http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1849

Problem
In my last set of tips, I discussed SMO at a basic level.  In this tip I am going to provide examples to SQL Server Database Administrators on how to backup and restore SQL Server databases with SMO.  I will start with how you can issue different types (Full, Differential and Log) of backups with SMO and how to restore them when required programmatically using SMO.

Solution
As I discussed in my last tip, SMO provides utility classes for specific tasks. For backup and restore, it provides two main utility classes (Backup and Restore) which are available in Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo namespace.

Before you start writing SMO code, you need to reference several assemblies which contain the SMO namespaces. For more details on these assemblies and how properly to reference them in your code, refer to my tip Getting started with SQL Server Management Objects (SMO).

Examples

C# Code Block 1 – Full Backups – This example shows how to issue full database backups with SMO. First, create an instance of the Backup class and set the associated properties. With the Action property you can specify the type of backup such as full, files or log backup. With the Database property specify the name of the database being backed up.  The device is the backup media type such as disk or tape, so you need to add a device (one or more) to the Devices collection of backup instance. With the BackupSetName and BackupSetDescription properties you can specify the name and description for the backup set.  The Backup class also has a property called ExpirationDate which indicates how long backup data is considered valid and to expire the backup after that date. The backup object instance generates several events during the backup operation, we can write event-handlers for these events and wire them up with events. This is what I am doing for progress monitoring.  I am wiring up CompletionStatusInPercent and Backup_Completed methods (event-handlers) with PercentComplete and Complete events of backup object instance.  Finally, I am calling the SqlBackup method for starting up the backup operation, SMO provides a variant of this method called SqlBackupAsync if you want to start the backup operation asynchronously.

C# Code Block 2 Differential Backups - The process of issuing differential backups is not much different from issuing full backups. To issue a differential backup, set the property Incremental = true. If you set this property the incremental/differential backup will be taken since last full backup.

C# Code Block 3 Transaction Log Backups - Again the process of issuing transactional log backup is not much different from issuing full backups. To issue transactional log backups, set the property Action = BackupActionType.Log instead of BackupActionType.Database as in the case of a full backup.

C# Code Block 4 Backup with Compression - SQL Server 2008 introduces a new feature to issues backups in a compressed form.  As such, SMO for SQL Server 2008 has been enhanced to support this feature. If you look at the image below you will notice the compressed backup size is almost 25% of full backup, though the level of compression depends on the several factors.

C# Code Block 5 Full or Differential Restores – Thus far we have worked through SMO backup examples. Now let’s change gears to restore with SMO.  SMO provides a Restore class to restore a database, similar to the Backup class.  With these classes it is necessary to specify the Action property to indicate the type of restore i.e. database, files or log.  In a scenario where if you have additional differential or log backups to be restored after it is necessary to specify the NoRecovery = true except for the final restore.  In this example, I am wiring up events of the Restore object instance to event-handlers for progress monitoring. Finally the SqlRestore method is called to start the restoration. If you want to start the restore operation asynchronously you would need to call SqlRestoreAsync method instead.

To restore a database SQL Server needs to acquire exclusive lock on the database being restored.  If you try to restore a database which is in use, SQL Server will throw the following exception:

C# Code Block 6 Transaction Log Restore – The process of restoring a transactional log is similar to restoring a full or differential backup. While restoring a transactional log, it is necessary to set the property Action = RestoreActionType.Log instead of RestoreActionType.Database as in case of full/differential restore.  Here is an example:

C# Code Block 7 Database Restore to a new location – At times you need to create a new database and restore to a new physical location which differs from the original database. For that purpose, the Restore class has the RelocateFiles collection which can be completed for each file with the new location as shown in the code below.

Complete code listing (created on SQL Server 2008 and Visual Studio 2008, though there is not much difference if you are using it on SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005) can be found in the below text box.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo;
using Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Common;
namespace BackupAndRestoreWithSMO2008
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Server myServer = new Server(@”ARSHADALI-LAP\ARSHADALI”);
            try
            {
                //Using windows authentication
                myServer.ConnectionContext.LoginSecure = true;
                myServer.ConnectionContext.Connect();
                Database myDatabase = myServer.Databases["AdventureWorks"];
                BackupDatabaseFull(myServer, myDatabase);
                //BackupDatabaseDifferential(myServer, myDatabase);
                //BackupDatabaseLog(myServer, myDatabase);
                //BackupDatabaseFullWithCompression(myServer, myDatabase);
               
                RestoreDatabase(myServer, myDatabase);
                //RestoreDatabaseLog(myServer, myDatabase);
                //RestoreDatabaseWithDifferentNameAndLocation(myServer, myDatabase);
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
                Console.WriteLine(ex.InnerException.Message);
            }
            finally
            {
                if (myServer.ConnectionContext.IsOpen)
                    myServer.ConnectionContext.Disconnect();
                Console.WriteLine(“Press any key to terminate…”);
                Console.ReadKey();
            }
        }
        private static void BackupDatabaseFull(Server myServer, Database myDatabase)
        {
            Backup bkpDBFull = new Backup();
            /* Specify whether you want to back up database or files or log */
            bkpDBFull.Action = BackupActionType.Database;
            /* Specify the name of the database to back up */
            bkpDBFull.Database = myDatabase.Name;
            /* You can take backup on several media type (disk or tape), here I am using
             * File type and storing backup on the file system */
            bkpDBFull.Devices.AddDevice(@”D:\AdventureWorksFull.bak”, DeviceType.File);
            bkpDBFull.BackupSetName = “Adventureworks database Backup”;
            bkpDBFull.BackupSetDescription = “Adventureworks database – Full Backup”;
            /* You can specify the expiration date for your backup data
             * after that date backup data would not be relevant */
            bkpDBFull.ExpirationDate = DateTime.Today.AddDays(10);
            /* You can specify Initialize = false (default) to create a new
             * backup set which will be appended as last backup set on the media. You can
             * specify Initialize = true to make the backup as first set on the mediuam and
             * to overwrite any other existing backup sets if the all the backup sets have
             * expired and specified backup set name matches with the name on the medium */
            bkpDBFull.Initialize = false;
            /* Wiring up events for progress monitoring */
            bkpDBFull.PercentComplete += CompletionStatusInPercent;
            bkpDBFull.Complete += Backup_Completed;
            /* SqlBackup method starts to take back up
             * You cab also use SqlBackupAsync method to perform backup
             * operation asynchronously */
            bkpDBFull.SqlBackup(myServer);
        }
        private static void BackupDatabaseDifferential(Server myServer, Database myDatabase)
        {
            Backup bkpDBDifferential = new Backup();
            /* Specify whether you want to back up database or files or log */
            bkpDBDifferential.Action = BackupActionType.Database;
            /* Specify the name of the database to back up */
            bkpDBDifferential.Database = myDatabase.Name;
            /* You can take backup on several media type (disk or tape), here I am using
             * File type and storing backup on the file system */
            bkpDBDifferential.Devices.AddDevice(@”D:\AdventureWorksDifferential.bak”, DeviceType.File);
            bkpDBDifferential.BackupSetName = “Adventureworks database Backup”;
            bkpDBDifferential.BackupSetDescription = “Adventureworks database – Differential Backup”;
            /* You can specify the expiration date for your backup data
             * after that date backup data would not be relevant */
            bkpDBDifferential.ExpirationDate = DateTime.Today.AddDays(10);
            /* You can specify Initialize = false (default) to create a new
             * backup set which will be appended as last backup set on the media. You can
             * specify Initialize = true to make the backup as first set on the mediuam and
             * to overwrite any other existing backup sets if the all the backup sets have
             * expired and specified backup set name matches with the name on the medium */
            bkpDBDifferential.Initialize = false;
            /* You can specify Incremental = false (default) to perform full backup
             * or Incremental = true to perform differential backup since most recent
             * full backup */
            bkpDBDifferential.Incremental = true;
            /* Wiring up events for progress monitoring */
            bkpDBDifferential.PercentComplete += CompletionStatusInPercent;
            bkpDBDifferential.Complete += Backup_Completed;
            /* SqlBackup method starts to take back up
             * You cab also use SqlBackupAsync method to perform backup
             * operation asynchronously */
            bkpDBDifferential.SqlBackup(myServer);
        }
        private static void BackupDatabaseLog(Server myServer, Database myDatabase)
        {
            Backup bkpDBLog = new Backup();
            /* Specify whether you want to back up database or files or log */
            bkpDBLog.Action = BackupActionType.Log;
            /* Specify the name of the database to back up */
            bkpDBLog.Database = myDatabase.Name;
            /* You can take backup on several media type (disk or tape), here I am using
             * File type and storing backup on the file system */
            bkpDBLog.Devices.AddDevice(@”D:\AdventureWorksLog.bak”, DeviceType.File);
            bkpDBLog.BackupSetName = “Adventureworks database Backup”;
            bkpDBLog.BackupSetDescription = “Adventureworks database – Log Backup”;
            /* You can specify the expiration date for your backup data
             * after that date backup data would not be relevant */
            bkpDBLog.ExpirationDate = DateTime.Today.AddDays(10);
            /* You can specify Initialize = false (default) to create a new
             * backup set which will be appended as last backup set on the media. You can
             * specify Initialize = true to make the backup as first set on the mediuam and
             * to overwrite any other existing backup sets if the all the backup sets have
             * expired and specified backup set name matches with the name on the medium */
            bkpDBLog.Initialize = false;
            /* Wiring up events for progress monitoring */
            bkpDBLog.PercentComplete += CompletionStatusInPercent;
            bkpDBLog.Complete += Backup_Completed;
            /* SqlBackup method starts to take back up
             * You cab also use SqlBackupAsync method to perform backup
             * operation asynchronously */
            bkpDBLog.SqlBackup(myServer);
        }
        private static void BackupDatabaseFullWithCompression(Server myServer, Database myDatabase)
        {
            Backup bkpDBFullWithCompression = new Backup();
            /* Specify whether you want to back up database or files or log */
            bkpDBFullWithCompression.Action = BackupActionType.Database;
            /* Specify the name of the database to back up */
            bkpDBFullWithCompression.Database = myDatabase.Name;
            /* You can use back up compression technique of SQL Server 2008,
             * specify CompressionOption property to On for compressed backup */
            bkpDBFullWithCompression.CompressionOption = BackupCompressionOptions.On;
            bkpDBFullWithCompression.Devices.AddDevice(@”D:\AdventureWorksFullWithCompression.bak”, DeviceType.File);
            bkpDBFullWithCompression.BackupSetName = “Adventureworks database Backup – Compressed”;
            bkpDBFullWithCompression.BackupSetDescription = “Adventureworks database – Full Backup with Compressin – only in SQL Server 2008″;
            bkpDBFullWithCompression.SqlBackup(myServer);
        }
        private static void CompletionStatusInPercent(object sender, PercentCompleteEventArgs args)
        {
            Console.Clear();
            Console.WriteLine(“Percent completed: {0}%.”, args.Percent);
        }
        private static void Backup_Completed(object sender, ServerMessageEventArgs args)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(“Hurray…Backup completed.” );
            Console.WriteLine(args.Error.Message);
        }
        private static void Restore_Completed(object sender, ServerMessageEventArgs args)
        {
            Console.WriteLine(“Hurray…Restore completed.”);
            Console.WriteLine(args.Error.Message);
        }
        private static void RestoreDatabase(Server myServer, Database myDatabase)
        {
            Restore restoreDB = new Restore();
            restoreDB.Database = myDatabase.Name;
            /* Specify whether you want to restore database or files or log etc */
            restoreDB.Action = RestoreActionType.Database;
            restoreDB.Devices.AddDevice(@”D:\AdventureWorksFull.bak”, DeviceType.File);
            /* You can specify ReplaceDatabase = false (default) to not create a new image
             * of the database, the specified database must exist on SQL Server instance.
             * If you can specify ReplaceDatabase = true to create new database image
             * regardless of the existence of specified database with same name */
            restoreDB.ReplaceDatabase = true;

            /* If you have differential or log restore to be followed, you would need
             * to specify NoRecovery = true, this will ensure no recovery is done after the
             * restore and subsequent restores are allowed. It means it will database
             * in the Restoring state. */
            restoreDB.NoRecovery = true;
            /* Wiring up events for progress monitoring */
            restoreDB.PercentComplete += CompletionStatusInPercent;
            restoreDB.Complete += Restore_Completed;
            /* SqlRestore method starts to restore database
             * You cab also use SqlRestoreAsync method to perform restore
             * operation asynchronously */
            restoreDB.SqlRestore(myServer);
        }
        private static void RestoreDatabaseLog(Server myServer, Database myDatabase)
        {
            Restore restoreDBLog = new Restore();
            restoreDBLog.Database = myDatabase.Name;
            restoreDBLog.Action = RestoreActionType.Log;
            restoreDBLog.Devices.AddDevice(@”D:\AdventureWorksLog.bak”, DeviceType.File);
            /* You can specify NoRecovery = false (default) so that transactions are
             * rolled forward and recovered. */
            restoreDBLog.NoRecovery = false;
            /* Wiring up events for progress monitoring */
            restoreDBLog.PercentComplete += CompletionStatusInPercent;
            restoreDBLog.Complete += Restore_Completed;
            /* SqlRestore method starts to restore database
             * You cab also use SqlRestoreAsync method to perform restore
             * operation asynchronously */
            restoreDBLog.SqlRestore(myServer);
        }
        private static void RestoreDatabaseWithDifferentNameAndLocation(Server myServer, Database myDatabase)
        {
            Restore restoreDB = new Restore();
            restoreDB.Database = myDatabase.Name + “New”;
            /* Specify whether you want to restore database or files or log etc */
            restoreDB.Action = RestoreActionType.Database;
            restoreDB.Devices.AddDevice(@”D:\AdventureWorksFull.bak”, DeviceType.File);
            /* You can specify ReplaceDatabase = false (default) to not create a new image
             * of the database, the specified database must exist on SQL Server instance.
             * You can specify ReplaceDatabase = true to create new database image
             * regardless of the existence of specified database with same name */
            restoreDB.ReplaceDatabase = true;
            /* If you have differential or log restore to be followed, you would need
             * to specify NoRecovery = true, this will ensure no recovery is done after the
             * restore and subsequent restores are allowed. It means it will database
             * in the Restoring state. */
            restoreDB.NoRecovery = false;
            /* RelocateFiles collection allows you to specify the logical file names and
             * physical file names (new locations) if you want to restore to a different location.*/
            restoreDB.RelocateFiles.Add(new RelocateFile(“AdventureWorks_Data”, @”D:\AdventureWorksNew_Data.mdf”));
            restoreDB.RelocateFiles.Add(new RelocateFile(“AdventureWorks_Log”, @”D:\AdventureWorksNew_Log.ldf”));
            /* Wiring up events for progress monitoring */
            restoreDB.PercentComplete += CompletionStatusInPercent;
            restoreDB.Complete += Restore_Completed;
            /* SqlRestore method starts to restore database
             * You cab also use SqlRestoreAsync method to perform restore
             * operation asynchronously */
            restoreDB.SqlRestore(myServer);
        }
    }
}

Notes:

• Location of assemblies in SQL Server 2005 is the C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\SDK\Assemblies folder.
• Location of assemblies in SQL Server 2008 is the C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\100\SDK\Assemblies folder.
• In SQL Server 2005, the Backup and Restore classes are available in the Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo namespace and in the Microsoft.SqlServer.Smo (microsoft.sqlserver.smo.dll) assembly.
• In SQL Server 2008, the Backup and Restore classes are available in the Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo namespace and in the Microsoft.SqlServer.SmoExtended (microsoft.sqlserver.smoextended.dll) assembly.
• If you are restoring a transaction log, you can specify a particular point in time with ToPointInTime property of the Restore class.
• The Restore class methods (SqlVerify, SqlVerifyAsync and SqlVerifyLatest) to verify and validate (backup set is complete and the entire backup is readable) the backup media before restoration.
• The SQL Server service account must have access to the folders where backup or restore operations are executed.
• You need to have sufficient permissions to perform backup and restore operations. For example, for backup you need to be either in sysadmin/db_owner/db_backupoperator role or must have BACKUP DATABASE or BACKUP LOG permission on the database.
• If you try to connect SQL Server 2008 from SMO 2005, you will get an exception “SQL Server <10.0> version is not supported”.

Next Steps

• Review the following tips:
  • Getting started with SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)
  • SQL Script Generation Programmatically with SMO
  • Exploring Database Backup Compression in SQL Server 2008
• Review Backup and Restore classes on MSDN.
• Review the MSSQLTips Backup and Recovery category with 40+ tips.

Readers Who Read This Tip Also Read

• How to identify when a database was restored, the source of the backup and the date of the backup
• How to Backup and Restore a SQL Server FILESTREAM Enabled Database
• Restore a SQL Server Database to a New Database to Minimize Downtime
• Mirrored Database Backup Feature in SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008
• Copy Only Backup for SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008
• More…

http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1798

Problem
Checking for SQL Server Agent jobs and their status is part of your daily task as a DBA. How do we use Windows PowerShell to check for SQL Server Agent jobs?

Solution
Similar to the task described in the tip Check the Last SQL Server Backup Date using Windows PowerShell, it would require reading the tables in the msdb database and joining them appropriately to find out which jobs failed. Two tables in particular are of interest to us to check for job execution information like job name, execution status, run date, run time, etc. – the sysjobs and sysjobhistory tables. 

The script below displays a list of jobs on your SQL Server instance with there status.

Notice that the run_date and run_time columns of the sysjobhistory table are of type int and would be a bit challenging to convert the columns to their appropriate data types.  Server Management Objects (SMO) exposes these properties when using Windows PowerShell. The JobServer property of the Server object represents the SQL Server Agent associated with an instance of SQL Server. This includes the SQL Server jobs, operators and alerts.When translating the T-SQL query above to Windows PowerShell, we would be interested in the Name, LastRunDate and LastRunOutcome properties of the Jobs object. What’s really good to note is that the LastRunDate property is in a datetime format that no longer requires conversion to the appropriate data type, similar to what we get from the sysjobhistory table in the msdb database.  I keep trying to highlight this for every tip I’ve written that uses PowerShell with SMO.  The only aspect of the code that we have changed from the scripts in the previous tips is the last line, i.e. adding new properties for the new objects we are working with. This highlights the power and simplicity of Windows PowerShell from the script.

Notice that the LastRunDate property is in the correct data type. The LastRunOutcome property is returned as they are without the need for further translations as in the T-SQL script above. Let’s call to the Excel object as we did in the previous tips to format the results. Again, the script above is more than enough for what we need.

Next Steps

• Try converting your T-SQL DBA scripts to Windows PowerShell
• Read more on the SMO Class Library to translate SQL Server objects that we are already familiar with to SMO objects
• Check out some recent PowerShell scripts:
  • Check the Last SQL Server Backup Date using Windows PowerShell
  • Retrieve List of Databases and their Properties using PowerShell
  • Using PowerShell with SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)
  • Introduction to Windows PowerShell for the SQL Server DBA Part 1
  • Introduction to Windows PowerShell for the SQL Server DBA Part 2

Readers Who Read This Tip Also Read

• Backup SQL Server Databases with a Windows PowerShell Script
• Generating SQL Scripts using Windows PowerShell
• Check the Last SQL Server Backup Date using Windows PowerShell
• Retrieve a List of SQL Server Databases and their Properties using PowerShell
• Using PowerShell with SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)
• More…

http://www.mssqltips.com/tip.asp?tip=1862&home

Problem
In a previous tip on Backup and Restore SQL Server databases programmatically with SMO, you’ve seen how you can use Windows PowerShell to backup and restore SQL Server databases. In this tip, I will cover how to use Windows PowerShell to generate SQL Server backups.

Solution
Generating and maintaining backups are the most important tasks that any DBA has to fulfill. And, as mentioned in the previous tip, SMO can be used to backup and restore a database. There are different ways to backup a database, depending on company policies on disaster recovery. We will be introducing a new SMO namespace that will allow us to create the Backup object. This is an added line in our previous PowerShell scripts to create a new instance of the Backup object.

The first property of the Backup object that we need to assign is the name of the database that we need to do a backup on. This is defined by the Database property of the Backup object. The code snippet below defines a Database property for the Backup object to perform a backup on the Northwind database.

Whenever you generate or create backups, SMO considers this as a Device. This requires us to add the Backup file to the Devices collection of the Backup object, specifying the DeviceType as File. The first parameter in the AddDevice method of the Devices collection is the file name of the backup file with the full path as stored in the file system whereas the second parameter is the DeviceType. While SQL Server supports the use of devices, I normally recommend using the file system to easily identify the backup sets based on the file name using the proper naming convention (one thing you would not want to be worried about during disaster recovery is scrambling to find the valid backup sets).

The next important property of the Backup object that we are interested in is the Action property. The Action property sets the type of backup to be performed – Database, Log or File. The default value of the Action property is set to Database. This property is of importance based on the definition of our service level agreement as you don’t just generate backups without understanding the defined SLAs for a specific database or application. For our example, we will define a FULL database backup

Once we have defined the properties of our Backup object, it’s just a matter of calling the SqlBackup method of the Backup object. The SqlBackup method performs the backup operation as defined by the properties you have set in the Backup object. It accepts a parameter of type Server which represents the SQL Server instance that you have defined as the source of the backup operation.

Combining the code snippets above, here is a working Windows PowerShell script to perform a FULL database backup against the Northwind database, storing the backup file in your file system.

Now, since you won’t be performing backups of just a single database, it would be better if we loop the entire script in a For-Each cmdlet iterating thru the Databases collection of the Server object.

While my only condition for generating backups is to exclude the tempdb database, you can include other conditions such as querying the database property if it is used for database mirroring (IsMirroringEnabled property) or specifying database names if you are sure enough that you won’t be needing backups for them. While not really necessary, you also might want to include other Backup object properties such as BackupSetName, BackupSetDescription, and MediaDescription as they can be of help in case you wanted to find out the contents of your backup sets.

NOTE: If you have SQL Server 2008 Client Tools installed on your workstation where you intend to run this PowerShell script, it is important that you add a reference to the Microsoft.SqlServer.SmoExtended namespace. The Backup object and a few other objects were moved from the Microsoft.SqlServer.Smo to the Microsoft.SqlServer.SmoExtended. In the example I provided, I have SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 running on my machine, thus, requiring that I add a reference to the Microsoft.SqlServer.SmoExtended namespace. SQL Server MVP Allen White has blogged about Loading SMO Assemblies in PowerShell and explains using a custom script to load appropriate SMO assemblies depending on the SQL Server version.

Generating Differential and Log Backups

Depending on your service level agreement, you would also need to define either Differential or Log backups to complement your Full backups. This can be done by changing the Action property of the Backup object to either Log for Log backups or setting the Incremental property of the Backup object to a value of 1. Below is a code snippet for generating Log backups, simply by changing the Action property.

Note that you can only do Log backups on databases that are not configured to use the SIMPLE recovery model. This means that your condition for generating Log backups would include a check on the RecoveryModel property

For Differential backups, you would need to replace the Action property with the Incremental property and set the value to 1

Your backup strategies, depending on your service level agreement, will definitely include a combination of either Full and Differential and/or Log backups.

Next Steps

• Read more on the Backup class in SMO
• Review the tip Backup and Restore SQL Server databases programmatically with SMO
• Test how you can use Windows PowerShell to generate your SQL Server backups.

Readers Who Read This Tip Also Read

• Generating SQL Scripts using Windows PowerShell
• Checking SQL Server Agent jobs using Windows PowerShell
• Check the Last SQL Server Backup Date using Windows PowerShell
• Retrieve a List of SQL Server Databases and their Properties using PowerShell
• Using PowerShell with SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)
• More…

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930615

• If I want to see what fields a table is made of, and what the sizes of the
fields are, what option do I have to look for?
Sp_Columns ‘TableName’

• What is a query?
A request for information from a database. There are three general methods for posing queries:
# Choosing parameters from a menu: In this method, the database system presents a list of parameters from which you can choose. This is perhaps the easiest way to pose a query because the menus guide you, but it is also the least flexible.
# Query by example (QBE): In this method, the system presents a blank record and lets you specify the fields and values that define the query.
# Query language: Many database systems require you to make requests for information in the form of a stylized query that must be written in a special query language. This is the most complex method because it forces you to learn a specialized language, but it is also the most powerful.

• What is the purpose of the model database?
It works as Template Database for the Create Database Syntax

• What is the purpose of the master database?
Master database keeps the information about sql server configuration, databases users etc

• What is the purpose of the tempdb database?
Tempdb database keeps the information about the temporary objects (#TableName, #Procedure). Also the sorting, DBCC operations are performed in the TempDB

• What is the purpose of the USE command?
Use command is used for to select the database. For i.e Use Database Name

• If you delete a table in the database, will the data in the table be deleted too?
Yes

• What is the Parse Query button used for? How does this help you?
Parse query button is used to check the SQL Query Syntax

• Tables are created in a ____________________ in SQL Server 2005.
resouce database(System Tables)

• What is usually the first word in a SQL query?
SELECT

• Does a SQL Server 2005 SELECT statement require a FROM?
NO

• Can a SELECT statement in SQL Server 2005 be used to make an assignment? Explain with examples.
Yes. Select @MyDate = GetDate()

• What is the ORDER BY used for?
Order By clause is used for sorting records in Ascending or Descending order

• Does ORDER BY actually change the order of the data in the tables or does it just
change the output?
Order By clause change only the output of the data

• What is the default order of an ORDER BY clause?
Ascending Order

• What kind of comparison operators can be used in a WHERE clause?

• What are four major operators that can be used to combine conditions on a WHERE
clause?

OR, AND, IN and BETWEEN

• What are the logical operators?

•In a WHERE clause, do you need to enclose a text column in quotes? Do you need to enclose a numeric column in quotes?
Enclose Text in Quotes (Yes)
Enclose Number in Quotes (NO)

• Is a null value equal to anything? Can a space in a column be considered a null value? Why or why not?
No NULL value means nothing. We can’t consider space as NULL value.

• Will COUNT(column) include columns with null values in its count?
Yes, it will include the null column in count

• What are column aliases? Why would you want to use column aliases? How can you embed blanks in column aliases?
You can create aliases for column names to make it easier to work with column names, calculations, and summary values. For example, you can create a column alias to:
* Create a column name, such as “Total Amount,” for an expression such as (quantity * unit_price) or for an aggregate function.
* Create a shortened form of a column name, such as “d_id” for “discounts.stor_id.”
After you have defined a column alias, you can use the alias in a Select query to specify query output

• What are table aliases?
Aliases can make it easier to work with table names. Using aliases is helpful when:
* You want to make the statement in the SQL Pane shorter and easier to read.
* You refer to the table name often in your query — such as in qualifying column names — and want to be sure you stay within a specific character-length limit for your query. (Some databases impose a maximum

length for queries.)
* You are working with multiple instances of the same table (such as in a self-join) and need a way to refer to one instance or the other.

• What are table qualifiers? When should table qualifiers be used?
[@table_qualifier =] qualifier
Is the name of the table or view qualifier. qualifier is sysname, with a default of NULL. Various DBMS products support three-part naming for tables (qualifier.owner.name). In SQL Server, this column represents the database name. In some products, it represents the server name of the table’s database environment.

• Are semicolons required at the end of SQL statements in SQL Server 2005?
No it is not required

• Do comments need to go in a special place in SQL Server 2005?
No its not necessary

• When would you use the ROWCOUNT function versus using the WHERE clause?
Returns the number of rows affected by the last statement. If the number of rows is more than 2 billion, use ROWCOUNT_BIG.
Transact-SQL statements can set the value in @@ROWCOUNT in the following ways:
* Set @@ROWCOUNT to the number of rows affected or read. Rows may or may not be sent to the client.
* Preserve @@ROWCOUNT from the previous statement execution.
* Reset @@ROWCOUNT to 0 but do not return the value to the client.
Statements that make a simple assignment always set the @@ROWCOUNT value to 1.

• Is SQL case-sensitive? Is SQL Server 2005 case-sensitive?
No both are not case-sensitive. Case sensitivity depends on the collation you choose.
If you installed SQL Server with the default collation options, you might find that the following queries return the same results:

CREATE TABLE mytable
(
mycolumn VARCHAR(10)
)
GO

SET NOCOUNT ON

INSERT mytable VALUES(’Case’)
GO

SELECT mycolumn FROM mytable WHERE mycolumn=’Case’
SELECT mycolumn FROM mytable WHERE mycolumn=’caSE’
SELECT mycolumn FROM mytable WHERE mycolumn=’case’

You can alter your query by forcing collation at the column level:

SELECT myColumn FROM myTable
WHERE myColumn COLLATE Latin1_General_CS_AS = ‘caSE’

SELECT myColumn FROM myTable
WHERE myColumn COLLATE Latin1_General_CS_AS = ‘case’

SELECT myColumn FROM myTable
WHERE myColumn COLLATE Latin1_General_CS_AS = ‘Case’

– if myColumn has an index, you will likely benefit by adding
– AND myColumn = ‘case’

• What is a synonym? Why would you want to create a synonym?
SYNONYM is a single-part name that can replace a two, three or four-part name in many SQL statements. Using SYNONYMS in RDBMS cuts down on typing.
SYNONYMs can be created for the following objects:

* Table
* View
* Assembly (CLR) Stored Procedure
* Assembly (CLR) Table-valued Function
* Assembly (CLR) Scalar Function
* Assembly Aggregate (CLR) Aggregate Functions
* Replication-filter-procedure
* Extended Stored Procedure
* SQL Scalar Function
* SQL Table-valued Function
* SQL Inline-table-valued Function
* SQL Stored Procedure

Syntax
CREATE SYNONYM [ schema_name_1. ] synonym_name FOR < object >

< object > :: =
{
[ server_name.[ database_name ] . [ schema_name_2 ].| database_name . [ schema_name_2 ].| schema_name_2. ] object_name
}

• Can a synonym name of a table be used instead of a table name in a SELECT statement?
Yes

• Can a synonym of a table be used when you are trying to alter the definition of a table?
Not Sure will try

• Can you type more than one query in the query editor screen at the same time?
Yes we can.

• While you are inserting values into a table with the INSERT INTO .. VALUES option, does the order of the columns in the INSERT statement have to be the same as the order of the columns in the table?
Not Necessary

• While you are inserting values into a table with the INSERT INTO .. SELECT option, does the order of the columns in the INSERT statement have to be the same as the order of the columns in the table?
Yes if you are not specifying the column names in the insert clause, you need to maintain the column order in SELECT statement

• When would you use an INSERT INTO .. SELECT option versus an INSERT INTO .. VALUES option? Give an example of each.
INSERT INTO .. SELECT is used insert data in to table from diffrent tables or condition based insert
INSERT INTO .. VALUES you have to specify the insert values

• What does the UPDATE command do?
Update command will modify the existing record

• Can you change the data type of a column in a table after the table has been created? If so,which command would you use?
Yes we can. Alter Table Modify Column

• Will SQL Server 2005 allow you to reduce the size of a column?
Yes it allows

• What integer data types are available in SQL Server 2005?

Exact-number data types that use integer data.

• What is the default value of an integer data type in SQL Server 2005?
NULL

• What is the difference between a CHAR and a VARCHAR datatype?

CHAR and VARCHAR data types are both non-Unicode character data types with a maximum length of 8,000 characters. The main difference between these 2 data types is that a CHAR data type is fixed-length while a VARCHAR is variable-length. If the number of characters entered in a CHAR data type column is less than the declared column length, spaces are appended to it to fill up the whole length.

Another difference is in the storage size wherein the storage size for CHAR is n bytes while for VARCHAR is the actual length in bytes of the data entered (and not n bytes).

You should use CHAR data type when the data values in a column are expected to be consistently close to the same size. On the other hand, you should use VARCHAR when the data values in a column are expected to vary considerably in size.

• Does Server SQL treat CHAR as a variable-length or fixed-length column?
SQL Server treats CHAR as fixed length column

• If you are going to have too many nulls in a column, what would be the best data type to use?
Variable length columns only use a very small amount of space to store a NULL so VARCHAR datatype is the good option for null values

• When columns are added to existing tables, what do they initially contain?
The column initially contains the NULL values

• What command would you use to add a column to a table in SQL Server?
ALTER TABLE tablename ADD column_name DATATYPE

• Does an index slow down updates on indexed columns?
Yes

• What is a constraint?
Constraints in Microsoft SQL Server 2000/2005 allow us to define the ways in which we can automatically enforce the integrity of a database. Constraints define rules regarding permissible values allowed in columns and are the standard mechanism for enforcing integrity. Using constraints is preferred to using triggers, stored procedures, rules, and defaults, as a method of implementing data integrity rules. The query optimizer also uses constraint definitions to build high-performance query execution plans.

• How many indexes does SQL Server 2005 allow you to have on a table?
250 indices per table

• What command would you use to create an index?
CREAT INDEX INDEXNAME ON TABLE(COLUMN NAME)

• What is the default ordering that will be created by an index (ascending or descending)?
Clustered indexes can be created in SQL Server databases. In such cases the logical order of the index key values will be the same as the physical order of rows in the table.
By default it is ascending order, we can also specify the index order while index creation.
CREATE [ UNIQUE ] [ CLUSTERED | NONCLUSTERED ] INDEX index_name
ON { table | view } ( column [ ASC | DESC ] [ ,...n ] )

• How do you delete an index?
DROP INDEX authors.au_id_ind

• What does the NOT NULL constraint do?
Constrain will not allow NULL values in the column

• What command must you use to include the NOT NULL constraint after a table has already been created?
DEFAULT, WITH CHECK or WITH NOCHECK

• When a PRIMARY KEY constraint is included in a table, what other constraints does this imply?
Unique + NOT NULL

• What is a concatenated primary key?
Each table has one and only one primary key, which can consist of one or many columns. A concatenated primary key comprises two or more columns. In a single table, you might find several columns, or groups of columns, that might serve as a primary key and are called candidate keys. A table can have more than one candidate key, but only one candidate key can become the primary key for that table

• How are the UNIQUE and PRIMARY KEY constraints different?
A UNIQUE constraint is similar to PRIMARY key, but you can have more than one UNIQUE constraint per table.

When you declare a UNIQUE constraint, SQL Server creates a UNIQUE index to speed up the process of searching for duplicates. In this case the index defaults to NONCLUSTERED index, because you can have only one CLUSTERED index per table.

* The number of UNIQUE constraints per table is limited by the number of indexes on the table i.e 249 NONCLUSTERED index and one possible CLUSTERED index.

Contrary to PRIMARY key UNIQUE constraints can accept NULL but just once. If the constraint is defined in a combination of fields, then every field can accept NULL and can have some values on them, as long as the combination values is unique.

• What is a referential integrity constraint? What two keys does the referential integrity constraint usually include?
Referential integrity in a relational database is consistency between coupled tables. Referential integrity is usually enforced by the combination of a primary key or candidate key (alternate key) and a foreign key. For referential integrity to hold, any field in a table that is declared a foreign key can contain only values from a parent table’s primary key or a candidate key. For instance, deleting a record that contains a value referred to by a foreign key in another table would break referential integrity. The relational database management system (RDBMS) enforces referential integrity, normally either by deleting the foreign key rows as well to maintain integrity, or by returning an error and not performing the delete. Which method is used would be determined by the referential integrity constraint, as defined in the data dictionary.

• What is a foreign key?
FOREIGN KEY constraints identify the relationships between tables.
A foreign key in one table points to a candidate key in another table. Foreign keys prevent actions that would leave rows with foreign key values when there are no candidate keys with that value. In the following sample, the order_part table establishes a foreign key referencing the part_sample table defined earlier. Usually, order_part would also have a foreign key against an order table, but this is a simple example.

CREATE TABLE order_part
(order_nmbr int,
part_nmbr int
FOREIGN KEY REFERENCES part_sample(part_nmbr)
ON DELETE NO ACTION,
qty_ordered int)
GO

You cannot insert a row with a foreign key value (except NULL) if there is no candidate key with that value. The ON DELETE clause controls what actions are taken if you attempt to delete a row to which existing foreign keys point. The ON DELETE clause has two options:

NO ACTION specifies that the deletion fails with an error.

CASCADE specifies that all the rows with foreign keys pointing to the deleted row are also deleted.
The ON UPDATE clause defines the actions that are taken if you attempt to update a candidate key value to which existing foreign keys point. It also supports the NO ACTION and CASCADE options.

• What does the ON DELETE CASCADE option do?
ON DELETE CASCADE
Specifies that if an attempt is made to delete a row with a key referenced by foreign keys in existing rows in other tables, all rows containing those foreign keys are also deleted. If cascading referential actions have also been defined on the target tables, the specified cascading actions are also taken for the rows deleted from those tables.

ON UPDATE CASCADE
Specifies that if an attempt is made to update a key value in a row, where the key value is referenced by foreign keys in existing rows in other tables, all of the foreign key values are also updated to the new value specified for the key. If cascading referential actions have also been defined on the target tables, the specified cascading actions are also taken for the key values updated in those tables.

• What does the ON UPDATE NO ACTION do?
ON DELETE NO ACTION
Specifies that if an attempt is made to delete a row with a key referenced by foreign keys in existing rows in other tables, an error is raised and the DELETE is rolled back.

ON UPDATE NO ACTION
Specifies that if an attempt is made to update a key value in a row whose key is referenced by foreign keys in existing rows in other tables, an error is raised and the UPDATE is rolled back.

• Can you use the ON DELETE and ON UPDATE in the same constraint?
Yes we can.
CREATE TABLE part_sample
(part_nmbr int PRIMARY KEY,
part_name char(30),
part_weight decimal(6,2),
part_color char(15) )

CREATE TABLE order_part
(order_nmbr int,
part_nmbr int
FOREIGN KEY REFERENCES part_sample(part_nmbr)
ON DELETE NO ACTION ON UPDATE NO ACTION,
qty_ordered int)
GO

Senior Systems Engineers from Dell have recently concluded extensive testing and profiling of the HyperBac for SQL Server and HyperBac for Oracle (Windows and Linux) products at their Vendor Performance Laboratories in Austin, TX. Dell has released a white paper entitled:

HyperBac Delivers High-Performance Database Backup for SQL Server and Oracle on Dell-EMC Infrastructure

This paper details the results of the tests conducted including VLDB testing on SQL Server. The white paper can be downloaded directly from the dell.com web site using the link above, there is also a summary of this paper in the following link

Summary of Dell White Paper on HyperBac for SQL Server and Oracle

HyperBac for SQL Server recently featured in the April edition of SQL Server Magazine in an article titled ‘SQL Server Backup Compression Shootout’. The article tested three well known SQL Server backup products including HyperBac against one another with HyperBac coming out in the lead with a 4 out of 5 star rating.

The summary of HyperBac from the article is below:

HyperBac for SQL Server
Pros: Excellent integration with SQL Server; no updating of SQL Server Agent jobs or T-SQL scripts; simple installation; ZIP functionality; compression of bcp, DTS, and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) files to disk; fastest restore of products compared Cons: No GUI-based backup tools
Rating: 4 stars
Price: $699 per server
Recommendation: HyperBac for SQL Server matches the way many DBAs like to work and integrates with SQL Server seamlessly out of the box. Coupled with innovative features such as backing up to a .zip file and the ability to compress bcp, DTS, and SSIS streams to and from files, HyperBac for SQL Server is a clear winner.
Contact: HyperBac Technologies • www.hyperbac.com

The full article is available at http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/98180/sql_server_98180.html

A chronology of the SQL Server compressed backup software market from 2001-2007 from a co-founder of LiteSpeed.

In 2001, a small group of developer/DBAs from Melbourne, Australia discovered a significant shortcoming in SQL Server when it came to backing up VLDB databases.  It took far too long and consumed an unacceptable amount of disk and tape, in addition the IO workload placed on a SQL Server when moving hundreds of GB (or even TB on rare occasions at that juncture in time).  There were no viable alternatives available at the time to relieve these issues.  The developers began working on a project which would be called SQL LiteSpeed, later to be re-named LiteSpeed for SQL Server.

The SQL LiteSpeed architecture involved an out of process executable which requested data from SQL Server using the Virtual Device Interface (VDI), an API typically used by the likes of Veritas, Legato, ArcServe, etc to write data to tape (or disk staging areas).  The exe was accessed in process from SQL Server by using Extended Stored Procedures (xp_backup_database, xp_restore_database, etc).  SQL LiteSpeed was suitable priced and licensed for the SQL Server market at the time and was effectively positioned and marketed to the community, subsequently the product rapidly gained momentum, acceptability and market share.

In early 2004, Insight Venture Partners (a New York based technology investment company) acquired a majority stake in DBAssociatesIT (the founding company for SQL LiteSpeed).  Insight appointed the outgoing VP of Sales for Embarcadero as the new CEO.  The newly formed entity was named “Imceda”.  Over the course of 2004-2005, sales and marketing efforts for the LiteSpeed product intensified substantially.

During the period of 2004-2005, the SQL Server compressed backup market was seen by other vendors to be very lucrative as well and subsequently spawned various other products including Idera’s SQL Safe (released in Q3-2004) and Red Gates SQL Backup (initially called Yohz Mini SQL Backup prior to its acquisition by Red Gate).  All of these products essentially mirrored the initial SQL LiteSpeed architecture (invoking the backup from TSQL using extended stored procedures either directly or indirectly).  Efforts from all vendors were focused mainly on graphical enhancements to their respective management console interfaces for differentiation. 

At this stage, the SQL Server backup wars were raging, with the end users often finding themselves precariously placed in the middle of the battlefield between the various combatants.

In Q2-2005, Imceda was acquired by Quest Software for $60M, and sales and marketing efforts were taken to another level altogether.  By this time only one of the original founders of SQL LiteSpeed remained with Quest.  The other two co-founders, which included the developer who wad written the entire SQL LiteSpeed engine code, had departed Imceda between Feb and Sep 2004. 

After their respective departures from Imceda in 2004 – long before the QSFT acquisition, the two co-founders of SQL LiteSpeed got together to explore an alternative way to achieve the LiteSpeed value with a unique, extensible architecture, which would subsequently extend features and benefits beyond that of what any other technologies on the market were capable of delivering.  The new technology was called HyperBac.

After serving out their individual non-compete agreements, which originated with the Insight transaction and were commuted to Quest after their acquisition of Imceda, the co-founders of SQL LiteSpeed released HyperBac.

HyperBac took a completely different approach to achieving SQL Server backup compression, using filter driver technology (using standard, supported Microsoft platform APIs as provided to many other file system driver development companies) to seamlessly compress SQL Server backup data streams as they are written from SQL Server to disk.

HyperBac was the first technology to introduce this new architecture, which was a marked departure from the numerous extended stored procedure based products available on the market to date.  HyperBac allowed DBA’s to use native TSQL to perform backups with integrated high performance compression and encryption.  Moreover, HyperBac’s architecture extended backup compression to other DBMS’s besides SQL Server, something not achieved by any other third party software vendor at the time.  In addition the co-founders implemented several other innovations including the capability of performing backups directly to a ZIP/RAR compatible storage format, as opposed to a proprietary storage format creating an indefinite dependence on a third party software vendor to extract or restore companies data.

In Q3-2007, Microsoft announced that it was to release their own implementation of integrated backup compression in SQL Server 2008.  This feature would be available in the Enterprise Edition of SQL Server 2008.  Which takes us to today, Part II to follow…

More information on HyperBac for SQL Server is available at http://www.hyperbac.com/sqlserver/

More information on compression in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/2008/default.mspx