Aaron is a senior consultant for SQL Sentry, Inc., makers of performance monitoring and event management software for SQL Server, Analysis Services, and Windows. He has been blogging here at sqlblog.com since 2006, focusing on manageability, performance, and new features; has been a Microsoft MVP since 1997; tweets as @AaronBertrand; and speaks frequently at user group meetings and SQL Saturday events.

February 2011 - Posts

• SQL Server v.Next ("Denali") : How a columnstore index is not like a normal index

  At the end of my Denali presentation at SQL Saturday #65 in Vancouver, a member of the audience asked, "What makes a columnstore index different from a regular nonclustered index?" At the end of a busy day, I was at a loss for an answer, and I'll explain Read More... Posted Monday, February 28, 2011 1:34 PM by AaronBertrand | 18 Comments Filed under: SQL Server 2011, column store, SQL 11, SQL Server 11, denali, CTP1, Columnstore index, Apollo

• Slides and samples from SQL Saturday #65 - Vancouver

  Today I presented my "What's New in SQL Server 'Denali'" deck to about 40 attendees at SQL Saturday #65 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Attached below (and here ) are the slightly updated slides and samples. Read More... Posted Saturday, February 26, 2011 8:53 PM by AaronBertrand | 1 Comments Filed under: SQL Server 2011, PASS, community, SQL 11, SQL Saturday, SQL Server 11, denali Attachment(s): Denali.zip

• New Cumulative Updates for SQL Server 2005 & SQL Server 2008 R2

  Early this morning (or late last night, depending on your time zone), the SQL Server Release Services team pushed out three new cumulative updates for SQL Server. KB #2489375 - SQL Server 2005 SP3 CU #14 (9.00.4317) KB #2489409 - SQL Server 2005 SP4 CU Read More... Posted Tuesday, February 22, 2011 10:13 AM by AaronBertrand | 3 Comments Filed under: cumulative updates, builds, SQL Server 2005 SP3, hotfixes, SQL Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2005 SP4

• My first few minutes with SQL Azure

  I've finally decided to play a little with SQL Azure. I have to say, my first few minutes have been less than fantastic. When I go to http://sql.azure.com/ this is what I see: It seems that I don't have an invitation code, so I guess I'll sign up for Read More... Posted Tuesday, February 15, 2011 10:22 AM by AaronBertrand | 3 Comments Filed under: Connect, MSDN, SQL Azure, windows live id, cloud

• The results are in: I'm an okay speaker.

  Last weekend I spoke at SQL Saturday #60 in Cleveland, Ohio. I had a great time catching up with some existing friends and colleagues, and met a bunch of new people too. I presented two sessions: What's New in Denali, and T-SQL: Bad Habits to Kick. Yesterday Read More... Posted Monday, February 14, 2011 8:41 PM by AaronBertrand | 5 Comments Filed under: presentations, community, SQL Saturday, feedback

• Is SQL Server 2008 R2 a full release of SQL Server?

  This has come up in conversations more than once in the past little while - recently on twitter I made the casual comment that later this year, SQL Server 2008 will be "two versions old." Well, not everyone agrees that that is technically true. So, I Read More... Posted Wednesday, February 09, 2011 9:15 AM by AaronBertrand | 10 Comments Filed under: SQL Server 2008, backward compatibility, SQL Server 2008 R2

• T-SQL Tuesday #15 : Running T-SQL workloads remotely on multiple servers

  This month's installment of T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by Pat Wright ( blog | twitter ). Pat says: "So the topic I have chosen for this month is Automation! It can be Automation with T-SQL or with Powershell or a mix of both. Give us your best tips/tricks Read More... Posted Tuesday, February 08, 2011 3:10 PM by AaronBertrand | 5 Comments Filed under: automation, T-SQL Tuesday, PowerShell

• Get your Master Immersion learning on!

  Time is running out to register for the Master Immersion training events being held in Dallas, TX by SQLskills . These particular events will be instructed by Paul Randal ( blog | twitter ), Kimberly Tripp ( blog | twitter ), and Brent Ozar ( blog | twitter Read More... Posted Tuesday, February 08, 2011 10:02 AM by AaronBertrand | 4 Comments Filed under: Master immersion, SQLSkills, Microsoft Certified Master, Paul Randal, Kimberly Tripp, MCM, Brent Ozar

• Differences in documentation for sys.dm_exec_requests

  I've already complained about this on Connect ( see #641790 ), but I just wanted to point out that if you're trying to make sense of the sys.dm_exec_requests document and what it lists as the commands supported by the percent_complete column, you should Read More... Posted Monday, February 07, 2011 5:11 PM by AaronBertrand | 4 Comments Filed under: books online, documentation, sys.dm_exec_requests, consistency, percent_complete

• SQL Server 2008 R2 still requires a trace flag for Lock Pages in Memory

  Almost two years ago, I blogged that Lock Pages in Memory was finally available to Standard Edition customers (Enterprise Edition customers had long been deemed smart enough to not abuse this feature). In addition to applying a cumulative update (2005 Read More... Posted Monday, February 07, 2011 12:32 PM by AaronBertrand | 7 Comments Filed under: trace flags, lock pages in memory, x64, SQL Server 2008 R2, standard edition

• Reflections on SQL Saturday #60 - Cleveland

  Every time I attend a SQL Saturday , I leave with a rejuvenated and even further reinforced sense of community. Cleveland ( SQL Saturday #60 ) was by far no exception. Allen White ( blog | twitter ), Erin Stellato ( blog | twitter ), Cory Stevenson, Brian Read More... Posted Monday, February 07, 2011 12:20 PM by AaronBertrand | 3 Comments Filed under: community, SQL Saturday

• Some new free tools enter the SQL marketplace

  A while back, I started collecting links for free SQL Server resources available to everyone in the community. I created a blog post called " Useful, free resources for SQL Server " to serve as a launching point for the links I'd been collecting. I'm Read More... Posted Sunday, February 06, 2011 5:19 PM by AaronBertrand | 4 Comments Filed under: SQL Server, resources, free, Atlantis Interactive, free tools, Qure Workload Analyzer, DBSophic, Qure

• Slide decks and samples from SQL Saturday #60 - Cleveland

  Attached are the slide decks and demos from my two presentations at SQL Saturday #60 in Cleveland: What's New in SQL Server "Denali" T-SQL : Bad Habits to Kick Read More... Posted Saturday, February 05, 2011 6:34 PM by AaronBertrand | 4 Comments Filed under: SQL Server 2011, presentations, SQL 11, SQL Saturday, SQL Server 11, denali, samples

• Who created that user?

  Twitter has provided some great fodder for blog content lately. And twice this week, I've found an excuse to take advantage of the default trace. Tonight @meltondba asked: I'm trying to find who created a user act in a DB It is true, SQL Server doesn't Read More... Posted Wednesday, February 02, 2011 6:35 PM by AaronBertrand | 1 Comments Filed under: auditing, default trace

• A bacon- (and module-) saving PowerShell incident

  Earlier today I made a big goof. I opened a module in Notepad, intending to use it as the basis for a new module. I was in the process of using "File > Save As" when my phone rang just at the precise instant that, for some reason, made me click on Read More... Posted Tuesday, February 01, 2011 5:28 PM by AaronBertrand | 13 Comments Filed under: PowerShell, should know better, notepad