A Fine Slice Of SQL Server
Kevin Chant shows off some of the power in Azure DevOps:
I saw that you can install sqlwatch easily using PowerShell. However, I also saw in ‘Alternative Installation’ section that you can also install from the source.
With this in mind I thought I would try deploying using Azure DevOps straight from its GitHub Repository.
There’s a lot to like in Azure DevOps.
Comments closedAndy Leonard recommends not using backup-and-restore as an approach of moving SSIS packages around:
First, please do not misunderstand. You should back up SSISDB just like you back up all other databases – especially in Production. You should also conduct Disaster Recovery exercises in which you restore SSISDB from the latest backup, or avail yourself of Always On availability groups and / or Windows Server Failover Clustering.
With that caveat in mind, read on to see why.
Comments closedOne way you can work around the above scenario is to install multiple virtual machines. Now the first thing you might realize is that this will also take up a lot of compute and storage.
In reality, I use to use this method myself in the past using Hyper-V. To reduce the amount of storage the virtual machines used in Hyper-V I use to used parenting disks.
Since the introduction of containers and Docker this has become a less popular option. However, you can still read an old post of mine with tips in here.
Click through for additional options.
Comments closedMartin Schoombee walks us through changing data source credentials on deployment with Power BI:
The method we need to use here is the Patch method. Why is it Patch and not Post like we did with the parameters? Great question, and the “devil is in the details”…the method dictates how the underlying resource or attribute is modified, and the Patch method in this case means that there are partial (and in-place) modifications to an existing resource. Read more about the differences between Post, Put and Patch here.
This is one of those areas where Power BI can be quite a letdown if you only use the UI.
Comments closedKevin Chant has some frequently asked questions:
5: Have you moved from various services into Azure DevOps?
Yes, I have. In fact, one team used various services and applications and we went all in with Azure DevOps. Organizing our work using the boards, using the Git repos and using Azure Pipelines a lot.
Click through for additional questions, as well as answers.
Comments closedSasha Nosov takes us through Azure Arc deployment options for SQL Server:
As you can see, both on-Azure and off-Azure options offer you a choice between IaaS and PaaS. The IaaS category targets the applications that cannot be changed because of the SQL version dependency, ISV certification or simply because the lack of in-house expertise to modernize. The PaaS category targets the applications that will benefit from modernization by leveraging the latest SQL features, gaining a better SLA and reducing the management complexity.
Click through for a graphic, as well as further clarification on each item.
Comments closedAdam Saxton explains when you might not want to use the Publish to Web option in Power BI:
Some don’t realize that Power BI Publish to Web is not secure. Adam shows you that this is the case. It’s a bit scary and there are other options to have secure embedding.
For demos and other resources which are supposed to be accessible to everybody, Publish to Web works great. But if you’re deploying company dashboards, not so much.
Comments closedErik Ejlskov Jensen provides another advantage for Azure SQL Database’s database projects:
For a while now, it has been possible to publish a .dacpac file (meaning apply it to an new or existing database) using the cross-platform version of sqlpackage.
But authoring and building a database project (sqlproj) was only possible on Windows, as the .sqlproj project type is based on the classic .NET Framework .csproj project type.
Now, thanks to the new Database Project extension in Azure Data Studio Insiders build, it is now possible to author, build and manually publish a SQL Server Database project.
And by using the new MsBuild.Sdk.SqlProj SDK and project type, is is also possible to build and publish a Database Project from a build agent (CI pipeline), without having to install the sqlpackage tool. Read on!
You heard Erik.
Comments closedIf we rollback with kubectl rollout undo the pods in the newest replicaset are deleted, and pods in an older replicaset are spun back up, rolling back the upgrade.
But there’s a potential problem here. What happens if that old replicaset is deleted?
If that happens, we wouldn’t be able to rollback the upgrade. Well we wouldn’t be able to roll it back with kubectl rollout undo, but what happens if we’re using Helm?
Read on to learn how the whole thing works.
Comments closedMarc Lelijveld explains the importance of Power BI Deployment Pipelines:
You might have seen the announcement, Power BI Deployment Pipelines have been released in May 2020. It is around for about two months now. On different social channels I have seen a lot of buzz around it already, both positive and negative honestly. Though, I think this is a great step forward!
Back in 2018, I posted a blog about multi-tier architecture and continuous delivery with Power BI. If you are not familiar with a DTAP approach and why this helps you to structure your development processes, I advise you to first read that blog. Personally, I am really excited about Deployment Pipelines! With this functionality, Microsoft starts offering an out-of-the-box functionality that helps you to easier move your Power BI content through you DTAP pipeline.
I think it’s a pretty big step in the right direction, though the “Why this isn’t so great” section is a bit lengthy.
Comments closed