Have you ever tried to restore over an existing database only to receive the following error message? Msg 3154, Level 16, State 4, Line 1 The backup set holds a backup of a database other than the existing ‘AdventureWorks2012’ database. Msg 3013, Level 16, State 1, Line 1 RESTORE DATABASE is terminating abnormally. We could easily avoid this error by using the WITH REPLACE option in the RESTORE DATABASE command, but we want to know why this error occurs and how SQL Server knows they are not from the same family. The answer is the database_guid. The database_guid is a...
Continue reading...Create a Whitelist for SQL Server
UPDATED – May 16, 2017 – Please review the updated code here. In my previous post, Configuring the Azure SQL Database Firewall, I discussed how you can configure the firewall rules to manage access to the SQL Server. Today, I wanted to demonstrate how you can accomplish the same thing with your on-premise SQL Servers by creating a whitelist. So let’s start off by defining “whitelist”. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, it is “a list of people or organizations that have been approved to receive special considerations”. In our example, that “special consideration” is access to the SQL Server only if...
Continue reading...Configuring the Azure SQL Database Firewall
Azure SQL Database is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) that provides a relational database for use over the internet. That sounds super cool and easy to use. But wait, there’s one word I’d like to highlight in that first sentence: “internet”. Anyone with an internet connection could access your database. Now that’s no cool. So how does Microsoft keep your database safe? The answer is a multipronged approach of using encryption, authentication, authorization, and firewalls. All connections to Azure SQL Database use SSL/TLS to protect your data while “in transit”, and you can use Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) to...
Continue reading...Microsoft Azure Certified
Over the past few months, I have been working diligently to learn more about Azure. As a result of my studies, I have successfully passed the Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions certification exam (70-533). By far, this is the hardest exam I have taken to date. Over the past 15+ years I have worked very hard to learn as much as possible about SQL Server and the Windows operating systems that it runs on, but that knowledge only took me so far within Azure. I had to look at Azure as an entire suite of products that seamlessly work together, and...
Continue reading...Speaking at SQL Saturday #452 – Charlotte, NC – October 17
In case you missed it last week, there will be another SQL Saturday this weekend in Charlotte, NC. If you are in the area, please come out to this free training event to hear a bunch of great professionals talk about SQL Server. You can register for the event here: http://www.sqlsaturday.com/452/eventhome.aspx. I will be presenting one session on Performance Monitoring Tools. No Money for Performance Monitoring Tools? No Problem! So you like the idea of using one of the commercially available performance monitoring tools but can’t convince your boss to spend the money? Then join me as we explore some...
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