.