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Using SQL Server Compressed Backups

The Quick Scan report in Database Health Monitor detects when you are performing SQL Server backups without compression, when the compression option is available. This applies to Full backups, Transaction log backups and Differential backups.

Not using compressed backups? Why not?

Benefits of compressed backups

  • Faster backup time
  • Faster restore time
  • Less I/O at backup and restore time
  • Since you are using less disk space, you can keep more backups around.

There are a couple minor drawbacks, the compressed backups take more CPU, not much more, but a tiny bit more.  Also the compressed backups don’t compress very much when your database is using Transparent Data Encryption (TDE).

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Max Server Memory – SQL Server

Max Server Memory Setting Explained

If you have more memory than your database and applications on the SQL Server will ever use than this is not a problem, but when you run into memory constraints this setting is much more important.

SQL Server attempts to use as much memory as possible, and when there is no more memory available, SQL Server will use much more I/O due to data and index pages having to be read from disk more often. This works great for SQL Server, but what happens is that SQL Server will take almost all the memory leaving very little for the operating system processes or other applications that are running.

The default for this setting is 2147483647 which is probably more memory that your server has, which effectively tells SQL Server to take as much memory as it wants to.

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mssqlsystemresource Database

I was looking through my SQL Server error logs to confirm that CheckDB was being run as I had scheduled based on my previous post to run DBCC CheckDB on all databases. I wanted to confirm that there was no corruption, and that all of the databases had been checked, and not had been missed. Going through this I noticed the logging of all of my databases, but one extra database showed up, the mssqlsystemresource database.

mssqlsystemresource database

Now the mssqlsystemresource database is an internal SQL Server database that is used by SQL Server, it also gets replaced by SQL Server when you do an upgrade of your SQL Server database. It is hidden so that people don’t have access to it, and it doesn’t show up when you run the undocumented sp_msforeachdb it doesn’t include the mssqlsystemresource database. Additionally the sys.databases view doesn’t include the mssqlsystemresource database.

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Silencing Backup Messages with Trace Flag 3226

ErrorLog_flooded

As a DBA you regularly schedule backups you might have regular full backups, incremental backups and hopefully regular backups. Over time you might realize that your error log is not longer filled with errors, but instead a majority of your error log is filled with backup messages. “Backup Database successfully … “,  “Database backed up…”, “Log was backed up”. This makes it a bit difficult to find the actual errors in this flood of backup messages. Your error log is no longer an error log, but it looks more like a backup log.

Trace Flag 3226

Trace flags in SQL Server are switches or parameters that can be used to turn on or off different features. If you use trace flag 3226 this will turn off all successful backup messages being written to the error log. There are a couple of ways to use trace flag 3226, one is to use DBCC TRACEON to turn on trace flag 3226 for the currently running instance. Using this option will turn it on until the next time the database instance is restarted.

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SQL Server Mentoring – Now Available

Yesterday I was asked by a client about consulting questions and for my help without the typical minimum hourly commitment. He pointed out that he has things that he could use help with that don’t require a multi-hour type project. After thinking it over a bit, I decided to add a SQL Server coaching program to my consulting business, I am calling it my SQL Server Mentoring program.

SQL Server Mentoring Process

Here is how it works if you want to utilize my mentoring services.

Step 1:  Set up a mentoring agreement. You can start this with the free 30 minute consultation form to schedule a time to talk to better understand the service, and so that I can better understand your needs and environment.

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When Database Corruption Strikes

Today I am presenting to the session “When Database Corruption Strikes” to the High Availability and Disaster Recovery PASS Virtual Chapter.

Presentation

Here is the abstract:

You are working along month after month with no problems in your database. Suddenly someone reports that their query won’t run. They get an error stating “SQL Server detected a logical consistency-based I/O error“, or something even scarier. Do you know what to do now? We will walk through 3 or 4 actual corrupt databases exploring ways to go about finding and fixing the corruption. More importantly we will explore how to prevent further data loss at the time corruption occurs. Learn what things you should do to protect yourself when corruption strikes. Learn what to avoid that will make things worse. You will leave with a checklist of steps to take when you encounter corruption. By the end of this session you will be ready to take on corruption, one database at a time

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