Troubleshooting Performance Problems in SQL Server 2005

I was working through some performance issues on a "fun" table.  A bit of half a billion rows and with some apparent I/O issues as the entire table is being read by some of the clients services to create an extract.  In working through some of the performance bottlenecks, I found the following white paper … Continue reading Troubleshooting Performance Problems in SQL Server 2005

IIF(IsEasier(Many-to-Many Dimensional Modeling) = TRUE, JOYFUL, CRY)

In a former life on a SQL Server 2000 project with I had the immense joy of building a few cubes in Analysis Services that took advantage of many-to-many relationships.  At the start I was thrilled to be trying something new and by the end I was cross-eyed trying to keep all of the calculations … Continue reading IIF(IsEasier(Many-to-Many Dimensional Modeling) = TRUE, JOYFUL, CRY)

SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard Reports

There's a new download from Microsoft that I am a little excited to take a look at... <begin fanfar> <queue flashy lights> The...  SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard Reports I've downloaded them but haven't had a chance to really look at them.  From the download page overview though: The SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard Reports … Continue reading SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard Reports

The 2-for-1 Special in Excel

It inevitably happens when building SQL Server Reporting Services reports that someone will have desire to export the beautifully created report out of SSRS and into some other format.  And sometimes that format just happens to be Excel. *Presto Change-O* And quite suddenly the beauty of the report is destroyed by the earth-shattering disease of … Continue reading The 2-for-1 Special in Excel

Parameter Feature… Not A Bug

Often times I’ve placed default values into my reports when designing them to aid in developing the report without having to constantly fill out the parameters while testing them. To my chagrin I’ve run into a number of problems when I update deploy these reports to the reporting services server. And it seems that when … Continue reading Parameter Feature… Not A Bug