CSS SQL Server Engineers
This is the official team Web Log for Microsoft Customer Service and Support (CSS) SQL Support. Posts are provided by the CSS SQL Escalation Services team.
Important SQL Server and Windows “End of Support” Dates you should know about….
Please note: Important changes to the support lifecycle policy for service packs that affect this...
Author: psssql Date: 01/08/2010
DBCC CHECK commands encounter problems and reports errors
Microsoft SQL Server support team received several support incidents from SQL Server Customers who...
Author: psssql Date: 01/08/2010
‘Cannot Generate SSPI Context’ and Service Account Passwords
Was working with Keith Elmore on one of our internal processes and he was hitting a “Cannot generate...
Author: psssql Date: 12/30/2009
SQL 2008 - New Functionality to the dm_os_ring_buffers for Connectivity Troubleshooting
Hi, I wanted to make everybody aware of this feature in SQL 2008. Are you tired of having to use...
Author: psssql Date: 12/28/2009
DBMail has Suddenly Stopped Working
The other day we ran into a strange Database Mail issue here in SQL support. Customers were running...
Author: psssql Date: 12/17/2009
InvalidReportParameterException with Data Driven Subscription
Worked on a case yesterday where the customer was getting errors when running a Data Driven...
Author: psssql Date: 12/10/2009
High CPU with Reporting Services 2008
I’ve run into two cases which fell down the same path and figured we should have some...
Author: psssql Date: 12/09/2009
Report Builder and Firewalls
We have had a few customer calls come in on this scenario that I thought this needed to be...
Author: psssql Date: 12/03/2009
Timeout when deploying SQL CLR objects from Visual Studio 2005 or 2008 but not from Management Studio
We have had a few customers who want to deploy their assemblies using Vistual Studio. They...
Author: psssql Date: 12/02/2009
How It Works: SQLIOSim CTRL+C vs Close Window
Today I had an interesting question about the CTRL+C handler for the SQLIOSim console execution....
Author: psssql Date: 12/01/2009
Doctor, this SQL Server appears to be sick….
I thought the PASS Summit was a great success this year. I always enjoy speaking at the PASS Summit...
Author: psssql Date: 11/24/2009
Unable to run SQL CLR procedure with System.Security.SecurityException
Recently, we have troubleshoot a customer issue related to SQL CLR. The problem is that the assembly...
Author: psssql Date: 11/20/2009
SQL Server 2005 Cumulative Update or GDR fails when trying to rename the mssqlsystemresource files
I’ve seen a few customers run in to this recently when the resource database is in a different...
Author: psssql Date: 11/20/2009
How It Works: Controlling SQL Server memory dumps
I just completed a lengthy bit of research and thought I would share it with everyone. There are...
Author: psssql Date: 11/17/2009
How It Works: How many databases can be backed up simultaneously?
Previously I have posted details on backup/restore designs and how to tell what backup/restore is...
Author: psssql Date: 11/13/2009
The SQL Server Wait Type Repository…
12/10/2009: Significant updates to the blog. Check back in 2010 for more updates to the wait type...
Author: psssql Date: 11/02/2009
Reduce locking and other needs when updating data - Better Performance
The following pattern typically stems from an old practice used in SQL 4.x and 6.x days, before...
Author: psssql Date: 10/26/2009
Should I have a SNAC with my cumulative update?
Here is a question we have received from several customers and internally at Microsoft: Do I need to...
Author: psssql Date: 10/23/2009
Reporting Services and the MS09-062 GDR (GDI+)
Updated 10/29/09: Added section describing SQL Engine only servers at the bottom. Brian...
Author: psssql Date: 10/14/2009
Microsoft CSS is back at PASS again…
In little under a month (November 3-6), the US PASS 2009 Summit is being held in Seattle, Washington...
Author: psssql Date: 10/06/2009
Reporting Services: What’s my version?
I was working on a case where I needed to try something on different Cumulative Updates (CU) to see...
Author: psssql Date: 09/29/2009
Did your backup program/utility leave your SQL Server running in an squirrely scenario?
See update:...
Author: psssql Date: 09/23/2009
If you use linked server queries, you need to read this….
If you use the linked server feature with SQL Server 2005 and 2008, please read through this...
Author: psssql Date: 09/22/2009
You may not see the data you expect in Extended Event Ring Buffer Targets….
Not sure how many of you have started using the new Extended Events feature of SQL Server 2008. For...
Author: psssql Date: 09/17/2009
How It Works: What are the RING_BUFFER_RESOURCE_MONITOR telling me?
The ring buffer records (which can be sent to XEvent) for Resource Monitor and Memory Broker are the...
Author: psssql Date: 09/17/2009
The Future of SQL Server Express Installation and Voting with Microsoft Connect
The SQL Product team that owns setup is looking to improve the SQL Express installation experience...
Author: psssql Date: 09/08/2009
Another update for the Support Policy for Virtualization for SQL Server….
We now have live an update to the KB article for the Support policy for virtualization for SQL...
Author: psssql Date: 09/03/2009
Distributed Queries – Remote Login Permissions and Execution Plans
Recently I troubleshooted an issue where a distributed query was randomly getting a poor plan and...
Author: psssql Date: 09/02/2009
Come on 64bit so we can leave the mem….
I recently saw a question the other day about some errors that indicate memory pressure for the SQL...
Author: psssql Date: 08/26/2009
SSMS Fails to restore with SQL 2000 instances and SSMS Versioning Explained….
I recently have been on vacation. When I returned I noticed an interesting issue that deserves some...
Author: psssql Date: 08/21/2009
High CPU consumed by Resource Monitor due to low virtual memory
We have had a few customers who hit the issue where Resource Monitor consumed a significant portion...
Author: psssql Date: 08/20/2009
SQL Server Cumulative Update or Service Pack Fails With - CREATE DATABASE failed
Here is a situation where a cumulative update patch can fail if the default database path for the...
Author: psssql Date: 08/18/2009
Why doesn't SQL Server use index seek with this query?
Lately we had a customer who has a query with left outer join. From looking at the indexes and...
Author: psssql Date: 08/05/2009
SQL Server Setup prompts with “The installed product does not match the installation source(s).” (Part I)
Recently I looked at an issue when upgrading from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008 and in the...
Author: psssql Date: 07/23/2009
PRB: RML Utilities – OStress QryBindColumnStorage: unknown/unhandled SQL datatype
SummaryDuring OStress replay you encounter an error like the following and processing stops:...
Author: psssql Date: 07/23/2009
Using DateDiff can cause query performance problems in SQL 2005 and 2008
Lately, we have a customer who reported that a query used to run 20 minutes in 2000 now run serveral...
Author: psssql Date: 07/17/2009
How To Test Drive SQL Server Clustering For Free
I imagine that many of you are like me when it comes to purchasing software. I want to...
Author: psssql Date: 07/15/2009
How far can you push Windows?….
As a member of technical support, it does seem I see users pushing our software to the limit more...
Author: psssql Date: 07/09/2009
Attach of the Clone (… Databases)
Sorry Star Wars fans to mislead you. I thought our readers should know about a feature we use quite...
Author: psssql Date: 07/08/2009
Q&A on Latches in the SQL Server Engine….
I recently received a request to shed some light on a few advanced questions about latches and SQL...
Author: psssql Date: 07/08/2009
When in doubt, Reboot!
I tend to get quite a bit of Kerberos related cases. These are related across the box, from...
Author: psssql Date: 07/01/2009
Installing .NET 3.5 Framework for SQL Server 2008 on a Windows 7 / Windows 2008 RC2 Builds
The SQL Server 2008 install requires the .NET 3.5 framework. Changes in Windows 7 can...
Author: psssql Date: 06/24/2009
Zero Byte Attachments in Email Subscriptions
I had an issue a while back with RS 2000 where we would get a Zero Byte attachment when hitting a...
Author: psssql Date: 06/18/2009
SQL Server on Windows 7 / Windows 2008 R2 with more than 64 CPUs
The release of the Windows 7/Windows 2008 R2 will support more than 64 CPUs. It is also documented...
Author: psssql Date: 06/16/2009
SQL Server 2005 Setup Failure (Multi-Core, Tri-Core, …)
SQL Server 2005 has a startup check that fails on some of the newer CPU socket designs (triple core,...
Author: psssql Date: 06/09/2009
SQL Server and Large Pages Explained….
I gave a presentation on “debugging memory” at the recent Europe PASS Summit in April....
Author: psssql Date: 06/05/2009
RDTSCTest CPU Speed Output Clarified
Starting with SQL Server 2005 SP3 and SQL Server 2008 the RDTSC counter is not used for timing in...
Author: psssql Date: 06/04/2009
Trying to keep up with Version Numbers….
Updated. See information at the bottom of the postI can’t begin to tell you how many times I...
Author: psssql Date: 06/04/2009