In this tip we will show you how to configure email notifications if any SSRS report subscriptions fail.
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “SQL Server Reporting Services Failed Subscriptions Monitoring and Notifications“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.
SQL Server Linked servers can introduce a security risk if not configured properly. Some settings out of the box can make Linked Servers more secure, like using proper logins mappings. In this article, we look at how to enable encryption between linked servers.
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “SQL Server Linked Server Encryption for Network Traffic“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.
How do we manage schedules properly to ensure that we do not end up with dozens of unused or disabled schedules? How do we make sure that we use and update the correct schedules? What should we consider before we delete or disable an existing schedule?
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “SQL Server Agent Job Scheduling Management and Troubleshooting“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.
The new SQL Server version (SQL Server 2022 Preview) is now available and there are some improvements related to security. There are also a couple of new built-in (fixed) server-level roles that were introduced in SQL Server 2022. Separation of duties and a principle of minimal permissions are SQL Server security best practices and we will cover how to use these new security features.
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “Compare SQL Server ##MS_LoginManager## and Securityadmin Role“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.
Sparse columns were added with SQL Server 2008 as a new feature that helps save space when columns have a high ratio of NULL values. We have a couple of very large and wide tables with Nullable columns and most of them don’t have data. We’d like to take advantage of sparse columns to save space. We ran SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) Data Profiling Task to find sparse columns candidates (Null Ratio profile). With more than 500 candidate columns it will be hard to review and alter each column individually. How can we use the SSIS Data Profiling output XML file? Can we generate a script to modify columns based on Data Profiling output and apply to this script sparse columns requirements/restrictions?
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “Generate SQL Server Sparse Columns Script“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.
Dropping SQL Server logins without dropping associated the database users creates orphaned database users. By default, the DROP LOGIN statement in SQL Server only removes logins, but not database(s) users that are linked to these logins. The best practice is to delete all databases users that are mapped to this login first and then delete the login itself. When logins are deleted, and users remain orphaned, DBAs have a cleanup task to perform from time to time. This is to make sure that an orphaned user is not misused (to prevent a potential security issue). How can we make sure that we don’t forget to delete database users before dropping logins?
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “DDL Trigger Example in SQL Server for Login Deletion“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.
You’ve heard about the role of a SQL Server Database Administrator, but want you to know more. In this article we cover some areas that can help you get a better understanding of what a DBA does, what skills are needed, career path options and we’ll also cover some salary information.
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “SQL Server Database Administrator“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.
SQL Server security monitoring is a critical part of the Database Administrator’s job. Some security related alerts could be setup very easy, but others require third-party tools or extra steps to setup. For example, SQL Server Audit can be used to monitor logins or users modification, but it requires audit log review. We would like to get real-time alerts every time a login or a user is created or added to a server or a database role, how can this be done?
In this tip we will provide steps and scripts for setting up WMI alerts and jobs responding to these alerts to monitor the creation and removal of users and logins as well as server and database roles membership changes.
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “Alerts and Notifications for SQL Server Login, Database User and Role Membership Changes“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.
Central Management Server (CMS) is a SQL Server feature that allows you to manage multiple SQL Servers at the same time. You can run T-SQL scripts or execute Policy-Based Management policies on multiple servers. You can also group SQL Servers and run the scripts on a specific group of SQL Servers.
How else can CMS be used? How can we overcome some of the limitations when we run queries against CMS Server Groups?
In this tip we will show you a couple of CMS tricks. In our examples below we will show how you can sort the CMS query results for different scenarios. We will also provide a couple of examples of alternative uses of CMS.
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “Different ways to sort multi-server SQL Server query results using Central Management Server“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.
2018 started out with bad news for most IT professionals. A new “speculative execution side-channel attacks” vulnerability affected many modern processors and operating systems. This vulnerability is very complex and requires patching on many layers, including hardware, operating systems and the application layer.
Database Administrators (DBAs) have to be prepared to patch every SQL Server starting with SQL Server version 2008 and the recommended patching procedure is different for different servers depending on SQL Server configuration settings and features used.
How can we determine what servers are affected and what steps should we take to protect SQL Server?
In this tip we will provide a “Meltdown/Spectre SQL Server Assessment Script” that you can run in Central Management Server (CMS) against all of your SQL Servers. This script will produce a report with recommendations/scenarios for patching and display configurations/features that are not secure and enabled on SQL Server.
Then we will provide a couple of remediation steps to review unsecure use cases.
After remediation we will run the Main Assessment Script again and review the final recommendations.
Please read the latest MSSQLTips post: “SQL Servers Assessment for the Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities“.
Check out all of my tips here: http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlserverauthor/94/svetlana-golovko/.