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Category: Versions

SQL Server Backup and Restore Operations for S3

Published 2022-09-30 by Kevin Feasel

Hugo Queiroz shows off something new in SQL Server 2022:

Backup and restore to simple storage service (S3)–compatible object storage is a new feature introduced in SQL Server 2022 that grants the user the capability to back up or restore their databases using S3-compatible object storage, whether that be on-premises, or in the cloud.

There are some differences from other backup operations, so you should definitely read up on it before using it. One interesting side benefit I got to try out recently is that Pure Storage’s FlashBlade product has an S3 API, allowing you to use that interface for backup/restore operations as well as data virtualization.

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Finding Outdated Powershell Modules

Published 2022-09-30 by Kevin Feasel

Jeff Hill has a script for us:

In the world of PowerShell, some things move super fast while others may stay the same for years. If the module you are using does what you want with no issues, you may not think to see if a newer version is available. The PSReadline module is a good example. The version I was on worked great and it did what I wanted. I had no idea there was so much more that had been done.

Click through for a script which checks the Powershell Gallery for updates, though it does not force install those updates.

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In-Place SQL Server Upgrades

Published 2022-09-28 by Kevin Feasel

Garry Bargsley rolls the dice:

In my experience, two options exist to get the desired result. One, create a new server, install the latest supported version of SQL Server, and migrate your data. Two, upgrade SQL Server on the existing server.

There are pros and cons to each of these options. My preference is to go with option number one as it allows you more flexibility in your migration plan. However, many smaller shops might not have the hardware resources for this option, so they are forced to option number two.

In-place upgrades have improved considerably, though certain ancillary services (like Machine Learning Services) have breaking changes between versions, so you may be forced into the first route regardless.

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T-SQL Tuesday 154 Recap

Published 2022-09-20 by Kevin Feasel

Glenn Berry summarizes what people are doing with SQL Server 2022:

Back on September 5, 2022, I posted the invitation for T-SQL Tuesday #154 Invitation – SQL Server 2022, which was due on Tuesday, September 12, 2022. I ended up getting eleven blog post responses that I am aware of (including mine). Thank you to everyone who participated! This post will be my T-SQL Tuesday #154 Recap.

Here are the blog posts for #T-SQL Tuesday #154, in alphabetical order by author.

Glenn goes the extra mile by including author photos as well.

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The SQL ConstantCare Population Report

Published 2022-08-31 by Kevin Feasel

Brent Ozar surveys the SQL Server landscape:

Ever wonder how fast people are adopting new versions of SQL Server, or what’s “normal” out there for SQL Server adoption rates, hardware sizes, or numbers of databases? Let’s find out in the summer 2022 version of our SQL ConstantCare® population report.

Out of the 3,151 servers sending in data recently, the most popular version of SQL Server is still 2016:

Every time I link to this, I say the same two things: one, that it’s important to keep in mind that this is necessarily a biased sample (in that it includes the subset of organizations which has people who are familiar with Brent’s work, spends enough money to get ConstantCare support, and has a need for this support); and two, that I appreciate this sample. Yes, it’s biased and not necessarily indicative of the broader market but it’s also useful information, especially seeing trends over time.

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A Critique of Parameter Sensitive Plan Optimization

Published 2022-08-26 by Kevin Feasel

Brent Ozar is not amused:

Parameter sniffing is a notorious problem for Microsoft SQL Server because it tries to reuse execution plans, which doesn’t work out well for widely varying parameters. Here’s a primer for the basics about how it happens.

SQL Server 2022 introduces a new feature called Parameter Sensitive Plan optimization. I’m not really sure why Microsoft capitalized the first three letters sometimes and not others, or why they only abbreviate it as “PSP optimization” – as long as we’re abbreviating, why not call it PSPO? Optimization is the word in there with the most syllables – why the hell would we leave that one as the one that isn’t abbreviated?

Because I make things go faster for a living, we’re gonna call it PSPO. You’ll see how I pronounce it later, and why.

Erik Darling has also spent a lot of time talking about this. And at this point, I don’t know that how many (if any) of Brent’s critiques get fixed before RTM.

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Azure Data Studio August 2022 Updates

Published 2022-08-25 by Kevin Feasel

Timi Oshin has another month’s worth of updates for us:

The SQL Database Projects Publish dialog has been enhanced with a breadth of options including excluding object types, data definition language (DDL) trigger behavior, index rebuild behavior, and more. These options are available after clicking the Advanced button and a description for each option appears at the bottom of the panel. With the availability of these options, you can now publish a SQL project or generate the publish script with more precision for the requirements unique to your environment.

This is something I’ve missed from VSCode / Azure Data Studio that I could do 15 years ago in Visual Studio.

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Undocumented Goodies in SQL Server 2022 RC0

Published 2022-08-25 by Kevin Feasel

Brent Ozar digs through some internals:

Microsoft has an official list of what’s new in 2022 overall, but here I’m specifically focusing on system objects that might be interesting to script developers like you and I, dear reader.

New stored procedure sp_get_table_card_est_and_avg_col_len – I assume the “card” refers to statistics and cardinality, not Hallmark. SQL Server has historically struggled with memory grants because it uses datatype size to budget memory grants, and bigger-than-necessary data types (like NVARCHAR(MAX)) have led to larger-than-necessary grants. It’d be cool if this proc was a down payment to mitigate that problem, but I have a sinking feeling it has to do with external data sources. I would tell you more about it, but when I run it, I get:

Read on for the full list.

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SQL Server 2022 RC0 Availabile

Published 2022-08-24 by Kevin Feasel

Ajay Jagannathan has a big announcement:

Continuing with our release cadence, we’re excited to announce the release of SQL Server 2022 Release Candidate 0. Since the first public preview in May 2022, anyone can download SQL Server 2022 RC0 to try the new features in this release.

The changelist doesn’t look enormous for this release and as we get closer to RTM, that set usually drops off a bit as code stabilizes in preparation for release.

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sp_prepare and Parameter Sensitive Plan Optimization

Published 2022-08-23 by Kevin Feasel

Erik Darling is a bit surprised:

I admit that sp_prepare is an odd bird, and thankfully one that isn’t used a ton. I still run into applications that are unfortunate enough to have been written by people who hate bloggers and continue to use it, though, so here goes.

When you use sp_prepare, parameterized queries behave differently from normal: the parameters don’t get histogram cardinality estimates, they get density vector cardinality estimates.

That part’s not the surprise. You’ll have to click through for that.

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