Product:
Microsoft SQL Server 2019
Issue:
How active encryption on SQL servers databases?

Solution:

You need a folder on the SQL server to store the certificate, create a folder like e:\key and only give local administrators and the SQL service account access there.

You can use the same certificate for a group of SQL servers. Then it is possible to restore a database backup to one of the others server in that group – that use the same certificate.

One the first SQL server:

USE Master;
GO
CREATE MASTER KEY ENCRYPTION
BY PASSWORD='InsertStrongPasswordHere12!';
GO

CREATE CERTIFICATE TDE_Cert
WITH
SUBJECT='Database_Encryption';
GO

BACKUP CERTIFICATE TDE_Cert
TO FILE = 'e:\key\TDE_Cert.cer'
WITH PRIVATE KEY (file='e:\key\TDE_CertKey.pvk',
ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD='InsertStrongPasswordHere12!')

Then on every other SQL server in the group , copy above files to the e:\key folder on the next server, and do this to activate TDE:

USE Master;
GO
CREATE MASTER KEY ENCRYPTION
BY PASSWORD='InsertStrongPasswordHere12!';
GO

USE MASTER
GO
CREATE CERTIFICATE TDE_Cert
FROM FILE = 'e:\key\TDE_Cert.cer'
WITH PRIVATE KEY (FILE = 'e:\key\TDE_CertKey.pvk',
DECRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'InsertStrongPasswordHere12!' );

Then to enable the encryption, you need to run this on every database:

USE <DB>
GO
CREATE DATABASE ENCRYPTION KEY
WITH ALGORITHM = AES_256
ENCRYPTION BY SERVER CERTIFICATE TDE_Cert;
GO

ALTER DATABASE <DB>
SET ENCRYPTION ON;
GO

Replace <DB> with your database name.

Then the database and its coming backup files are encrypted. The Backup can only be restored on a server with the same certificate.

If you get an error like this:

The certificate, asymmetric key, or private key file is not valid or does not exist; or you do not have permissions for it.

Try by change the path from file=‘e:\key\TDE_CertKey.pvk’ to file=’e:/key/TDE_CertKey.pvk’

To see what databases are encrypted:

SELECT name,is_encrypted,* FROM sys.databases WHERE is_encrypted = 1

To check if the certificate is installed:

SELECT * FROM sys.certificates WHERE name = 'TDE_Cert'

Important: Keep your password and backup of the certificates files in a secure location. In case you need to restore a database to a new SQL server, this keys need to be restored first.

To remove encryption from a database:

ALTER DATABASE [RecoveryWithTDE]
  SET ENCRYPTION OFF;
GO

USE [RecoveryWithTDE]
GO 
DROP DATABASE ENCRYPTION KEY;

To backup the master key:

USE Master ;
Open Master Key Decryption by password = 'InsertStrongPasswordHere12!'
Backup master key to file = 'e:\key\MasterKeyName.key'
        ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'InsertStrongPasswordHere12!';
    GO

To restore the master key to the database server:

Use master 
    restore master key
    FROM FILE = 'e:\key\MasterKeyName.key'
    DECRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'InsertStrongPasswordHere12!'
    ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = 'InsertStrongPasswordHere12!'

The TEMPDB database will be encrypted when you start using TDE, then it is always encrypted.

Cannot encrypt a system database. Database encryption operations cannot be performed for ‘master’, ‘model’, ‘tempdb’, ‘msdb’, or ‘resource’ databases.

More Information:

https://www.databasejournal.com/ms-sql/suspending-and-resuming-transparent-data-encryption-tde/

https://www.sqlshack.com/how-to-configure-transparent-data-encryption-tde-in-sql-server/

https://www.sqlservertutorial.net/sql-server-administration/sql-server-tde/

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/security/encryption/transparent-data-encryption?view=sql-server-ver16

Product:

Microsoft Windows 2019 server

Issue:

How to open the windows firewall, to allow the server to respond to ping request?

Solution:

1. Open Control Panel, open Administrative Tools.
2. Open Windows Defender Firewall.
3. From the left pane of the resulting window, click ‘Inbound Rules’.
4. In the right pane, find the rules titled ‘File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request – ICMPv4-In)’.
5. Right-click each rule and choose Enable Rule

More Information:

https://www.rootusers.com/how-to-enable-ping-in-windows-server-2019-firewall/

Product:

Microsoft SQL server 2016

Issue:

How to test import only 10 rows from a text file, with bulk insert command? To check if it works.

Solution:

BULK INSERT Salestable
FROM 'C:\temp\data.txt'
WITH (LASTROW = 10,
    BATCHSIZE=250000,
    MAXERRORS=2);

Enter LASTROW = 10 to only read ten rows of data from your data.txt file. Then you can check if you get the correct type of data to your table.

LASTROW = last_row

Specifies the number of the last row to load. The default is 0, which indicates the last row in the specified data file.

MAXERRORS = max_errors

Specifies the maximum number of syntax errors allowed in the data before the bulk-import operation is canceled. Each row that can’t be imported by the bulk-import operation is ignored and counted as one error. If max_errors isn’t specified, the default is 10.

BATCHSIZE = batch_size

Specifies the number of rows in a batch. Each batch is copied to the server as one transaction. If this fails, SQL Server commits or rolls back the transaction for every batch. By default, all data in the specified data file is one batch.

If you cancel a BULK INSERT, it will try to roll back all data, this will take time.

More information:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/t-sql/statements/bulk-insert-transact-sql?view=sql-server-ver16#performance-considerations

https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/6109/bulk-insert-data-into-sql-server/

Product:
Microsoft SQL server 2016

Issue:
Can i see if i should improve anything on my SQL server?

Solution:

Mr Ozar have develop some sp that can give you more information, get the kit from

https://github.com/BrentOzarULTD/SQL-Server-First-Responder-Kit#writing-sp_blitz-output-to-a-table

install this one in your master database

Install-Core-Blitz-With-Query-Store.sql

Now you have a set of SP to use.

First run (if you have performance issues just now)

sp_BlitzFirst

Run this to get the most common wait issues you need to check on your server:

sp_BlitzFirst  @sincestartup = 1, @outputtype = 'Top10'

Setup a database LOGSQL and schedule this every month;

EXEC sp_Blitz @OutputDatabaseName = 'LOGSQL', @OutputSchemaName = 'dbo', @OutputTableName = 'BlitzResults';

Will give you a table BlitzResults to look at to see what status is for your SQL server.

Run this manually to see what can be done with index

EXEC sp_BlitzIndex @GetAllDatabases = 1, @BringThePain = 1;

copy result to excel for further analysis, remove unused index and duplicates.

Run to see the biggest queries:

EXEC sp_BlitzCache @Top = 20,  @BringThePain = 1;

Run this to see the size of index in one database:

SELECT OBJECT_NAME(IX.OBJECT_ID) Table_Name
  ,IX.name AS Index_Name
  ,IX.type_desc Index_Type
  ,SUM(PS.[used_page_count]) * 8 IndexSizeKB
  ,IXUS.user_seeks AS NumOfSeeks
  ,IXUS.user_scans AS NumOfScans
  ,IXUS.user_lookups AS NumOfLookups
  ,IXUS.user_updates AS NumOfUpdates
  ,IXUS.last_user_seek AS LastSeek
  ,IXUS.last_user_scan AS LastScan
  ,IXUS.last_user_lookup AS LastLookup
  ,IXUS.last_user_update AS LastUpdate
FROM sys.indexes IX
INNER JOIN sys.dm_db_index_usage_stats IXUS ON IXUS.index_id = IX.index_id AND IXUS.OBJECT_ID = IX.OBJECT_ID
INNER JOIN sys.dm_db_partition_stats PS on PS.object_id=IX.object_id
WHERE OBJECTPROPERTY(IX.OBJECT_ID,'IsUserTable') = 1
GROUP BY OBJECT_NAME(IX.OBJECT_ID) ,IX.name ,IX.type_desc ,IXUS.user_seeks ,IXUS.user_scans ,IXUS.user_lookups,IXUS.user_updates ,IXUS.last_user_seek ,IXUS.last_user_scan ,IXUS.last_user_lookup ,IXUS.last_user_update

Check the size of the index and the usages – have it been used?

https://www.sqlshack.com/boost-sql-server-performance-with-wait-statistics/

https://www.sqlskills.com/blogs/paul/wait-statistics-or-please-tell-me-where-it-hurts/

What is the most worrying wait type?

More Information:

https://www.brentozar.com/archive/2018/07/cxconsumer-is-harmless-not-so-fast-tiger/ 

Product:

Microsoft SQL server 2016

Issue:

Should i make a index?

Solution:

Yes, all table should have a index – at least a clustered index.

But a data-ware house table, should maybe not have a index when you load a lot of data.

Index can be created after you have loaded a lot of data. This to speed up the process.

Correct made index make the SELECT faster. Any index in the target table, makes the INSERT slower.

You should have not too few, or too many index on a table to get the best performance.

To create a index:

CREATE TABLE dbo.TestTable 
(TestCol1 int NOT NULL, 
TestCol2 nchar(10) NULL, 
TestCol3 nvarchar(50) NULL);

CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX IX_TestTable_TestCol1 
ON dbo.TestTable (TestCol1);

You can also create index by right-click on table name – indexes – New Index.

Check if index exist, before you drop it;

IF EXISTS (SELECT name FROM sys.indexes  
    WHERE name = N'IX_ProductVendor_VendorID')   
    DROP INDEX IX_ProductVendor_VendorID ON Purchasing.ProductVendor;   

CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX IX_ProductVendor_VendorID   
    ON Purchasing.ProductVendor (BusinessEntityID); 

Use ONLINE=ON to make the table readable when you create the index:

CREATE NONCLUSTERED INDEX [IX_NonClusteredIndexDemo_StudentName] 
ON [dbo].[NonClusteredIndexDemo] ([StudentName],[STDAddress]) 
WITH ( ONLINE=ON, FILLFACTOR=90) 

To get more information of a query process use:

SET STATISTICS TIME ON
SET STATISTICS IO ON

SELECT * FROM [dbo].[DimAccount] 
WHERE [AccountType] ='Assets'

More Information:

https://www.sqlshack.com/tracing-and-tuning-queries-using-sql-server-indexes/

https://dataschool.com/sql-optimization/how-indexing-works/

• Columns with text, image, ntext, varchar(max), nvarchar(max) and varbinary(max) cannot be used in the index key columns.
• It is recommended to use an integer data type in the index key column. It has a low space requirement and works efficiently. Because of this, you’ll want to create the primary key column, usually on an integer data type.
• You should consider creating a primary key for the column with unique values. If a table does not have any unique value columns, you might define an identity column for an integer data type. A primary key also creates a clustered index for the row distribution.
• You can consider a column with the Unique and Not NULL values as a useful index key candidate.
• You should build an index based on the predicates in the Where clause. For example, you can consider columns used in the Where clause, SQL joins, like, order by, group by predicates, and so on.
• You should join tables in a way that reduces the number of rows for the rest of the query. This will help query optimizer prepare the execution plan with minimum system resources.
• If you use multiple columns for an index key, it is also essential to consider their position in the index key.
• You should also consider using included columns in your indexes.

https://blog.quest.com/11-sql-server-index-best-practices-for-improved-performance-tuning/

https://hungdoan.com/2017/04/13/nvarcharn-vs-nvarcharmax-performance-in-ms-sql-server/

The clustered index defines the order in which the table data will be sorted and stored. As mentioned before, a table without indexes will be stored in an unordered structure. When you define a clustered index on a column, it will sort data based on that column values and store it. Thus, it helps in faster retrieval of the data.

There can be only one clustered index on a table because the data rows can be stored in only one order.

When you create a Primary Key constraint on a table, a unique clustered index is automatically created on the table.

The non-clustered index does not sort the data rows physically. It creates a separate key-value structure from the table data where the key contains the column values (on which a non-clustered index is declared) and each value contains a pointer to the data row that contains the actual value. It is similar to a textbook having an index at the back of the book with page numbers pointing to the actual information.

https://www.tutorialsteacher.com/sqlserver/indexes

https://www.midnightdba.com/Jen/2014/12/create-a-clustered-index-and-a-primary-key-on-existing-tables/

https://www.sqlshack.com/designing-effective-sql-server-clustered-indexes/

https://developer.ibm.com/articles/i-sql-indexs-and-native-io/

https://tprojects.schneider-electric.com/GeoSCADAHelp/ClearSCADA%202017%20R2/Content/SQLGuide/IntroductiontoSQLQueryStructure.htm

https://www.brentozar.com/archive/2021/06/learn-fundamentals-of-index-tuning-for-1/

https://www.sqlshack.com/designing-effective-sql-server-non-clustered-indexes/

Product:

Microsoft SQL server 2016

Issue:

How allow a domain group only to execute all SP in a database?

Solution:

Create a role with only the correct rights:

CREATE ROLE db_executor;

GRANT EXECUTE TO db_executor;

Add a existing database user to that role:

ALTER ROLE db_executor ADD MEMBER [company\username]

To add a domain user to the sysadmin role:

exec sp_addsrvrolemember 'whatDomain\Domain Admins', 'sysadmin';

To add a domain user and add it to a predefined role in the database:

CREATE LOGIN [company\User] 
CREATE USER [company\User]
ALTER ROLE [db_datareader] ADD MEMBER [company\User]

More Information:

https://www.sqlmatters.com/Articles/Adding%20a%20db_executor%20role.aspx

https://kimconnect.com/how-to-add-domain-admins-to-sql-server/

https://help.genesys.com/pureconnect/mergedprojects/wh_tr/mergedprojects/wh_tr_active_directory_sql/desktop/run_sql_server_script_to_add_ad_accounts.htm

Product:

Microsoft SQL server 2016

Issue:

How list the size of the tables in a database?

Solution:

Try this SQL query:

SELECT 
    t.NAME AS TableName,
    i.name as indexName,
    sum(p.rows) as RowCounts,
    sum(a.total_pages) as TotalPages, 
    sum(a.used_pages) as UsedPages, 
    sum(a.data_pages) as DataPages,
    (sum(a.total_pages) * 8) / 1024 as TotalSpaceMB, 
    (sum(a.used_pages) * 8) / 1024 as UsedSpaceMB, 
    (sum(a.data_pages) * 8) / 1024 as DataSpaceMB
FROM 
    sys.tables t
INNER JOIN      
    sys.indexes i ON t.OBJECT_ID = i.object_id
INNER JOIN 
    sys.partitions p ON i.object_id = p.OBJECT_ID AND i.index_id = p.index_id
INNER JOIN 
    sys.allocation_units a ON p.partition_id = a.container_id
WHERE 
    t.NAME NOT LIKE 'dt%' AND
    i.OBJECT_ID > 255 AND   
    i.index_id <= 1
GROUP BY 
    t.NAME, i.object_id, i.index_id, i.name 
ORDER BY 
    SUM(a.total_pages) DESC

More Information:

https://ss64.com/sql/syntax-largest-table.html

Useful T-SQL queries and scripts to work in SQL Server

https://gist.github.com/hlsupe/d38b10ffdf34eb620f428100257a2695

Product:

Microsoft SQL server 2016

Microsoft Windows 2016 server

Problem:

How add rows for a date to a table?

Solution:

For this example we use this demo database:

https://www.brentozar.com/archive/2021/03/download-the-current-stack-overflow-database-for-free-2021-02/

Create a table with;

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Storage](
[Id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[CreationDate] [datetime] NOT NULL,
[DisplayName] [nvarchar](40) NOT NULL,
[DownVotes] [int] NOT NULL,
[LastAccessDate] [datetime] NOT NULL,
[Location] [nvarchar](100) NULL,
[Reputation] [int] NOT NULL,
[UpVotes] [int] NOT NULL,
[Views] [int] NOT NULL,
[AccountId] [int] NULL,
[UpdateDate] [datetime] NOT NULL
CONSTRAINT [PK_Storage_Id] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED 
(
[Id] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON, OPTIMIZE_FOR_SEQUENTIAL_KEY = OFF) ON [PRIMARY]
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO

To insert one row based on date and time;

INSERT INTO [dbo].[Storage]
(
[CreationDate],
[DisplayName],
[DownVotes],
[LastAccessDate],
[Location],
[Reputation],
[UpVotes],
[Views],
[AccountId],
[UpdateDate] 
)
SELECT
[CreationDate],
[DisplayName],
[DownVotes],
[LastAccessDate],
[Location],
[Reputation],
[UpVotes],
[Views],
[AccountId],
(GETDATE()) AS UpdateDate
FROM
[dbo].[Users]
WHERE
LastAccessDate = '2018-06-18 11:47:32.200'

To set a variable for a date;

DECLARE @@TargetDate DATETIME = '2018-06-18'
SELECT @@TargetDate

To insert all rows for a specific LastAccessDate;

INSERT INTO [dbo].[Storage]
(
[CreationDate],
[DisplayName],
[DownVotes],
[LastAccessDate],
[Location],
[Reputation],
[UpVotes],
[Views],
[AccountId],
[UpdateDate] 
)
SELECT
[CreationDate],
[DisplayName],
[DownVotes],
[LastAccessDate],
[Location],
[Reputation],
[UpVotes],
[Views],
[AccountId],
(GETDATE()) AS UpdateDate
FROM
[dbo].[Users]
WHERE
CONVERT (date,(LastAccessDate)) = @@TargetDate

More information

https://www.sqlshack.com/how-to-update-from-a-select-statement-in-sql-server/

https://popsql.com/learn-sql/sql-server/how-to-query-date-and-time-in-sql-server

SQL Server GETDATE () function and its use cases

Product:

Microsoft SQL server 2016

Microsoft Windows 2016

Problem:

How add data from one table to other table?

Suggested solution:

For the example we have downloaded the StackOverflow2013 database from here

https://www.brentozar.com/archive/2021/03/download-the-current-stack-overflow-database-for-free-2021-02/

Create a new table;

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Staff](
[Id] [int] NOT NULL,
[CreationDate] [datetime] NOT NULL,
[DisplayName] [nvarchar](40) NOT NULL,
[DownVotes] [int] NOT NULL,
[LastAccessDate] [datetime] NOT NULL,
[Location] [nvarchar](100) NULL,
[Reputation] [int] NOT NULL,
[UpVotes] [int] NOT NULL,
[Views] [int] NOT NULL,
[AccountId] [int] NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_Staff_Id] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED 
(
[Id] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON, OPTIMIZE_FOR_SEQUENTIAL_KEY = OFF) ON [PRIMARY]
) ON [PRIMARY]
GO

To be able to copy IDENTITY values between tables you need to use IDENTITY_INSERT and specify the columns in the INSERT INTO statement (not used in our example) .

SET IDENTITY_INSERT dbo.Employee ON

To copy all rows for users from Denmark to the new table;

INSERT INTO dbo.Staff
SELECT
    [Id],
    [CreationDate] ,
    [DisplayName] ,
    [DownVotes] ,
    [LastAccessDate],
    [Location] ,
    [Reputation] ,
    [UpVotes] ,
    [Views] ,
    [AccountId]
FROM windows2016.stackoverflow2013.dbo.users
WHERE location = 'Denmark'

To set the value to zero for column DownVotes when View is less than 100;

UPDATE [StackOverflow2013].[dbo].[Staff]
  SET DownVotes = 0
  WHERE views < 100

Select only one row by use of ID column;

SELECT *
FROM StackOverflow2013.dbo.staff
WHERE id = 19 AND location = 'denmark'

UPDATE StackOverflow2013.dbo.staff
SET DownVotes = 1
WHERE id = 19 AND location = 'denmark'

SELECT 
       [Id]
      ,[CreationDate]
      ,[DisplayName]
      ,[DownVotes]
      ,[LastAccessDate]
      ,[Location]
      ,[Reputation]
      ,[UpVotes]
      ,[Views]
      ,[AccountId]
  FROM [StackOverflow2013].[dbo].[Staff]
  ORDER BY views DESC

More information:

http://www.sql-server-helper.com/error-messages/msg-8101.aspx

https://www.sqlshack.com/how-to-copy-tables-from-one-database-to-another-in-sql-server/

https://www.sqlshack.com/overview-of-the-sql-insert-statement/

https://www.tutorialspoint.com/sql/sql-order-by.htm

Product:

Microsoft SQL server 2016

Issue:

How do I give access only to a table?

Solution:

Ensure the user exist in the database. Enter below SQL query to create a role (RESTRICTED_SELECT), and set the SELECT to a table (TABLE_NAME) for that role. Last add the user (USER_NAME) to the role.  Replace values with your user and table names.

Or better add a AD group to the role, then the IT department can add people to that AD group to get access to the table.

CREATE ROLE RESTRICTED_SELECT
GO
GRANT SELECT ON TABLE_NAME TO RESTRICTED_SELECT
GO
SP_ADDROLEMEMBER RESTRICTED_SELECT , USER_NAME

If i want give access to a function, for instance the user should be able to see Active Monitor from SSMS enter below SQL query.

USE master;
CREATE SERVER ROLE SQLMonitor ;
GRANT VIEW SERVER STATE TO SQLMonitor ;
GO

To view the Data File I/O pane, besides VIEW SERVER STATE, the login must be granted CREATE DATABASE, ALTER ANY DATABASE, or VIEW ANY DEFINITION permissions.

To kill a process, it’s necessary to be a member of the sysadmin role.

To add the user to a server role enter:

sp_addsrvrolemember USER_NAME, SQLMonitor

More Information:

https://www.sqlshack.com/sql-server-activity-monitor/

https://www.codeproject.com/Tips/1103206/SQL-Server-Grant-Permission-to-Particular-Table

https://www.guru99.com/sql-server-create-user.html

https://sqlserverplanet.com/dba/using-sp_addrolemember