Bob Duffy's Blobby Blog
SQL Server | BI | Dot.Net | Office | Sharepoint | MCE | Database Stuff
PowerPivot RTM has arrived
I’m just back from the office 2010 roadshow. Phew four cities and six presentations on PowerPivot...
Date: 04/22/2010
SCOM for SQL Folk on 27th May
I’m talking at the SQL Users group on “SCOM for SQL folk”. this session is based on my experiences...
Date: 04/22/2010
Time to get serious with encryption
just read an article indicating the some states in the US are making data encryption on disk and on...
Date: 04/22/2010
SQL Immersion: Dublin 2010
The only local opportunity for advanced SQL training with sqlskills (Paul Randal and Kimberly Tripp)...
Date: 04/22/2010
PowerPivot at the Office 2010 Roadshow for IT Pros
If you haven’t seen PowerPivot yet, there is a great opportunity at the Office + SharePoint 2010...
Date: 04/02/2010
General Guidance for SQL Server on Virtualisation
I have been on about four engagements in a row this year where we are looking at SQL performance on...
Date: 03/31/2010
Hidden Network Devices
One annoying thing about working with Hyper-V is you can end up with lots of “hidden” network...
Date: 03/19/2010
Taking PowerPivot and Your Domain on the Demo Road
One of the current Technical Limitations of PowerPivot for SharePoint is the fact that the...
Date: 03/18/2010
The Last SQL Academy in this series goes out in style
The last topic in the series is entitled “SQL 2008 R2 – Next Generation Business Intelligence”. We...
Date: 03/18/2010
How good is Data Compression in SQL 2008
Data compression in SQL 2008 is best for data warehouses, where they tend to be very IO constrained...
Date: 02/23/2010
IW 2010 Demo Hyper-V Image Released
For those of you like me running Hyper-V, there is a VPC with the some of the 2010 “IW” stack...
Date: 02/06/2010
SQL Server and Kerberos
One side effect of following the best practices and running SQL Server under a Domain User account...
Date: 02/06/2010
Shorts VBS Script to Determine if SQL Server is installed and running
I am playing with System Centre Operations Manager and Config Manager. They all use VBS to determine...
Date: 01/11/2010
January Seminar – BI with SQL 2008 R2
Rafal Lukewiecki who is a top rated Tech Ed speaker is hosing a whole day BI event at the Burlington...
Date: 01/07/2010
Installing PowerPivot for SharePoint
Installing and Configuring PowerPivot has been painful for me – Partly because I managed to dive in...
Date: 12/08/2009
SQL Academy – Performance Tuning & Optimisation
Registration is still open for SQL Academy on Tuesday 1st December in the usual place (Sandyford,...
Date: 11/28/2009
The Gemini/PowerPivot Gallery View
On my first week trying to setup PowerPivot I was plagues with an inability to see the sexy new...
Date: 11/28/2009
New Install Option for SQL 2008 R2
Using the new “Default Install” option in SQL Server 2008 R2 I managed to get a full instance...
Date: 11/18/2009
Data Connection Libraries missing in SharePoint 2010
If you are using the new “Gemini Team Site” in SharePoint 2010 (I guess this must be renamed in the...
Date: 11/15/2009
Integrating Office and SharePoint in Windows 2008
Three common issues integrating office and MOSS when using Server 2008 as a client: 1) Office cannot...
Date: 11/15/2009
Good Power Pivot / Gemini Resources
Ok, everyone is hopefully aware that Gemini is now renamed to “PowerPivot”. IMO, this technology is...
Date: 11/15/2009
SQL Academy (Dublin, Ireland)– Advanced SQL Configuration
I’m helping deliver a series of advanced seminars for Microsoft TechNet Ireland. The SQL Academy...
Date: 10/15/2009
Tools for SQL Discovery
For anyone looking to find out how many SQL Servers they have deployed, and gain insight into...
Date: 09/16/2009
Paul Randal and Kimberly Tripp at SQL Ireland Users Group in Sept
Paul Randal and Kimberly Tripp are presenting at the SQL Ireland users group on the 23rd September....
Date: 09/01/2009
Want to learn more about Self Service Business Intelligence (Project Gemini)
Microsoft's new self service business intelligence platform (project Gemini), is set to...
Date: 08/29/2009
Bob Duffy passed MCM 2008 !
I just got the email to say I have passed the SQL 2008 MCM exam....
Date: 08/26/2009
SQL Server Versions
I'm always installing SQL Server or talking to customers about installations and the topic comes up...
Date: 08/22/2009
SQL Immersion: Dublin 2009
There is four weeks until the SQL Immersion event here in Dublin and I'm getting really excited. For...
Date: 08/22/2009
Epicenter on Wed 26th August
The largest Irish conference/ expo is starting this wed. the list of speakers and events is...
Date: 08/22/2009
is your Anti-Virus Strangling SQL Server?
Its very common when I arrive on site to do a performance review or some tuning that a good first...
Date: 07/27/2009
Bob Duffy awarded MVP for SQL Server for 2009/2010
Just got the email announcing that I've been awarded an MVP for SQL Server for 2009/2010. The MVP...
Date: 07/02/2009
SQL Immersion: Dublin 2009 is open for registration
Kimberly Tripp and Paul Randal are coming to Dublin in September for a week of what promises to the...
Date: 06/30/2009
Project Gemini Preview
For anyone attending the SQL 2008 Academy on Friday (link here) we are going to be showing some...
Date: 06/23/2009
Get an MCM at a discount rate!!
I must get about 50 emails a week offering a degree for 50 bucks mail order, but here's an offer...
Date: 06/23/2009
Kimberly Tripp and Paul Randal returning to Dublin
The rumours are true! We are helping to organise Paul Randal and Kimberly Tripp to return to Ireland...
Date: 06/19/2009
SQL 2008 Academy - Analysis Services 101
I'm presenting a complimentary session for Microsoft SQL Academy entitled "Analysis Services 101"...
Date: 06/19/2009
SCCM Reboot during OSD Install - "NO MP Certificates"
I just spent ages troubleshooting an annoying thing with SCCM. Every time I tried an OSD PXE...
Date: 06/01/2009
Processor at 100% after Installing SCCM (or anything else).
I've recently been installing a lot of MS Server products into a lab. One thing I noticed is...
Date: 05/31/2009
SSRS 2008 Event in Cork
If anyone is in Cork on Thursday 4th June, I'll be presenting a seminar on Reporting services 2008...
Date: 05/30/2009
Troubleshooting AD Extension. The dreaded Error 8206
I’m a SQL/Apps dude, not an Infrastructure guy. My weakness is I love technology so much I dabble in...
Date: 05/21/2009
DB Restore causes cache flush in SQL 2005
Ok, I’m sure many people already know this , but I just found out the hard way. When you perform a...
Date: 05/19/2009
Using a SAN to Initialize Replication
I've chatted to a few customers about the possibnility of using a SAN based snapshot to initialise...
Date: 05/16/2009
Disk Partition Alignment De-Mystified
Jimmy May has compiled a great white paper on Disk Partition Alignment Best Practices for SQL Server...
Date: 05/14/2009
Dimensional Modelling and Cube Building 101
Thanks to everyone who came to the Dublin SQL users Group session on Tuesday. I hope that we...
Date: 05/07/2009
Bob the Cube Builder
One thing I do notice about Ireland is we have lots of people who have great knowledge about writing...
Date: 04/24/2009
SQL 2008 SP1 Released
Hopefully everyone knows SP1 is released for SQL 2008 now ! One thing which is really nice is that...
Date: 04/08/2009
MS Tech Days in Belfast - Reporting Services 2008
I'll be delivering a session on SQL 2008 Reporting Services in Belfast for MS Tech-Days on 26th...
Date: 03/17/2009
Why Not to Sysprep SQL Server
If you do a lot of installs its a good idea to have an automated process for provisioning SQL...
Date: 02/12/2009
Troubleshooting SQL 2008 Installation (Access Denied)
I have to say that the improvements in the SQL 2008 installation have been pretty good to me. We...
Date: 02/12/2009
Problems Refreshing Excel Services Data Sources with SSAS
I just spent a day looking into why Excel Services could not refresh an Analysis Services 2005/2008...
Date: 01/19/2009