Working With Databases

Databases in SQL Server 2008
Presented by Scott Whigham

What We’re Going to Cover
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

• Overview of • Creating • Indexes and
Chapter Databases Partitioning
• How • Adventure • Managing
Databases Works Database
Work in SQL • Configuring Files
Server Database • What to Do
• The System Options After
Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
This Chapter
• What this chapter covers

– Databases, data bases and DBs
• Creation and management
– Database file structure
– An overview of configuring the database
This Chapter
• What this chapter does NOT cover

– Every single database option available
– Performance tuning and optimizations
– Monitoring
This Chapter
• Pre-requisites to this chapter

– You should already know how to create a
database using the GUI
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
SQL Server Databases
• SQL Server databases have at least two

files
– Data files
– Transaction Log files (commonly called “log files”)
• A database has at least one of each
– We’ll look at when to have multiples of each later
• Data files store everything that a user

needs such as
– The data
– The indexes
– Source code for routines (stored procedures,
functions)
– Security information (users, roles, permissions)
• Transaction log files are used to protect

SQL Server databases from “failure”
• Failure could be
– User error
– Disk failure
– Software failure
– Dreaded BSOD (Blue Screen of Death)
• Every write in a database is done inside

of a transaction
• All transactions are written first to the
log and then to the data file
• This is known as “Write Ahead Logging”
– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write_ahead_logging
• You begin a transaction with the BEGIN TRAN

statement
• A transaction may include many statements
• A transaction remains “open” until either

you:
– COMMIT TRAN
– ROLLBACK TRAN (called “rolling back”)
• Once “closed”, the transaction may never

be re-opened
DECLARE @ProcessingHistoryId INT

DECLARE @PayAmount DECIMAL(19,2) = $1.94
BEGIN TRAN
INSERT PayrollProcessingHistory
VALUES (‘Whigham’, ‘2009-04-01’, @PayAmount)
SELECT @ProcessingHistoryId = SCOPE_IDENTITY()
INSERT ChecksToWrite
VALUES (@ProcessingHistoryId , @PayAmount)
COMMIT TRAN
• Transactions in SQL Server are durable

– Once the transaction is committed, the
transaction will remain in the database even in the
event of a system crash
• Demo of write-ahead logging
*More on transactions in our “SQL Server 2008 Programming” course

In the next video…
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
System Databases
• SQL Server uses SQL Server for

configuration
– Some configuration is in the registry
– Some configuration is in XML files
• The majority of database and instance
configurations are stored in the five
system databases
This Chapter
• The five system databases:

– master
– model
– msdb
– tempdb
– Resource
• Let’s look at each one
The master Database
• The master database:

– Is the first database “loaded” by SQL Server
service on start
– Stores instance-level configuration such as
memory, CPU, and the info set by sp_configure
– Stores information about each database on the
server
– Stores the logins into the server
– Stores routines that are shared among all
databases
The model Database
• The model database:

– Is a template for new databases
– Whatever objects are in model will be created
when a new database is created
– Useful for standardization
The msdb Database
• The msdb database:

– Stores any and all automation configuration and
information
• Log shipping, mirroring, jobs, alerts, mail
• History of all of the above
– May optionally store SSIS packages
– Stores history about backups
– Used heavily by SQL Server Agent
The tempdb Database
• The tempdb database:

– Is what the name implies: temporary storage
– Temp tables are created here
– Row versioning is done here
– Is “wiped clean” at shutdown and created at
startup
• You can actually delete the database files on the hard
drive after shutdown and SQL Server will create them
anew
The Resource Database
• The resource database:

– Hidden from view; must view at the disk level
– A read-only database that contains all of the
“system objects” in SQL Server
• Each database has “pointers” to these system objects
– Makes it easy to upgrade
• During upgrade, MSFT can just replace the resource
database and immediately all databases on server have
latest source code and objects
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Types of Databases
• Databases are either:

– System databases – shipped with SQL Server;
from Microsoft
– User databases – everything else; not an official
term
• A typical SQL Server has many user
databases
Types of Databases
• User databases can fulfill many different

functions
– Customer Relationship Management (“CRM”)
– Payroll
– Document storage
– Website analytics package
– Configuration
– Project management
– Instrument measurement & Quality Control
Types of Databases
• Each of these databases has multiple

needs
– A CRM database needs to provide
• Heavy read and reporting capability
• Light to Moderate write capability
• Could be anywhere from 5 reads for every write (5:1)
up to 50:1 reads to writes
Types of Databases
• An instrument measurement database

needs extremely fast write capability
– 250+ writes per second
– Reads are done at reporting level
• Defect reports, abnormalities
– Could be 1000:1 writes for every read
Types of Databases
• A website analytics package might use

multiple databases
– One database needs extremely fast write
capability to capture real time data
– Another database needs extremely fast read
capability for reporting
Types of Databases
• Database needs change with time

– End of month reporting
– End of year reporting
– Tax season
Types of Databases
• Databases are classified as having one or

more of these attributes:
– Online transaction processing (“OLTP”)
– Online analytical processing (“OLAP”)
• A database might serve both needs
• It is generally better to serve a single
purpose
Types of Databases
• A data warehouse is an example of an

OLAP database
• Data warehouses are “fed” by the OLTP
systems on a scheduled basis
– This ensures that the reports will be up to date
– Often called a “batch load” or a “bulk load”
Types of Databases
• SQL Server Analysis Services (“SSAS”)

stores a multidimensional data
warehouse
– Requires installing SSAS
– Stores data in “cubes”
– Use SSIS to load data from the SQL Server OLTP
and/or OLAP database into the cubes
* More information can be found in our SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services course
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Creating Databases in SQL Server
2008

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Creating Databases
• You can create databases:

– In the GUI (SSMS)
– Transact-SQL scripts
– Using SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)
Creating Databases
• The GUI is great for one-time use

• Scripts and SMO are great for
standardization and re-creation
– A software vendor that wants to create a SQL
Server database during setup
– A DBA needs the same database installed on
multiple servers
Creating Databases
• Transact-SQL scripts can be executed in

– SSMS
– sqlcmd.exe
– .NET, Java, or any language that can connect to
SQL Server
– 3rd party query tools
Creating Databases
• SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)

can be used
– .NET, Java, or any language that can reference the
necessary assemblies
Creating Databases
• Databases are just files

– Data files
– Transaction log files
• Files must be local
– No mapped drives or UNC paths
Creating Databases
• Data files come in two flavors:

– Primary data file: the first data file created
• Generally has an “.mdf” extension
– Secondary data files
• Generally have an “.ndf” extension
Creating Databases
• There is only one transaction log

regardless of how many physical log files
• Log files generally have an “.ldf”
extension
Creating Databases
• “When do I need more than one data file

and/or more than one log file?”
– Two reasons:
• Too much data to store in a single data file or extreme
logging needs mean that too much logging for one
single file
• Performance
Why should I use multiple files?
• Space and file management

– May not have space available for growth on
current drive; add new drive and new file
– Data or Log file may be too large for one file
– Data or Log file may not be easily re-created on
another machine if it gets too large
• When restoring a database, you cannot split files!
• Performance
– The more disks, the faster performance
– SQL Server can read two files on two separate
disks in parallel
• Can nearly double read and write access
• Files can be added dynamically

– Instant access
– Essential at a time when you’ve run out of log
space!
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
2008

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Creating Databases
• After the database has been created, all

file manipulation is done by referring to
the logical file name
– Adding space to a file
– Shrinking a file
– Removing a file
Creating Databases
• The logical file name is an abstraction

layer
– It need not refer to the database by name
• Physical file names cannot change while
database is online
– Logical file names can change at any time without
affecting database status
Creating Databases
• Autogrowth is a safety net to prevent

your database from preventing users
from doing their jobs
• The file will not grow until the file is
100% full
– It then grows according to the file growth
parameters
Creating Databases
• Autogrowth parameters:
– Grow the file by a percentage of current size or a
fixed amount (in MB)
– Set maximum size
• Hint: Always set a maximum size
– Do not let the file grow until it fills up the disk
Creating Databases
• Best Practices for Creating Databases

– Create the database the size that you expect it to
be in 12-18 months
• This prevents autogrowth from happening during peak
hours
– Do allow autogrowth
• Keep parameters small and easy so that database can
grow quickly and be usable quickly
Creating Databases
• Best Practices for Creating Databases (cont.)

– Have a plan for growing the database in 12-18
months (or before autogrowth kicks in)
– Always, always keep an eye on the file sizes
• Particularly the transaction log
Creating Databases
• Expanding a file is easy and dynamic

• We’ll take a look at working with multiple file
databases in an upcoming video
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
2008

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Filegroups
Filegroups
• A data file belongs to a filegroup

• A filegroup contains n data files
• A database may have n filegroups
– A data file belongs to only one file group
• Filegroups allow you to do data
placement and backup/restore on an
entire filegroup
Creating Databases
• Each database has a PRIMARY filegroup

– The primary data file belongs to the PRIMARY
filegroup
Filegroups
• Transaction logs do not belong to

filegroups
Multiple File Databases
• One advantage of filegroups is data

placement
– Tables can have “Regular Data” on one filegroup
and “Text/Image” data on another
CREATE TABLE dbo.MyTable
(
MyColumn nchar(10) NOT NULL,
MyVarColumn varbinary(MAX) NOT NULL
) ON RegularDataFG
TEXTIMAGE_ON ImageDataFG
GO
• Filegroups can also be marked as read

only
– Any objects on the filegroup are read only while
the rest of the database remains read/write
ALTER DATABASE LearnItFirst

MODIFY FILEGROUP [Sales2001] READONLY
Filegroups
• When there are multiple files in a

filegroup, SQL Server uses a proportional
file strategy
– SQL Server does not fill up one file and then fill up
the next file
• Doing so would kill performance on a system that had
files on separate drives
Filegroup Example
• LearnItFirst database has two data files in

the MyFG filegroup
– DataFile1: 100MB free
– DataFile2: 200MB free
• SQL Server will write one extent to
DataFile1 and two extents to DataFile2
– An extent is eight pages
Filegroup Example
• Once all files in the filegroup are full, it

will expand the first file and write until it
is full before expanding the second file
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
2008

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
• Adding a log file is easy

– The log will now be “striped” across all log files
– Can be done using GUI, TSQL or SMO
• Adding a data file is just as easy
– The data will now be ”striped” across all files in
the filegroup
– Can be done using GUI, TSQL or SMO
• When you add a new file to the

database, it defaults to the PRIMARY
filegroup
– Best practice for multiple data file databases is to
create a separate filegroup for user data and leave
the primary data file as the sole file in the
PRIMARY filegroup
• Removing a file is hard

– Requires “emptying” the file
– Emptying the file requires you to move the data
on the file to other data files in the same filegroup
• Demo of
– A database filling up
– Adding/removing files
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Configuring Databases

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Configuring SQL Server
Databases
• Instance configuration affected every

database on the instance
– A single SQL Server instance may serve 1,000+
databases
• Each database may serve a different
purpose and may benefit from individual
configuration
Databases
• SQL Server databases are autonomous;

any configuration to one database has no
effect on other databases
• Different functions require different
configurations
– OLTP, OLAP, BLOB storage, Historical data only, mix
BLOB: Binary Large Object

Databases
• This section focuses on the individual

database configuration
• We’ll cover the main options only
– There are more than 30 different options
• We’ll cover upgraded databases in an
upcoming section
Database Configuration
• Database options are set by choosing

between a predefined set of values
– Most common is True/False
• Some database options override instance
options
– ANSI NULLs, Quoted Identifiers, et al
• There are 6 categories of configuration

– Automatic
– Cursor
– Miscellaneous
– Recovery
– Service Broker
– State
• Let’s take a look at each of these in the
next video!

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases

– Automatic
– Cursor
– Miscellaneous
– Recovery
– Service Broker
– State
• Settings in the “Automatic” Category

control how SQL Server proactively
manages your database
– “Auto Close” – Takes the database offline when
the last user leaves the database
• Defaults to FALSE
• Settings in the “Automatic” Category (cont.)

– “Auto Create Statistics”
• Statistics are used by SQL Server to compute the fastest
route to data
• If TRUE, SQL Server will create statistics on columns the
first time they are referenced.
• Defaults to TRUE; Do not change unless you know this
will help your situation

– “Auto Shrink”
• If your database has free space, SQL Server periodically
will remove the free space and give it back to the
operating system

– “Auto Update Statistics”
• Statistics can get out-of-date (“stale”) due to large
amounts of UPDATEs and INSERTs
• When SQL Server encounters a query with out-of-date
statistics, the statistics are updated prior to the query
execution
– This can cause a lag
• Defaults to TRUE

– “Auto Update Statistics Asynchronously”
• Statistics are updated when encountered but the query
does not wait for the statistics update command to
complete

– Automatic
– Cursor
– Miscellaneous
– Recovery
– Service Broker
– State
• Settings in the “Cursor” Category control

how SQL Server behaves with cursors
– Few applications use cursors today
– Be careful about testing before/after you change
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases

– Automatic
– Cursor
– Miscellaneous
– Recovery
– Service Broker
– State
• Some settings in the “Miscellaneous”

Category override Instance-level defaults
– Can set “Default Connection Options” at instance-
level
– Can be override at both database-level and
connection-level
WARNING: Some apps depend on certain settings

so do thorough testing when making changes
• Other settings in the “Miscellaneous”

Category are database-specific
– Date Correlation Optimization Enabled
• Used for foreign keys on DATETIME columns
SELECT *
FROM Parent p JOIN Child c
ON p.DateTimeKey = c.DateTimeKey
• Other settings in the “Miscellaneous”

Category are database-specific
– Cross-database Ownership Chaining Enabled
• Covered in next chapter
– Trustworthy
• Covered in next chapter
– VarDecimal Storage Format Enabled
• In SQL Server 2008, all tables use the VarDecimal
Storage Format
• Was a changeable setting in 2005
• More settings in “Miscellaneous”

– Parameterization
• Specifies how SQL Server works with query plan re-use
• Two choices: SIMPLE or FORCED
• Defaults to SIMPLE
• Can be overridden at query level
• Parameterization continued…
– When parameterization is SIMPLE and SQL Server
recognizes a query that it thinks will be used in the
exact same way but with different SARGs (Search
ARGuments), it will attempt to create a reusable
execution plan
• Previously called “auto-parameterization”
SELECT * FROM AdventureWorks.Production.Product

WHERE ProductID = 1
SQL Server recognizes that this query will likely have multiple variations

WHERE ProductID = 1
WHERE ProductID = 5
SQL Server creates a reusable, parameterized query plan that satisfies both
queries
• In SIMPLE parameterization, SQL Server

will only create reusable plans for queries
that it believes it can be reused
• In FORCED parameterization, any literal
in any SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE or DELETE
statement is parameterized
• FORCED parameterization can offer a

tremendous performance gain for
applications in which the database is not
auto-parameterizing queries
• FORCED parameterization can slow down

databases as well due to a bloated plan
cache or reusing sub-optimal plans
• See this article for more:
– http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms175037.aspx
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases

– Automatic
– Cursor
– Miscellaneous
– Recovery
– Service Broker
– State
• Settings in the “Recovery” Category

control how SQL Server verifies the
contents on a “page”
– SQL Server stores data and indexes on “pages”
– The “Page Verify” option tells SQL Server how to
check that the data/index page is not corrupt
– Data can become corrupt due to incomplete I/O
writes and/or disk errors
• “Page Verify” has three choices:

– CHECKSUM (the default)
• SQL Server computes a checksum of what the page’s
checksum would be if the wrote was successful
• After the write, SQL Server compares the checksum
values
• If they are not the same, the page is logged in msdb’s
suspect_pages table
• “Page Verify” has three choices (cont.):

– TornPageDetection
• SQL Server writes a “flag” bit for every 512 bytes
• By counting the “flags”, SQL Server can determine if the
page has the correct number of bytes
• However, it cannot determine that the data is corrupt
inside of the 512 bytes
– It just counts that 512 bytes were written
• “Page Verify” has three choices (cont.):

– None
• No page verification is done
• Suggestion: Leave the default setting as-

is (CHECKSUM)

– Automatic
– Cursor
– Miscellaneous
– Recovery
– Service Broker
– State
• Settings in the “Service Broker” Category

control… well, the Service Broker
• Service Broker allows for messaging and
queuing applications

– Automatic
– Cursor
– Miscellaneous
– Recovery
– Service Broker
– State
• “State” controls whether SQL Server

database is
– Online or Offline
• i.e. accepting connections or not
– Read-Only or Read-Write
• Databases default to Online, Read-Write
• “State” also controls whether SQL Server

is
– Single-user, Multi-user or “Admins Only”
• “Admins Only” is technically called RESTRICTED_USER
– Whether “Transparent Data Encryption” is
enabled
• More on this later (requires more setup)
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
An Overview of Indexes and
Partitioning

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Indexes
• SQL Server has three types of indexes

• (or “indices” if you prefer)
– Clustered indexes
– Nonclustered indexes
– Full-Text indexes
• Not covered in this course
Indexes
• Most tables have both clustered and

nonclustered indexes
– Only tables that store large/wide text columns
that need frequent searching would use Full-Text
• The purpose of an index is to speed up
searches
Indexes
• Queries use “Search Arguments” or

SARGs
SELECT PhoneNumber
FROM PhoneBook
WHERE LastName=‘Whigham’
AND FirstName=‘Scott’
• To satisfy the SARGs, it helps if the data is

sorted in LastName, FirstName order
Indexes
• A clustered index is really how the actual

data is stored
– A clustered index on “LastName, FirstName”
means that the actual data on the page is sorted
in alphabetical order by LastName, FirstName
• When you create a primary key, the
default is to create a clustered index on
that key
Indexes
• Consider this query:

SELECT LastName, FirstName
FROM PhoneBook
WHERE PhoneNumber = ‘+1(214) 555-1212’
• Would having the data sorted by

LastName, FirstName order help this
query?
Indexes
• Solution: create a nonclustered index on

PhoneNumber!
– A nonclustered index is a copy of the index keys
and the primary key sorted by the index keys
– Now a copy of the PhoneNumber column is
created along with a pointer back to the primary
key
Indexes
• Indexes use a fill factor to determine how

full to create the page
– A fill factor of 50% means that the page will be
created 50% full (thus leaving 50% for new rows to
be written to the page)
Indexes
• A full index/data page cannot have any

more data written to it
– Imagine a phone book page full of “Smith” entries
– No room to write any more
– Next page is a full page of “Sullivans”
• A new “Smith” moves to town
– How does this record get added to the PhoneBook
table?
Indexes
• Solution: A Page Split!

– When a page split occurs, a new page is created
(somewhere on the disk)
– Half of the original page’s data is “cut and pasted”
onto this new page along with the new row
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Partitioning

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Indexes
• Page splits cause poor performance in

multiple ways
– The time it takes to allocate a new page (and
maybe even having to grow the database)
– The time it takes to “cut and paste” (and log)
– The pages are not contiguous any longer thus
causing more work at the disk level
• This is called “Index Fragmentation”
Indexes
• Solution: You need to Rebuild or

Reorganize Your Indexes Periodically
– Called “Defragmentation”
– Speeds up performance
Indexes
• An index “REBUILD” creates the best

performance
• SQL Server re-creates the index internally again
• Once complete, the existing index is dropped
• There is a period of time where the index/data is
unavailable (“locked”)
• No pages are split after running – all are contiguous
Indexes
• An index “REORGANIZE” does a “best

effort” defragmentation but leaves the
data online
• Reorganizes the “leaf nodes” of the index
• Some fragmentation may still exist since it does not fix
page splits
Indexes
• To rebuild an index, use the ALTER INDEX

command
-- Rebuild all indexes on table ‚Members‛
ALTER INDEX ALL ON Members
REBUILD WITH(ONLINE = ON)
-- ONLINE=ON keeps the table available
-- during the rebuild process
Indexes
• To rebuild an index, use the ALTER INDEX

command
-- Rebuild only the primary key index
ALTER INDEX PK_Members ON Members
REBUILD WITH(ONLINE = ON, FILLFACTOR=50)
-- Keeps data available but uses a new
-- fill factor of 50%
Indexes
• To reorganize an index, use the ALTER

INDEX command
-- Rebuild only the primary key index
ALTER INDEX PK_Members ON Members
REORGANIZE
-- Reorgs are always online operations
Indexes
• Index defragmentation needs to be part

of your normal maintenance
– How often you do each requires a thorough
understanding of your table data and usage
• You will create jobs and maintenance
plans to do this work using Transact-SQL
scripts
Indexes
• Scenario: “Members” table adds 10,000

new rows per week and is heavily read
– Primary key is an auto-incrementing IDENTITY
– Fill factor for all indexes is 75%
– One primary key (on IDENTITY column)
– Six nonclustered indexes to cover common
queried columns
Indexes
• Should we rebuild or reorg?

– Wrong question!
– Start with the idea that you want to rebuild but
will “fall back” to a reorg in the event that the
table is too heavily used
• In this event, scheduled maintenance windows (if
possible) can be the time that you do rebuilds
Indexes
• Frequently Asked Questions

– How often should I defrag?
• As often as possible without affecting users
• When the table becomes fragged!
– Should I rebuild/reorg all indexes at once or do
them individually?
• It’s easier management-wise to do all at once
• Large indexes/tables may require separate operations
Indexes
• Let’s do a demo!
Partitioning

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Partitions
• Large tables often have data that is used

in different ways
– An “Orders” table might have 2-10 years of data
– Some data is heavy read/write while other data is
read-only
Partitions
• With large tables

– Index maintenance can take hours
– Queries against large tables can take a long time
• In a table of 200,000,000 rows, how long would it take
to find all orders placed on Jan 1, 2001 at
23:43:23.243?
Partitions
• Large tables can be partitioned into

smaller, more manageable subsets
– An “Orders” table can be partitioned into one
partition per year
– A query for rows WHERE OrderDate = ‘Jan 21,
2001’ now only needs to access a single partition
• Indexes can be partitioned as well
Partitions
• Partitions allow you to create subsets of

the data and to place them strategically
– Partitions can be spread across multiple filegroups
– Queries only need to access the partition(s) that
serves their data
Partitions
• Partitions can be spread across multiple

filegroups
– Some partitions can be read-only while others are
read-write
– Can backup more heavily-written-to partitions
more frequently
Partitions
• Rows are partitioned horizontally

– This means that the entire row is in a single
partition
• Time is a common partitioning strategy
– One partition for each year
– One partition for each quarter
– One partition for each month
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Partitioning

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Partitions
• Creating partitions requires:

– A Partitioning Function
– A Partition Scheme
– A table/index
Partitions
• Partitioning Functions define “what goes

where”
– You define boundaries and ranges
• Boundaries define the number of
partitions
• Ranges define how the boundaries are
defined
Partitions
CREATE PARTITION FUNCTION

ScottsPF (INT)
AS RANGE RIGHT FOR VALUES
(2007, 2008)
Partitions
• This partition function can be used for

any table/index that has an INT column
• Three partitions will be created above
• RANGE defines how the partitions are
defined
Partitions
RANGE RIGHT FOR VALUES (2007, 2008)

Partition 1 Partition 2 Partition 3
WHERE TheYear < 2007 WHERE TheYear >= 2007 WHERE TheYear => 2008
AND TheYear < 2008
TheYear is an INT column in the above table

Partitions
RANGE LEFT FOR VALUES (2007, 2008)

Partition 1 Partition 2 Partition 3
WHERE TheYear <= 2007 WHERE TheYear > 2007 WHERE TheYear > 2008
AND TheYear <= 2008
Partition Schemes
• A Partition Scheme maps the partition

function(s) to a filegroup(s)
– Partition functions can belong to multiple
partition schemes
– One partition scheme can only contain one
partition function
Partitions
CREATE PARTITION FUNCTION ScottsPF (INT)

AS RANGE RIGHT FOR VALUES (2007, 2008)
GO
CREATE PARTITION SCHEME MyScheme

AS PARTITION ScottsPF
TO (myFilegroup1, myFilegroup1, myFilegroup2)
Partition Schemes
• The preceding sample mapped the three

partitions from “ScottsPF” to two
different filegroups
TO (myFilegroup1, myFilegroup1, myFilegroup2)
• Partition schemes can also map all

partitions to the same filegroup
ALL TO (myFilegroup1)
Partition Schemes
• You can partition tables and/or indexes

– If you partition the table, the indexes are
partitioned by default (unless otherwise specified
during index creation)
Partitions
CREATE PARTITION FUNCTION ScottsPF (INT)

AS RANGE RIGHT FOR VALUES (2007, 2008)
GO
CREATE PARTITION SCHEME MyScheme
AS PARTITION ScottsPF
ALL TO (‘default’)
GO
CREATE TABLE MyTable (MyID INT, TheYear INT)
ON MyScheme(TheYear)
Partition Schemes
• Let’s do a demo!
Managing Database Files

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
• We’ve already seen how to grow

databases
– By adding space to an existing file
– By adding additional data or log files
• Now it’s time to see how to make our
“footprint” smaller!
• Up first: Removing a Database

• When you remove a database, you are
removing
– Users
– Data (tables, indexes)
– Stored procedures, functions, triggers, etc
• Removing a database deletes the files

– Once a database has been deleted, it cannot be
un-deleted!
• Edit -> Undo will not help!
• You cannot delete a database that is in

use
• To delete a database in the GUI, right

click on the database and select Delete
• To delete a database using Transact-SQL:
DROP DATABASE MyDb
Dropping a database
• To protect ourselves from dropping

databases, we employ two strategies:
– Backups
– Scripts
• We’ll look at backups in an upcoming
chapter
• Let’s look at scripts now!
SQL Server Scripts
• Sql scripts can do almost anything

– Create, alter, drop databases
– Create, alter, drop tables, functions, stored procs
– Insert, update, delete rows
• All “real” DBAs use scripts
• Scripts are typically stored in .sql files
SQL Server Scripts
• Scripts can be executed

– In SSMS
– Using sqlcmd.exe
– Inside of any custom or 3rd party app that can
connect to SQL Server
– In batch files (that call sqlcmd)
– SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)
– PowerShell
• Which can handle it’s own scripts and sql scripts!
SQL Server Scripts
• You can also generate scripts

– Create, alter, drop databases
– Create, alter, drop tables, functions, stored procs
– Insert, update, delete rows
• Script generation can be done
– In SSMS
– “By Hand”
SQL Server Scripts
• Let’s demo!

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
• Shrinking databases is a sometime

necessity
• You can shrink
– Individual data files or log files
– An entire database (all files)
• Shrinking can be done with the GUI,
TSQL, or any of the other methods
Shrinking a Database
• There are two options for shrinking an

entire database
1. Remove all free space after the last page
• PROs: Fastest, least impact
• CONs: Not likely to remove as much as the 2nd option
• There are two options for shrinking an

entire database (cont.)
2. Reorganize the entire database to compress the
pages at the “front” of the file, then remove free
space
• PROs: Removes maximum amount of free space, can
specificy a “Target Percentage” of free space (“I want
10% free space left in file”)
• CONs: Slow, performance hog
• To shrink a database using Transact SQL,

use DBCC SHRINKDATABASE
DBCC SHRINKDATABASE
( database_name [ , target_percent ]
[ , { NOTRUNCATE | TRUNCATEONLY } ]
)
• NOTRUNCATE
– Compress pages to “front” of file
– Does not release freed space to OS
– Only available in T-SQL
• TRUNCATEONLY
– Does not compress the pages to the front of the file
– Releases freed space after the “last” page to the OS
– Default in SSMS
-- TRUNCATEONLY:
DBCC SHRINKDATABASE(N'LearnItFirst.com')
-- TARGET SIZE of 10% free space:

DBCC SHRINKDATABASE(N'LearnItFirst.com‘,10)
-- NOTRUNCATE:
DBCC SHRINKDATABASE(N'LearnItFirst.com',
NOTRUNCATE)
• Shrinking individual files offers more

flexibility
– Can specify target sizes, truncation options or
empty individual files
DBCC SHRINKFILE ( { logical_file_name | file_id }

{ [ , EMPTYFILE ] |
[[ , target_size ][ , {NOTRUNCATE | TRUNCATEONLY }]]}
)
• EMPTYFILE
– Moves pages to another file in the file group
• target_size
– Cannot compress data
– Defaults to MB
– If not specified, uses the creation size
• Let’s demo!
Suggested Changes After the
Upgrade

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
After the Upgrade
• After your upgrade is complete, there are

still critical steps
1. Patching the new SQL Server installation
2. Verifying/changing configuration settings
3. Testing
4. Implement any changes that testing uncovered
5. Testing
6. Acceptance/sign-off
After the Upgrade

3. Testing
5. Verifying configuration settings
After the Upgrade: Patching
• It’s likely that, after your upgrade, there

are hotfixes, patches, service packs, etc
available
• It is often difficult to determine which is
needed
– How do you know you are experiencing a bug until
you test your server?
After the Upgrade: Patching
• Remember that:
– Service packs are the most-tested
– Cumulative Updates are the next-most-tested
– Critical Updates are the least-tested
• You don’t have to install the most recent
updates
– Unless there is a specific security issue
After the Upgrade

3. Testing
After the Upgrade: Compatibility
• The first and most obvious thing to

understand is compatibility level
• SQL Server allows a database to use one
of three compatibility levels
– 80 (SQL Server 2000)
– 90 (SQL Server 2005)
– 100 (SQL Server 2008)
• Changing a database’s compatibility level

provides partial backward compatibility
– Setting a database’s compatibility level to 80
makes that database behave as though it was on a
SQL Server 2000 instance
– Allows you to upgrade to SQL Server 2008 without
making breaking application changes
• When you upgrade a database/instance,

the previous version remains as the
compatibility level
– If you upgrade “Northwind” from SQL Server 2000
to 2008, the Northwind database remains in SQL
Server 2000 compatibility level
• All other databases on SQL Server 2008 are in SQL
Server 2008 compatibility level
• Let’s demo!
Suggested Changes After the
Upgrade

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
After the Upgrade

3. Testing
After the Upgrade
• If you upgraded from SQL Server 2005

– There are no database-level configuration changes
needed
• If you upgraded from SQL Server 2000,
you might want to make changes
After the Upgrade
ALTER DATABASE ‘AdventureWorks’

SET ANSI_NULL_DEFAULT ON
, ANSI_NULLS ON
, ANSI_PADDING ON
, ANSI_WARNINGS ON
, ARITHABORT ON
, AUTO_CREATE_STATISTICS ON
, AUTO_UPDATE_STATISTICS ON
, NUMERIC_ROUNDABORT ON
, PAGE_VERIFY CHECKSUM
After the Upgrade

3. Testing
After the Upgrade
• What should you test?

– Have the developers unit test any applications
using the database
• Not always possible with 3rd party apps
– Reports should be verified to ensure that they run
– SQL Server jobs should be run to ensure they still
“work” as expected
– DTS and/or SSIS packages
After the Upgrade
• Known trouble areas

– SQL Server jobs
• If jobs point to specific files/folders, verify that
– SQL Server service(s) have access
– The file/folder paths have not changed or, if they have, change
job definition
– DTS to SSIS
– Database compatibility
After the Upgrade

3. Testing
After the Upgrade
• Once the DBA has completed his/her

testing, recruit other departments
– Developers test “plumbing”
– Quality Assurance (“QA”) tests application
compatibility
– System administrators test backup routines
The SQL Server 2008 Sample
Databases

Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases
Databases
• SQL Server 2008 does not ship with any

sample databases
– SQL Server 6.x shipped with the pubs database
– SQL Server 7.0 and 2000 shipped with pubs and
Northwind
– SQL Server 2005 shipped with AdventureWorks
and AdventureWorksDW
Databases
• There are sample databases for SQL

Server 2008
– You must be smart enough to figure out
• What they are called
• How to download them
• How to install them
• Which to use for what purpose
Databases
• Let’s answer each question individually :

– What they are called
• The sample databases are called collectively
“AdventureWorks”
• They are the sample databases for the fictitious
AdventureWorks Cycling Company
What is AdventureWorks
• The AdventureWorks Cycling Company

– Sells through internet and brick & mortar channels
– Covers commonly used patterns for working with
products, sales, contact management and more
Databases
• AdventureWorks stores roughly three

years worth of sales data in:
– An OLTP database
– An OLAP database
Databases
• How do you get the sample databases?

– The files are available at
http://www.codeplex.com/MSFTDBProdSamples
– Shameless marketing from MSFT
Databases
• How do you get them onto your SQL

Server?
– One of three ways:
• Install from .msi
• Restore from backup
• Run the scripts
– Good luck!
Databases
• How do you know which to use for what

purpose?
– There are three different types of databases:
• OLTP, OLAP and a “Light” version of the OLTP
Databases
• This is where it gets confusing…

– Each database has several names depending on
where you look
– There are as many as three different “versions” of
each database in the default installation
– There are many different files you can download
once you actually figure out where to look for it
Databases
• A look at the default install using .msi

installation:
Databases
• On the CodePlex website, they make

mention of three databases in the
AdventureWorks suite:
– AdventureWorks OLTP
– AdventureWorks OLAP
– AdventureWorks LT (Light
Databases
• AdventureWorks OLTP actually goes by

many names
– AdventureWorks OLTP in documentation/website
– AdventureWorks OLTP and AdventureWorks
2008 OLTP in the downloaded .zip file
– AdventureWorks and AdventureWorks2008 in
installation
Databases
• AdventureWorks OLAP also goes by many

names
– AdventureWorks OLAP in documentation/website
– AdventureWorks 2008 Data Warehouse in the
downloaded .zip file
– AdventureWorksDW and
AdventureWorksDW2008 in installation
Databases
• AdventureWorks LT (Light) is the fewer-

tables version of AdventureWorks OLTP
– Meant to be simpler to learn and train people on
Databases
• Which should I use when?

– “I’m a total beginner to SQL Server”
• AdventureWorksLT
– “I want to learn about the new datatypes and/or new
features in SQL Server 2008”
• AdventureWorks2008
– “I want to learn about data warehousing”
• AdventureWorksDW
– “I want to learn about the new features in SQL Server
2008 data warehousing”
• AdventureWorks2008DW
Management
Overview
Creation and Demo

Databases Upgrading
• Types of
Databases

Working With Databases

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Working With Databases

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Databases in SQL Server 2008

Presented by Scott Whigham

Creation and Demo

• What this chapter covers

• What this chapter does NOT cover

• Pre-requisites to this chapter

Creation and Demo

• SQL Server databases have at least two

• Data files store everything that a user

• Transaction log files are used to protect

• Every write in a database is done inside

• You begin a transaction with the BEGIN TRAN

• A transaction remains “open” until either

• Once “closed”, the transaction may never

DECLARE @ProcessingHistoryId INT

SELECT @ProcessingHistoryId = SCOPE_IDENTITY()

• Transactions in SQL Server are durable

*More on transactions in our “SQL Server 2008 Programming” course

Creation and Demo

Presented by Scott Whigham

Creation and Demo

• SQL Server uses SQL Server for

• The five system databases:

• The master database:

• The model database:

• The msdb database:

• The tempdb database:

• The resource database:

Creation and Demo

Presented by Scott Whigham

Creation and Demo

• Databases are either:

• User databases can fulfill many different

• Each of these databases has multiple

• An instrument measurement database

• A website analytics package might use

• Database needs change with time

• Databases are classified as having one or

• A data warehouse is an example of an

• SQL Server Analysis Services (“SSAS”)

Creation and Demo

Presented by Scott Whigham

Creation and Demo

• You can create databases:

• The GUI is great for one-time use

• Transact-SQL scripts can be executed in

• SQL Server Management Objects (SMO)

• Databases are just files

• Data files come in two flavors:

• There is only one transaction log

• “When do I need more than one data file

• Space and file management

• Files can be added dynamically

Creation and Demo

Presented by Scott Whigham

Creation and Demo

• After the database has been created, all

• The logical file name is an abstraction

• Autogrowth is a safety net to prevent

• Best Practices for Creating Databases

• Best Practices for Creating Databases (cont.)

• Expanding a file is easy and dynamic

Creation and Demo

Presented by Scott Whigham