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Author: Kevin Feasel

Power BI: Git Integration vs Deployment Pipelines

Published 2023-07-21 by Kevin Feasel

Marc Lelijveld notes a chemical reaction:

Together with the introduction of Microsoft Fabric a long-awaited feature for Power BI also became available. Git integration now allows us to connect your workspace to a git repository to sync the meta data from your Power BI dataset and report between the workspace and the repository.

At the same time, Power BI deployment pipelines are around. The pipelines help you to move content between workspaces from Development to Test and finally to Production. The question that arises, when to use what? And how do they complement each other, or maybe even clash with each other?

Read on for Marc’s thoughts across these two topics.

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Connecting a SQL Server Instance to Azure Arc

Published 2023-07-21 by Kevin Feasel

Deepthi Goguri has a guide:

When you install SQL Server 2022 through the GUI, you will see an option in the features “SQL Server Extention for Azure”

This is more of a “how” than a “why.” Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server instances let you use Azure’s control plane (their graphs and some configuration options) to manage SQL Server instances, regardless of whether they’re actually in Azure or on-premises. That way, a DBA with one foot in both camps can have a consistent administrative experience for things like inventorying SQL Server instances.

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Subsetting List Objects in R

Published 2023-07-20 by Kevin Feasel

Steven Sanderson makes a sub-list and checks it twice:

If you’re an aspiring data scientist or R programmer, you must be familiar with the powerful data structure called “lists.” Lists in R are collections of elements that can contain various data types such as vectors, matrices, data frames, or even other lists. They offer great flexibility and are widely used in many real-world scenarios.

In this blog post, we will explore one of the essential skills in working with lists: subsetting. Subsetting allows you to extract specific elements or portions of a list, helping you access and manipulate data efficiently. So, let’s dive into the world of list subsetting and learn some useful techniques along the way!

Read on for multiple ways of subsetting lists in base R.

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TDE and Credential Rotation for Arc SQL Managed Instance

Published 2023-07-20 by Kevin Feasel

Nikita Takru announces a new public preview:

We are thrilled to announce the Public Preview of Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) and Service-Managed Credential Rotation for Arc-enabled SQL Managed Instance. With a strong focus on data security and management, this release introduces cutting-edge features that ensure your sensitive information is protected.  

Click through for more details, particularly on automating credential rotation.

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A First-Pass Approach to Migrating Dedicated SQL Pool Schemas to Fabric

Published 2023-07-20 by Kevin Feasel

Kevin Chant gets a jump on a big problem:

To manage expectations, this post only covers database schema objects. Plus, I need to highlight the fact that this solution has some interesting quirks. Some of which I highlight in this post.

Even though there are some quirks, I still want to show this solution. So that others can see it working and I can highlight a few important facts. Plus, share a template you can use to test this yourself.

The current lack of a good migration strategy is a real challenge for anyone thinking of moving from Azure Synapse Analytics to Microsoft Fabric. Serverless SQL pools and Spark pools are an easy transition, but dedicated SQL pools are a tough nut to crack.

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Creating a Power BI Deployment Pipeline

Published 2023-07-20 by Kevin Feasel

Richard Swinbank does some deployment:

In part 4 of this series, I introduced a standard pattern for organising report files and pipelines, with a standard process for creating new reports. Repeatable patterns and processes are great candidates for automation, and in this post I’ll build a report creation process that automatically configures a new report and creates its deployment pipeline .

This video (5m31s) shows you the process in action, from creating a new report to seeing it deployed automatically to Power BI:

Click through for the video, as well as plenty of written instruction.

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CREATEROLE in Postgres

Published 2023-07-20 by Kevin Feasel

Muhammad Ali creates a role:

PostgreSQL is a robust open-source relational database management system that provides a wide range of capabilities to guarantee safe and effective data administration. One such privilege is the CREATEROLE privilege, which is vital to PostgreSQL database management of users and roles. We will examine the nuances of the CREATEROLE privilege, its use, and how it affects user administration in this blog post. So let’s investigate this privilege and comprehend PostgreSQL’s use of it.

Click through to see how this privilege works and what has changed in different versions of Postgres.

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Conversion from XML to Target Collation Impossible

Published 2023-07-20 by Kevin Feasel

Chad Callihan has a mission, should you choose to accept it:

I recently ran into an error for a query that was casting XML to VARCHAR to search for a value. I have a bit of familiarity with the XML for these types of queries, so I was surprised when running the SELECT statement caused this error, which I had never seen before:

Msg 6355 “Conversion of one or more characters from XML to target collation impossible”

Click through for the solution. The real solution? NVARCHAR Everywhere.

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Finding Orphaned Users in SQL Server

Published 2023-07-20 by Kevin Feasel

Kenneth Fisher needs more factory workers:

When you create a user (a database principal) you have several options on what the user is associated with (usually a login/server principal), or it might not be associated with anything at all (created without a login). And a common problem is when that object you’ve associated your user with is no longer available and you’ve got an orphan.

Click through to see how Kenneth finds them all and has them working in his wallet-making factories. Kenneth is an inspiration to us all.

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