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Category: Powershell

Renaming Servers

Published 2016-10-04 by Kevin Feasel

Steve Jones shows how to rename a server using Powershell:

I’m sure many people are experimenting with VMs and SQL Server. If you’re like me, many of you just default to installing Windows 7/10 or Windows Server xx Standard for your testing. Those systems work fine, but I’ve been trying to build slimmer systems, which means looking at Server Core. Installing Server Core is much the same as other versions, though you end up with only a command line. If you’re like me, using VMWare, you also might end up with a server name like “WIN-LKR3R4FfL5T”.

I want to change that. It’s a fine name if I’m working locally. It’s not to much fun connecting across a network. This post looks at how to rename that machine.

This is probably a good idea to do before installing any major software.  Renaming a server under SQL Server is possible, but there are a few extra steps to the process.

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Finding All Sysadmins

Published 2016-09-30 by Kevin Feasel

Chris Bell has a Powershell script to find all sysadmins on a SQL Server instance:

The script below identifies the accounts on your SQL Server that have full sysadmin rights, either on their own or via an Active Directory Group.

To run this, you need a few things setup first.

  1. A file named Instances.txt that has each instance you are going to check on its own line. Just the name, nothing more. You can see the reference to the location at the beginning of the script, just change it to wherever you put your file.

  2. Rights to read the AD information for the domain. This way we can get the members of any groups granted access to your SQL environment.

Click through for the script.

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Using Pester To Validate Script Installations

Published 2016-09-29 by Kevin Feasel

Rob Sewell wants to use Pester to guarantee that he has Ola’s maintenance scripts installed on a server:

First I thought about what I would look for in SSMS when I had installed the maintenance solution and made a list of the things that I would check which looked something like this. This would be the checklist you would create (or have already created) for yourself or a junior following this install. This is how easy you can turn that checklist into a Pester Test and remove the human element and open your install for automated testing

  • SQL Server Agent is running – Otherwise the jobs won’t run🙂

  • We should have 4 backup jobs with a name of

  • DatabaseBackup – SYSTEM_DATABASES – FULL

  • DatabaseBackup – USER_DATABASES – FULL

  • DatabaseBackup – USER_DATABASES – DIFF

  • DatabaseBackup – USER_DATABASES – LOG

  • We should have Integrity Check and Index Optimisation Jobs

  • We should have the clean up jobs

  • All jobs should be scheduled

  • All jobs should be enabled

  • The jobs should have succeeded

There’s a very nice script and walkthrough of the process if you click through.

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SQL Server Configuration Section On Azure VM

Published 2016-09-29 by Kevin Feasel

Jack Li diagnoses an issue in which the SQL Server Configuration section of an Azure Virtual Machine only appeared under certain circumstances:

If you created an SQL Server VM via azure portal, there will be a section called “SQL Server Configuration” which was introduced via blog “Introducing a simplified configuration experience for SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machines”. Here is a screenshot of that setting.  It allows you to configure various things like auto backup, patching or storage etc.

I got a customer who created a SQL VM via powershell.  But that VM doesn’t have the section “SQL Server Configuration”.   Using his powershell script, I was able to reproduce the behavior.  When I created via portal UI, I got the “SQL Server Configuration”.

Read on for the solution.

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Running Powershell In VS Code

Published 2016-09-26 by Kevin Feasel

Max Trinidad finishes his series on Powershell in Visual Studio Code.  Here’s part 2:

VS Code – Code Runner Extensions

We need to proceed to install the “Code Runner” Extension. Take a look at this extension information which can be use with many other script languages.

And here’s part 3:

VS Code – Terminal session

In Windows, we are configuring the VS Code “Integrated Terminal” to instead of executing Windows Cmd shell or Linux Bash, to use PowerShell Console.Then again, this is a quick change in the user “settings.json” in your script working folder.

It’s still amazing how far Microsoft has come from the Ballmer days.

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Creating Snippets With Powershell

Published 2016-09-26 by Kevin Feasel

Allison Tharp has a script to create SSMS snippets:

One issue with SSMS’s Snippet Manager is that the code has to be stored in a .Snippet file in a specific location on your local machine.  The .Snippet files are in XML format, which is a little inconvenient since we don’t write SQL in XML format.  This means that in order to add a new snippet, you need to create a new .Snippet file in the correct format, add the SQL to it, and save it in the right location.  After that, you must import the file through SSMS.

I have had ideas for snippets, but it is enough of an inconvenience to sometimes prevent me from going through the motions of making an actual snippet file.  I wanted to write some kind of code that would allow me to save a SQL file into a specific folder and let an automated program convert it into the Snippet format.  I’ve also been wanting to learn PowerShell, so I thought this would be a good opportunity!

The next step would be turning that into a cmdlet.

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VS Code And Powershell

Published 2016-09-23 by Kevin Feasel

Max Trinidad explains how to get Powershell running with Visual Studio Code on Ubuntu:

Using VS Code Debug

First, we are going to use VS Code debug option to run PowerShell Out-Of-The-Box. This way we can be use debug to execute and step thru the PowerShell script code.

Open the folder were the scripts are going to be stored. The first time using the Debug it will ask to create the “launch.json” which is needed in order to execute and debug the script.  Accept the default values as you can change them later if needed.

Read on; it’s a whole new world…

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SQL Server 2014 SMO And TruncateData

Published 2016-09-22 by Kevin Feasel

Max Trinidad finds a version inconsistency in SMO:

Hum! I just found out that in SQL Server 2014 (SP2 installed), while migrating from SQL Server 2005, one of my PowerShell script (I’ve been using for a long time) that uses SMO to truncate tables. But, when running it against a SQL Server 2014 database, I’m getting an error:

“..this property is not available on SQL Server 2014.”

For mi surprise, I ran the same PowerShell script against SQL Server 2016 and it works fine.

That seems rather odd.  If this affects you, vote up his UserVoice item.

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Azure Automation

Published 2016-09-19 by Kevin Feasel

Melissa Coates explains Azure Automation:

Azure Automation is a cloud service in Microsoft Azure which let you schedule execution of PowerShell cmdlets and PowerShell workflows. Azure Automation uses the concept of runbooks to execute a set of repeatable, repetitive tasks via PowerShell. Consistency in execution, reduction of errors, and of course saving time, are all key objectives – which makes DBAs and system admins happy, eh?

This is a higher-level discussion including some good tips on the product.

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Automating DMV Scripts

Published 2016-09-19 by Kevin Feasel

Sander Stad has a Powershell script to automate using Glenn Berry’s excellent DMV queries:

I’ve used Glenn’s DMV scripts for years but always found them tedious to execute because there are about 70 individual scripts that either query instance or retrieve database information. Glenn did make it easier for you by creating Excel templates to save the information in.
There are separate scripts for each version of SQL Server that updated every month. Glenn only updates the versions for 2012 to 2016 with new features. The scripts are very well documented and even contain hints about how to solve some issues.

Click through for more information on how to install this Powershell module.

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