While it is true that “Winter’s Coming,” the more sizable wave of impact rolling over data center management is the continuing...
database-tools
September #SQLChat: Automation in SQL Server – How to Work Only 40 Hours a Week
Automation in SQL Server - the one thing that can salvage the sanity of the DBA. While automating backups and maintenance processes is common place...
Managing Lenovo BIOS Settings (Part 2)
Managing Lenovo BIOS Settings (Part 1)
There is unfortunately no standardized way of managing BIOS settings for computer vendors. Each vendor employs proprietary approaches. For Lenovo...
What is NoSQL and Why Should I Care?
Many database professionals have historically worked with traditional relational database management systems (DBMS) such as Microsoft SQL Server,...
Exploring PowerShell Modules
Most cmdlets and functions are part of PowerShell modules. If you’d like to explore where exactly these commands come from, here is an easy...
Announcing the GA Release of SQL Secure 3.2
We are excited to announce the release of SQL Secure 3.2. SQL Secure is an auditing and security tool for SQL Servers. It helps identifies...
Apply to the IDERA ACE Program Today!
There’s only a few weeks left to apply to the IDERA ACE program! The search has begun for the 2018 - 2019 IDERA ACEs. Do you have a passion...
Locking Workstation
If you’d like to lock the current workstation from within PowerShell, you can take advantage of the fact that PowerShell can run executables....
Top SQL Server Backup mistakes and how to avoid them
Backing up SQL Server databases is one of the most critical tasks that database administrators perform in their SQL Server environments every day....
Detecting WinPE
PowerShell can run inside WinPE environments. If you’d like to detect whether your PowerShell script runs inside a WinPE environment, you can...
Building Blocks for Visualizing Business Intelligence using Aqua Data Studio
When providing analytic reports to Senior Management, there are many approaches that can be taken to create these necessary building blocks for...
Extract Specific Files from ZIP Archive
Starting with PowerShell 5, cmdlets like Extract-Archive can extract the content of ZIP files to disk. However, you can always extract only the...
How to comprehensively manage SQL Servers on-premise and in the cloud
The volume, velocity, and variety of data is ever-increasing. At the same time, data is becoming ever more critical to the growth of organizations....
Dumping ZIP Archive Content
PowerShell comes with new cmdlets like Extract-Archive that can extract (all) files from a ZIP file container. However, there is no way to just list...
Does Database or Version Matter?
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Never discuss politics or religion in polite company”. That’s good advice. This...
Validating Variable Content
Beginning in PowerShell 5, you can assign a validator to a variable. The validator can take a regular expression, and once you assign new values to...
Using Profile Scripts
PowerShell by default “forgets” most settings on restart. If you’d like to “keep” settings, you use a profile script....
Introduction to Windows Azure SQL Database
Many organizations are adopting the cloud computing as their primary computing environment, and others find ways to use Microsoft Azure to enhance...
Optimizing Command Completion
The PowerShell console (powershell.exe, pwsh.exe) offers extensive completion support. When you enter a command and then add a space and a hyphen,...
Reading Registry Remotely (Part 2)
In the previous example we showed the code required to read registry values remotely from another machine using the old-fashioned DCOM protocol. If...
Azure MySQL Database as a Service – The next best thing to an Azure Database as a Service Addon
Azure MySQL...
Simple Worthwhile Database Security Practices – Part IV
Database security is a hot topic these days, especially with all the new and seemingly never-ending security compliance requirements being imposed...
Reading Registry Remotely (Part 1)
If you cannot use PowerShell remoting, and you need to read registry values from another system via DCOM, here is some example code you might want...