04 Jun 2010
By Bob Pusateri

Tips for Upgrading SQL Server Versions

SQL Server
At my previous employer I took part in several projects that involved migrating databases not only to new hardware but also to new versions of SQL Server.  We upgraded machines running the 2000 and 2005 versions of SQL Server to 2008.  Here's how we went about doing it, and some helpful hints we figured out along the way. Disclaimers I'm fully aware there are lots of ways to migrate hardware and data between machines and database versions, I'll just be talking about the way we did it.  We were fortunate enough to not have to worry about downtime, as this…
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27 May 2010
By Bob Pusateri

Redundancy and College Marching Band

Thoughts
Every once in a while I hope to use this blog to investigate the lighter side of database/computing topics.  After all, redundancy can (and should!) exist in many more places than corporate network architectures.  One of the places you may be surprised to hear about redundancy is college marching bands, which I feel more than qualified to talk about. That's right folks, I'm a bando and proud of it.  I played clarinet from 4th grade all the way through college, and was part of a marching band for 9 years.  Yes, I did go to band camp, had some great…
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25 May 2010
By Bob Pusateri

Seven Free Applications You Should Try

Software
I think all of us who sit in front of a computer for a living have a few free programs that we're particularly fond of.  Here's what I'm liking as of late. Notepad++ My favorite general-purpose text editor.  Along with pretty much anything else, I find myself writing a lot of T-SQL code in here and then copying/pasting into SSMS.  My favorite features include column editing mode, double-click searches, and a wide variety of plugins.  Supports syntax highlighting for a ton of languages out of the box, but extensions are available that allow it to handle even more.  I used…
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21 May 2010
By Bob Pusateri

Book Review: Microsoft Official Academic Course 70-443 / 70-450

Book Review, SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication
When preparing to take certification exams, I always purchase test preparation materials no matter how ready I feel that I am.  I do this for two reasons: There's no such thing as being too prepared (being a Boy Scout taught me this many times over) I can be sure of what topics will be covered As I was getting ready to take the 70-450 exam (MCITP: SQL Server 2008 Administration)  I couldn't find any official training kits available for that test.  Even as I type this 4 months later I still see none when searching for "70-450" on amazon.com.  Figuring…
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19 May 2010
By Bob Pusateri

The Chicken

Humor, Literature, SQL Server
A little over a week ago, Wendy Pastrick (blog | twitter) had a blog post, Attack of the Killer Maintenance Plan, where she crafts a horror story from her experience checking out some maintenance plans designed by a former employee. After reading this, I was inspired to come up with my own tale, blended with classic American Literature.  The irony here is that I hated (and hence did terrible in) all my english and literature classes throughout school.  This was especially true for Mr. Miller's 10th grade American Lit class, where I believe my final grade was a "C-".  Thankfully,…
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