Symptoms

Cannot delete the .bak files from azure blob storage through maintenance plans or any other options from SQL which have been backed up using backup to URL or managed backup

Cause

At this time we don’t have any functionality available to automate the deletion of the backup files on Azure blob Storage account/container.

Resolution

You can backup and restore using maintenance plans to azure blob storage but you cannot use the maintenance cleanup task to clear the data from blob storage like you can do for your on premise. The only way out to achieve this is by using PowerShell script. We developed the below script which will delete the files which have been modified earlier than one day in the below script from the date it’s called. The date can be changed 1 day to any number needed per requirements. In the below example, we have deleted the files which are older than one day. We created a new storage account for testing this by using

#To create new storage account New-AzureRmStorageAccount -ResourceGroupName resource-Test1 -Name bkuptourl -Type Standard_LRS -Location NorthEurope #Script to delete backup files $bacs = Get-ChildItem $location # use "-Filter *.bak" or "-Filter *.trn" for deleting bak or trn files specifically $container="bkup" $StorageAccountName="bkuptourl" $StorageAccountKey="xsVyDSvy48113b37ZEu0/VNkYAz9R81cO7UwOTp4qhDYU9zNbLAjioiOh3FVnzhO8n3tDYOyWnSkn==" $context = New-AzureStorageContext -StorageAccountName $StorageAccountName -StorageAccountKey $StorageAccountKey $filelist = Get-AzureStorageBlob -Container $container -Context $context foreach ($file in $filelist | Where-Object {$_.LastModified.DateTime -lt ((Get-Date).AddDays(-1))}) { $removefile = $file.Name if ($removefile -ne $null) { Write-Host "Removing file $removefile" Remove-AzureStorageBlob -Blob $removeFile -Container $container -Context $context } }

Sample output

Symptoms

Cannot Configure Automated backups in azure VM from the portal which was created on ARM (Azure Resource Manager Model). It fails with the following error

Cause

SQL IAAS Agent Service was disabled and dint starts due to insufficient permissions.

Resolution

We can reproduce the issue by the following method.

We deployed a VM on our end and navigated to VM > SQL Server Configuration> Automated Backup and this failed with a similar error:

Error", "message": "Handler 'Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.SqlIaaSAgent' has reported failure for VM Extension 'SqlIaasExtension' with terminal error code '1009' and error message: 'Enable failed for plugin (name: Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.SqlIaaSAgent, version 1.2.10.0) with exception statusMessage:{"status":"Failed","error":{"code":"ResourceDeploymentFailure","message":"The resource operation completed with terminal provisioning state 'Failed'.","details":[{"code":"VMExtensionHandlerNonTransientError","message":"Handler 'Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.SqlIaaSAgent' has reported failure for VM Extension 'SqlIaasExtension' with terminal error code '1009' and error message: 'Enable failed for plugin (name: Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.SqlIaaSAgent, version 1.2.10.0) with exception Command C:\\Packages\\Plugins\\Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.SqlIaaSAgent\\1.2.10.0\\enable.cmd of Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.SqlIaaSAgent has exited with Exit code: -532462766'"}]}}

We then went to the VM and checked the event viewer application and system logs and found the below errors:

The Microsoft SQL Server IaaS Agent service failed to start due to the following error: The service did not start due to a logon failure.

Now researching on this, we found SQL Server IAAS Agent service can help us to automate some administrative tasks, for example run jobs, monitors SQL Server, and processes alerts. When we enable Automated Backup on virtual machine, the extension will be automatically installed but somehow it didn’t start in our scenario due to the account permission issues.

We started the service and then tried to configure the automated backups from the azure portal and saw it completed successfully without any errors. In case if it still fails even after that then the next step is to Look at the locations C:\WindowsAzure\Logs and C:\Packages\Plugins for any errors in the IAAS VM.

More Information:

We require the Microsoft SQL IAAS Agent service in running state for enabling automated backups and its functioning. When we enable Automated Backup on our virtual machine, the extension will be automatically installed. Automated Backup automatically configures Managed Backup to Microsoft Azure for all existing and new databases on an Azure VM running SQL Server 2014 Standard or Enterprise. This enables us to configure regular database backups that utilize durable Azure blob storage. Automated Backup depends on the SQL Server IaaS Agent Extension.

Related articles:

More information on Automated Backups: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/documentation/articles/virtual-machines-windows-sql-automated-backup/

More information on IAAS Agent Service: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/documentation/articles/virtual-machines-windows-sql-server-agent-extension/

Symptoms

Cannot Deploy DACPAC Extracted from SQL 2012 Server from .NET custom code or from SQLPackage.exe command to SQL 2014

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\DAC\bin>SqlPackage.exe /Action:Publish /SourceFile:"C:\temp\AgentLink2_11.0.6020.dacpac" /tsn:"RAGHAVSDC" /TargetDatabaseName:TestACM

Publishing to database 'TestACM' on server 'RAGHAVSDC'.
The dac history table will not be updated.
Initializing deployment (Start)
Initializing deployment (Failed)
*** Could not deploy package.
Unable to connect to target server.

Cause

We don’t have a DAC Folder at location C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\120\ in the system but have the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\DAC\bin (We can successfully publish to SQL 2012 but not SQL 2014)

Resolution

To reproduce the issue, please find a DAC folder at location C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\110\DAC\bin

Open a CMD with administrator privileges and navigate to this path and run the sqlpackage.exe to publish it to a SQL 2014/2016 server and we will get the same exact error

“*** Could not deploy package.

Unable to connect to target server.”

The above looks like to be a connectivity error at our first glance but this is not the case here. We tested the connectivity for this on multiple machines and didn’t find an issue with it. The solution to the problem is we need to install the DAC Framework https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/download/details.aspx?id=42293 and once installed, we will be able to see the DAC Folder at C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\120\DAC\

We then can try to publish the DACPAC from sqlpackage.exe from the 120 Location and it gets published successfully.

More Information:

In the above scenario, we noticed that we can only publish the DACPAC for the version the DACPAC file was created for.

If we have taken a DACPAC for SQL 2012, then we can publish is to any higher version of SQL but it needs to be published from the 120 folder (C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\120\DAC\Bin) if we want to publish to SQL 2014. If we are trying to publish the DACPAC taken from SQL 2012 to 2016 then we need to publish the package from the 130 Folder (C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\130\DAC\Bin)

DACPAC is a feature of our Data Tier application which will allow us to backup the schema of our database. In simple terms, it is only database schema (definition without the data) which can be used on higher versions of SQL Server. SQLPackage.exe is a utility which allows us to automate database development and projects in our environment.

Related articles:

SQLPackage.exe: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh550080(v=vs.103).aspx

Data Tier Applications: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee210546.aspx

Design and Implementation for DACPAC: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee210546(v=sql.110).aspx

DAC Framework download: https://www.microsoft.com/en-in/download/details.aspx?id=42293

Written by – Ujjwal Patel, Support Engineer.
Reviewed by – Raghavendra, , Sr. Support Engineer.

1. By creating a ‘PSEUDO’ REGISTRY KEY

• Firstly, I have created a faulty SSL certificate with the KEY_SPEC not set to 1.

• If in case any assistance is needed to create the certificate refer to my previous blog wherein I have explained the different ways of creating the SSL certificate.

• On creating the certificate, running the checkSQLssl tool on the server gives the following validation report for the certificate created.

• Now to address this issue, create a DWORD value called “NoProviderName” and set it to 1 at the path HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\PFX.

• Export the certificate in the .PFX format and deleted it from the store through the MMC.

• To export, Right click on the certificate -> All Tasks -> Export and the Certificate Export Wizard appears, click on NEXT to continue.

• Note that for the certificate to be exported from the MMC, initially during its creation itself, the private key should be made exportable. If not the Yes, export the private key radio button as shown will be greyed out and that will be the last nail in the coffin.

• In the Export Private Key page click on the Yes, export the private key radio button as shown and click on NEXT to continue.

• In the Export File Format page, make sure radio button for .PFX format is checked as shown and click on NEXT to continue.

• In the Security page, check the Password check box, enter a password and confirm it which will be needed during the re-importing of the certificate. Click on NEXT to continue.

• In the File to Export page browse to the physical location where you need the certificate to be exported on the machine. Click on NEXT and follow it by clicking on FINISH to complete the export process.

• Now navigate to the location where you have exported the certificate and then run the below command from elevated CMD prompt:

• Even here the procedure remains almost the same.

• We have to export the certificate and then we have to re-import it but there is no need of a registry key creation in this case.

• Re-import the certificate using the following command:

• Thus the issue with the certificate will now be resolved and thus it will be now eligible to be loaded to SQL server.

Written by: Shreyas R, Support Engineer, SQL Server Support

Reviewed by: Sravani Saluru, Support Escalation Engineer, SQL Server Support Pradeep M M, Escalation Engineer, SQL Server Support

• Using Makecert util from the SDK.
• Using certreq command and a script.sine
• Using powershell command.

1. Using Makecert util:

• Firstly, the pre-requisite for using this method is to have Windows SDK installed on the machine.
• Navigate to the location where you have the makecert util and then Run the below command from elevated CMD prompt:
• Run the following command to create the certificate:

• We will have the certificate created under the MMC console --> Certificate snap in --> Local Computer --> Personal section
• As per the parameters specified, the certificate will be created with the following set of specifications:
  • The common name of the certificate will be “MININT-Q99PLQN.fareast.corp.microsoft.com” which is the FQDN of the machine.
  • The private key will be enabled for exporting.
  • Certificate will be created in the Computer account -> Personal -> Certificate store
  • Validity period will be 10-16-2015 to 12-01-2020
  • The server authentication will be enabled. [eku = 1.3.6.1.5.5.7.3.1]
  • Key Spec value will be set to 1. [AT_KEYEXCHANGE will be enabled]
  • The algorithm used here for encryption is Microsoft RSA SChannel Cryptographic Provider.

• Firstly, we need to save the below script in a text document with a .inf extension.

• Navigate to the location where you have saved this request.inf file and then Run the below command from elevated CMD prompt

• We will have the certificate created under the MMC console --> Certificate snap in --> LocalComputer --> Personal section
• The advantages of this technique is that it does not require the Windows SDK installed and the key length can be subjected to changes where as if it is using makecert it would be by default set to '2048' for 'RSA' and '512' for 'DSS'

• Here is the approach to create the SSL certificate satisfying the pre-requisites to load it for SQL server using the power-shell command.
• Run Powershell as an administrator and enter the following command (where DnsName = Host name or FQDN of the machine)

• Through the SQL Server Configuration Manager
• Through explicit registration

1. Through SQL Server Configuration Manager:

• Initially need to check the health of the certificate using the CheckSQLssl.exe tool.
• Here are the pre-requisites for the SSL certificate to use it for SQL server:
  • Certificate must be present in the Local computer certificate store or the current user certificate store.
  • Certificate age must be present within the validity period.
  • Certificate must be meant for server authentication. (EKU should specify Server Authentication [1.3.6.1.5.5.7.3.1])
  • Certificate must be created using the KEY_SPEC option of AT_KEYEXCHANGE (KEY_SPEC=1)
  • Common name of the certificate should be the host name or the FQDN of the server computer.
  • Running the tool using the command prompt will generate the following report

• On getting all the validation checks ‘OK’ regarding the pre-requisites of the certificate we can go ahead register it.
• On SSCM, expand SQL server network configuration -> Right click on ‘Protocols for <Instance name> -> Properties. Turn the ‘Forced Encryption’ to Yes.

• Click on the ‘Certificate’ tab where the certificates will be listed and select the required certificate from the list and restart the service.

• Thus the SSL certificate will be loaded to the selected SQL server and this can be verified by analyzing the SQL error logs for the below message and verifying it with the thumbprint of the certificate in MMC.

• To verify the thumbprint, in MMC double click on the certificate which is loaded, click on ‘Details’ tab and click on thumbprint in the list.

• Even after the validation checks are proved to be OK by the CheckSQLssl tool and still if the certificate is not listed in SSCM, then follow this technique.
• Run ‘regedit’ and open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQLServer\SuperSocketNetLib and enter the thumbprint of the certificate without spaces to the ‘Certificate’ value.
• Note that in case of a clustered environment in those nodes whose FQDN does not match with the certificate name, the certificate will not be listed in the configuration manager. In that case explicit registration is the only way to register the certificate.
• Then on restarting the SQL service the SSL certificate will be loaded to SQL and this can be verified again by analyzing the SQL server error logs.

Written by: Shreyas R, Support Engineer, SQL Server Support

Reviewed by: Sravani Saluru, Support Escalation Engineer, SQL Server Support Pradeep M M, Escalation Engineer, SQL Server Support

Symptoms

SQL Server Service fails to start after applying SQL patch due to misconfiguration in MSDB.

Error:-

2016-06-28 19:23:41.22 spid5s    Script level upgrade for database 'master' failed because upgrade step 'msdb110_upgrade.sql' encountered error 2714, state 6, severity 25. Severity: 16, State: 0.
2016-06-28 19:23:41.22 spid5s    CREATE SCHEMA failed due to previous errors.
2016-06-28 19:23:41.22 spid5s    Error: 912, Severity: 21, State: 2.
2016-06-28 19:23:41.22 spid5s    Script level upgrade for database 'master' failed because upgrade step 'msdb110_upgrade.sql' encountered error 2714, state 6, severity 25. This is a serious error condition which might interfere with regular operation and the database will be taken offline. If the error happened during upgrade of the 'master' database, it will prevent the entire SQL Server instance from starting. Examine the previous error log entries for errors, take the appropriate corrective actions and re-start the database so that the script upgrade steps run to completion.

2016-06-28 19:23:41.22 spid5s    Error: 3417, Severity: 21, State: 3.
2016-06-28 19:23:41.22 spid5s    Cannot recover the master database. SQL Server is unable to run. Restore master from a full backup, repair it, or rebuild it. For more information about how to rebuild the master database, see SQL Server Books Online.

2016-06-28 19:23:41.22 spid5s    SQL Server shutdown has been initiated·

Cause

• The upgrade script [msdb110_upgrade.sql] executes during the first restart of SQL after the service pack installation.
• This script hits an exception during recreation of database role called “DatabaseMailUserRole”.
• This is due to the fact that the schema named “DatabaseMailUserRole” was owned by other database role then “DatabaseMailUserRole” – DBO role in our case.

Resolution

1. Start the SQL server service using Trace flag -T902 ( 902 : Used to skip execution of any scripts during SQL Startup)

Or follow these steps:

· Open SQL Server Configuration Manager.

· In SQL Server Configuration Manager, click SQL Server Services.

· Double-click the SQL Server service.

· In the SQL Server Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab.

· On click the Advanced tab, locate the Startup Parameters item.

· Add ;-T902 to the end of the existing string value, and then click OK.

· Restart the SQL server service

2. Connect to the SQL instance and backup the MSDB database

3. Manually delete the schema named “DatabaseMailUserRole”

Management studio > Expand MSDB Database > Go to Security > Schemas > Look for DatabaseMailuserRole

4. Now delete the schema named DatabaseMailuserRole.

5. Restart the SQL Server service.

More information

• Starting SQL Server 2008 onwards, whenever we upgrade or apply a patch on SQL, it upgrades only the binaries and not the database and its objects.
• Once the upgrade completes and the service restarts for the first time, it starts the database upgrade using script msdb110_upgrade.sql which is located under

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQLXX.YYYY\MSSQL\Install\

XX : SQL Version 
SQL 2008/R2  >10
SQL 2012       >11
SQL 2014       > 12

--------------------------------------------------------------
-- Database Mail roles and permissions
--------------------------------------------------------------
-- Create the DatabaseMailUserRole role
IF (EXISTS (SELECT *
FROM msdb.dbo.sysusers
WHERE (name = N'DatabaseMailUserRole')
AND (issqlrole = 1)))
BEGIN -- there are no members in the role, then drop and re-create it
IF ((SELECT COUNT(*)
FROM msdb.dbo.sysusers   su,
            msdb.dbo.sysmembers sm
WHERE (su.uid = sm.groupuid)
AND (su.name = N'DatabaseMailUserRole')
AND (su.issqlrole = 1)) = 0)
BEGIN
EXECUTE msdb.dbo.sp_droprole @rolename = N'DatabaseMailUserRole'  
EXECUTE msdb.dbo.sp_addrole @rolename = N'DatabaseMailUserRole'  << **************Point of failure
END
END
ELSE
EXECUTE msdb.dbo.sp_addrole @rolename = N'DatabaseMailUserRole'

• The command “SP_ADDROLE” fails as it also creates schema named “DatabaseMailUserRole” which already exists in the MSDB database.
• The previous command “SP_DROPROLE” was unable to delete the schema “DatabaseMailUserRole” as it was owned by other database role– DBO role in our case.

Steps to repro the error:-

1. Change the schema owner of “DatabaseMailUserRole” to DBO

USE [msdb]
GO
ALTER AUTHORIZATION ON SCHEMA::[DatabaseMailUserRole] TO [dbo]
GO

2. Try to execute the below statement  and we hit the same error:

EXECUTE msdb.dbo.sp_droprole @rolename = N'DatabaseMailUserRole'  
EXECUTE msdb.dbo.sp_addrole @rolename = N'DatabaseMailUserRole'  <<<**************Point of failure

Related articles:

• Using the SQL Server Service Startup Options https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190737(v=sql.105).aspx
• How to: Configure Server Startup Options (SQL Server Configuration Manager) https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms345416(v=sql.105).aspx
• ALTER AUTHORIZATION (Transact-SQL) https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187359.aspx
• sp_addrole (Transact-SQL) https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189743.aspx

Written by:
Ujjwal Patel, Support Engineer, SQL Server Support

Reviewed by:
Raghavendra Srinivasan, Support Engineer, SQL Server Support

There have been several posts on setting up Service Broker where the database is part of the Availability Group. This is a one stop blog for setting up Service Broker where the initiator database is part of the AG

What happens when the AG fails over? Should there be any additional steps in setting up the service broker so that it resumes its operation after an AG failover? This blog post answers all these questions with details wherever required. The below technet article outlines the steps: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-IN/library/hh710058.aspx

In this blog, we will discuss about the steps along with the screenshots, wherever applicable.

Requirements:

1. Service Broker has to be setup and enabled on the database before the database is added to the AG.
2. Availability Group must possess a listener.
3. Service Broker endpoints must be configured on every instance of SQL Server that hosts an availability replica for the availability group.

Environment:

AlwaysOn
    Name of Availability Group: AGService
    AG Listener: LIST
    VM1\INS1 : Primary Synchronous Replica
    VM2\INS2 : Secondary Synchronous Replica (Automatic Failover)

Service Broker
    VM1\INS1 : Initiator 1
    VM2\INS2 : Initiator 2
    VM3\INS3 : Target

At the end of this blog, we’ll be setting up the below environment

Overview:

‹•›   Setup service broker on the initiator: VM1\INS1 and target: VM3\INS3
‹•›   Take a backup of the Initiator database on VM1\INS1 and restore it with NORECOVERY on the 2nd Initiator (secondary replica) –VM2\INS2
‹•›   Create Service Broker endpoint on the secondary replica: VM2\INS2
‹•›   Create Route on the secondary replica: VM2\INS2
‹•›   Backup the Service Master Key from the primary replica and restore it on the secondary replica.
‹•›   Add the 2 initiator databases (from VM1\INS1 and VM2\INS2) to the AG

Steps:

1. Setup service broker on the initiator: VM1\INS1 and target: VM3\INS3
   Here, we’ll be setting up Service Broker as we normally do, with initiator as VM1\INS1 and VM2\INS2 as target.
   The T-SQL here to do the same is included, just so there is more clarity on the naming convention that is used in this blog. These scripts have been taken from the below MSDN article:
   https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb839483(v=sql.105).aspx

------------------------------------------
        --Lesson 1: Creating the Target Database--
        --***[connect to the TARGET instance- VM3\INS3]***--
------------------------------------------

        --Create a Service Broker endpoint
        USE master;
        GO
        IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM master.sys.endpoints WHERE name = N'InstTargetEndpoint')
             DROP ENDPOINT InstTargetEndpoint;
        GO

        CREATE ENDPOINT InstTargetEndpoint
        STATE = STARTED
        AS TCP ( LISTENER_PORT = 4022, LISTENER_IP=ALL )
        FOR SERVICE_BROKER (AUTHENTICATION = WINDOWS );
        GO

        --Create the target database, master key, and user
        USE master;
        GO
        IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.databases WHERE name = N'TargetDB')
             DROP DATABASE TargetDB;
        GO

        CREATE DATABASE TargetDB;
        GO
        USE TargetDB;
        GO
        CREATE MASTER KEY
               ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = N'<EnterStrongPassword1Here>';
        GO
        CREATE USER TargetUser WITHOUT LOGIN;
        GO

        --Create the target certificate & backup the certificate

        CREATE CERTIFICATE InstTargetCertificate
             AUTHORIZATION TargetUser
             WITH SUBJECT = 'Target Certificate',
                  EXPIRY_DATE = N'12/31/3010';

        BACKUP CERTIFICATE InstTargetCertificate
          TO FILE = N'\\DC\Certshare\InstTargetCertificate_INS3.cer';
        GO

        --Create message type for request and reply
        USE TargetDB;
        GO
        Create message type [//RequestMsg]
        go
        Create message type [//ReplyMsg]
        go

        --Create a contract for the above created message
        USE TargetDB;
        GO
        Create contract [//SampleContract]
        (
        [//RequestMsg] sent by initiator,
        [//ReplyMsg] sent by target
        )

        --Create Queue & Service for target
        USE TargetDB;
        GO
        CREATE QUEUE TargetQueue_TargetDB;
        go
        CREATE SERVICE [//TargetService]
        AUTHORIZATION TargetUser
        ON QUEUE TargetQueue_TargetDB([//SampleContract]);
        GO

Below queries need to be run on the initiator. At this point, we’ll run it only on VM1\INS1 which will be the primary replica on the AG.

      ---------------------------------------------
        --Lesson 2: Creating the Initiator Database--
        --***[connect to the INITIATOR instance: VM1\INS1]***--
        --------------------------------------------

        --Create a Service Broker endpoint
        USE master;
        GO
        IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.endpoints
                   WHERE name = N'InstInitiatorEndpoint')
             DROP ENDPOINT InstInitiatorEndpoint;
        GO
        CREATE ENDPOINT InstInitiatorEndpoint
        STATE = STARTED
        AS TCP ( LISTENER_PORT = 4022, LISTENER_IP=ALL )
        FOR SERVICE_BROKER (AUTHENTICATION = WINDOWS );
        GO

        --Create the initiator database, master key, and user
        USE master;
        GO
        IF EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.databases
                   WHERE name = N'InitiatorDB')
             DROP DATABASE InitiatorDB;
        GO
        CREATE DATABASE InitiatorDB;
        GO
        USE InitiatorDB;
        GO

        CREATE MASTER KEY
               ENCRYPTION BY PASSWORD = N'<EnterStrongPassword2Here>';
        GO
        CREATE USER InitiatorUser WITHOUT LOGIN;
        GO

        --Create the initiator certificate

        CREATE CERTIFICATE InstInitiatorCertificate
             AUTHORIZATION InitiatorUser
             WITH SUBJECT = N'Initiator Certificate',
                  EXPIRY_DATE = N'12/31/3010';

        BACKUP CERTIFICATE InstInitiatorCertificate
          TO FILE =
        N'\\dc\certshare\InstInitiatorCertificate_INS1.cer';
        GO

        --Create message type for request and reply
        USE InitiatorDB;
        GO
        Create message type [//RequestMsg]
        go
        Create message type [//ReplyMsg]
        go

        --Create a contract for the above created message
        USE InitiatorDB;
        GO
        Create contract [//SampleContract]
        (
        [//RequestMsg] sent by initiator,
        [//ReplyMsg] sent by target
        )

        --Create the initiator queue and service

        CREATE QUEUE InitiatorQueue_InitiatorDB;

        CREATE SERVICE [//InitiatorService]
               AUTHORIZATION InitiatorUser
               ON QUEUE InitiatorQueue_InitiatorDB;
        GO

        --Create references to target objects
        CREATE USER TargetUser WITHOUT LOGIN;

        CREATE CERTIFICATE InstTargetCertificate
           AUTHORIZATION TargetUser
           FROM FILE =
        N'\\DC\certshare\InstTargetCertificate_INS3.cer'
        GO

        --Create routes

        DECLARE @Cmd NVARCHAR(4000);

        SET @Cmd = N'USE InitiatorDB;
        CREATE ROUTE Initiator_TO_Target_Route
        WITH SERVICE_NAME =N''//TargetService'',
             ADDRESS = N''TCP://VM3:4022'';';

        EXEC (@Cmd);

        SET @Cmd = N'USE msdb
        CREATE ROUTE Inst_Local_InitiatorRoute
        WITH SERVICE_NAME =
               N''//InitiatorService'',
             ADDRESS = N''LOCAL''';

        EXEC (@Cmd);
        GO
        CREATE REMOTE SERVICE BINDING TargetBinding
              TO SERVICE
                 N'//TargetService'
              WITH USER = TargetUser;

        GO 

Now, on the target: VM3\INS3, run the below. Note that I am using the routing address of VM1 while creating a Target_To_Initiator Route. We’ll change that to name of the AG listener after we test if the service broker is sending and receiving messages between the VM1\INS1 and VM3\INS3( Without AG in picture)

       -------------------------------------------------------
        --Lesson 3: Completing the Target Conversation Objects
        --***[connect to the TARGET instance VM3\INS3]***--
        -------------------------------------------------------

        --Create references to initiator objects
        USE TargetDB
        GO
        CREATE USER InitiatorUser WITHOUT LOGIN;

        CREATE CERTIFICATE InstInitiatorCertificate
           AUTHORIZATION InitiatorUser
           FROM FILE = N'\\DC\certshare\InstInitiatorCertificate_INS1.cer';
        GO

        --Create routes

        DECLARE @Cmd NVARCHAR(4000);

        SET @Cmd = N'USE TargetDB;
        CREATE ROUTE Target_To_Initiator_Route
        WITH SERVICE_NAME =
               N''//InitiatorService'',
             ADDRESS = N''TCP://VM1:4022'';';

        EXEC (@Cmd);

        SET @Cmd = N'USE msdb
        CREATE ROUTE Inst_Local_TargetRoute
        WITH SERVICE_NAME =
                N''//TargetService'',
             ADDRESS = N''LOCAL''';

        EXEC (@Cmd);
        GO
        GRANT SEND
              ON SERVICE::[//TargetService]
              TO InitiatorUser;
        GO
        CREATE REMOTE SERVICE BINDING InitiatorBinding
              TO SERVICE N'//InitiatorService'
              WITH USER = InitiatorUser;
        GO

This is the basic Service Broker setup between VM1\INS1 and VM3\INS3. You can check by sending and receiving messages using the below scripts.

               --------------------------------------------------
        --Lesson 4: Beginning the Conversation--
        --***[connect to the INITIATOR instance VM1\INS1]***--
        --------------------------------------------------

        USE InitiatorDB;
        GO
        DECLARE @InitDlgHandle UNIQUEIDENTIFIER;
        DECLARE @RequestMsg NVARCHAR(100);
        BEGIN TRANSACTION;
        BEGIN DIALOG @InitDlgHandle
        FROM SERVICE [//InitiatorService]
        TO SERVICE N'//TargetService'
        ON CONTRACT [//SampleContract]WITH ENCRYPTION = Off;
        SELECT @RequestMsg = N'<RequestMsg:1>Message for Target service.</RequestMsg:1>';
        SEND ON CONVERSATION @InitDlgHandle
        MESSAGE TYPE [//RequestMsg]
        (@RequestMsg);
        SELECT @RequestMsg AS SentRequestMsg;

        COMMIT TRANSACTION;
        GO

Once the message is sent from the initiator, it can be seen by querying the Target Queue on the target database.

Select *from [dbo].[TargetQueue_TargetDB]

If it is not present on the Target queue, query the sys.transmission_queue on the initiator. If there are any errors, it will be shown on the transmission_status column.
Now, run the below on the target instance to receive the request and send a reply.

       --------------------------------------------------
        --Lesson 5: Receiving a Request and Sending a Reply--
        --***[connect to the TARGET instance VM3\INS3]***--
        --------------------------------------------------

        --Receive the request and send a reply
        USE TargetDB;
        GO

        DECLARE @RecvReqDlgHandle UNIQUEIDENTIFIER;
        DECLARE @RecvReqMsg NVARCHAR(100);
        DECLARE @RecvReqMsgName sysname;

        BEGIN TRANSACTION;

        WAITFOR
        ( RECEIVE TOP(1)
            @RecvReqDlgHandle = conversation_handle,
            @RecvReqMsg = message_body,
            @RecvReqMsgName = message_type_name
          FROM [dbo].[TargetQueue_TargetDB]
        ), TIMEOUT 1000;

        SELECT @RecvReqMsg AS ReceivedRequestMsg;

        IF @RecvReqMsgName = N'//RequestMsg'
        BEGIN
             DECLARE @ReplyMsg NVARCHAR(100);
             SELECT @ReplyMsg =
                N'<ReplyMsg:1>Message for Initiator service.</ReplyMsg:1>';

             SEND ON CONVERSATION @RecvReqDlgHandle
                  MESSAGE TYPE [//ReplyMsg]
                  (@ReplyMsg);

             END CONVERSATION @RecvReqDlgHandle;
        END

        SELECT @ReplyMsg AS SentReplyMsg;

        COMMIT TRANSACTION;
        GO

Make sure this message appears in the initiator queue on VM1\INS1

End the conversation by running the below on the initiator: VM1\INS1:

       --------------------------------------------------
        --Lesson 6: Receiving the Reply and Ending the Conversation--
        --***[connect to the INITIATOR instance VM1\INS1]***--
        --------------------------------------------------

        --Receive the reply and end the conversation
        USE InitiatorDB;
        GO

        DECLARE @RecvReplyMsg NVARCHAR(100);
        DECLARE @RecvReplyDlgHandle UNIQUEIDENTIFIER;

        BEGIN TRANSACTION;

        WAITFOR
        ( RECEIVE TOP(1)
            @RecvReplyDlgHandle = conversation_handle,
            @RecvReplyMsg = message_body
          FROM [dbo].[InitiatorQueue_InitiatorDB]
        ), TIMEOUT 1000;

        END CONVERSATION @RecvReplyDlgHandle;

        -- Display recieved request.
        SELECT @RecvReplyMsg AS ReceivedReplyMsg;

        COMMIT TRANSACTION;
        GO

2.  Take a Full database backup and transaction log backup of the Initiator database on VM1\INS1 and restore them with NORECOVERY on the 2nd Initiator (secondary replica) –VM2\INS2. 

3.  Create an availability group named AGService and add the database: InitiatorDB on VM1\INS1 and VM2\INS2 to it with VM1\INS1 as the primary replica and VM2\INS2 as the Synchronous secondary replica. Also, create an AG listener named: LIST.

4.  Now, failover the AG to VM2\INS2 Replica. After the failover, check if Service Broker is enabled on the database we restored on VM2\INS2. The is_broker_enabled bit should be set to 1.

select is_broker_enabled, *from sys.databases where name=’InitiatorDB’

5.  Create the Service Broker endpoint on the replica: VM2\INS2

USE MASTER
GO
CREATE ENDPOINT InstInitiatorEndpoint
STATE = STARTED
AS TCP ( LISTENER_PORT = 4022, LISTENER_IP=ALL )
FOR SERVICE_BROKER (AUTHENTICATION = WINDOWS );
GO

6.  Create the local Route on the MSDB of the secondary replica: VM2\INS2

        USE msdb
        GO
        CREATE ROUTE Inst_Local_InitiatorRoute
        WITH SERVICE_NAME =
        N'//InitiatorService',
        ADDRESS = N'LOCAL'

7.  Backup the Service Master Key from the primary replica VM1\INS1 and restore it on the secondary replica VM2\INS2

BACKUP SERVICE MASTER KEY TO FILE='\\DC\CertShare\SMKVM1' encryption by password='IamStrong!'

RESTORE SERVICE MASTER KEY FROM FILE='\\DC\CertShare\SMKVM1' decryption by password=' IamStrong!' FORCE

--Run this on VM3\INS3
USE [TARGETDB]
GO
ALTER ROUTE [Target_To_Initiator_Route]
WITH SERVICE_NAME =
       N’//InitiatorService’,
     ADDRESS = N’TCP://LIST:4022’

8.  Now, we’ll change the Target_To_Initiator_Route to use the AG Listener. This will make sure Service Broker works even after an AG failover.

--Run this on VM3\INS3
USE [TARGETDB]
GO
ALTER ROUTE [Target_To_Initiator_Route]
WITH SERVICE_NAME =
       N’//InitiatorService’,
     ADDRESS = N’TCP://LIST:4022’

You can test the service broker functionality now between the new initiator: VM2\INS2 and target: VM3\INS3 by running the queries in step 1 (only from Lesson 4 to Lesson 6).

Author:

Prabhjot Kaur, Support Engineer, Microsoft India GTSC

Reviewed by:

Balmukund Lakhani, Support Escalation Engineer, Microsoft India GTSC

I recently installed an instance of SQL Server 2016 on one of my server. Later when I tried to configure the new instance as Distributor I faced the below error:

Error:

------------------------------
TITLE: Configure Distribution Wizard
------------------------------
'Prod\SQL16' cannot be configured for publishing and distribution. Publishing and distribution are supported only in SQL Server version 7.0 or later.
For help, click: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?ProdName=Microsoft%20SQL%20Server&ProdVer=12.0.2000.8&EvtSrc=Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.UI.ConfigureWizardErrorSR&EvtID=ServerTooOld&LinkId=20476
------------------------------
BUTTONS:
OK
------------------------------

Observations:

• From the Object Explorer I can clearly see that I’m connected to the latest version of SQL[SQL 2016] but still I’m getting the above error.

• Verified that I’m not connected to Web/SQL Express edition which supports Subscriber only. More info at Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2016

• Tried to configure Distributor using the TSQL script and it successfully executed. After this when I tried to create a new publication I again got the same error. So the issue seems to be only with the GUI.

• I then verified the version of SQL Server management studio which I was using and noticed that it was an older version- SQL 2014 SSMS.

Solution:

• I then launched SSMS for SQL Server 2016 and I was able to configure the instance as distributor. As mentioned before we can also use the TSQL commands to configure.

• I faced this issue as I had multiple version of SQL server management studio on the same server

Related Articles:

· Configure Distribution https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms151860.aspx

· How to: Configure Publishing and Distribution (Replication Transact-SQL Programming) https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms147363(v=sql.105).aspx

· How to: Configure Publishing and Distribution (SQL Server Management Studio) https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms151192(v=sql.105).aspx

· sp_adddistributor (Transact-SQL) https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms176028(v=sql.105).aspx

· sp_adddistributiondb (Transact-SQL) https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189755(v=sql.105).aspx

Author:

Raghavendra Srinivasan , Support Engineer, Microsoft India GTSC

Reviewed by:

Balmukund Lakhani, Support Escalation Engineer, Microsoft India GTSC

In one of the recent scenarios we noticed that a user database was deleted and customer wanted to which user has dropped the database. We know that multiple user had full access on that database.
In this post I’ll be sharing the steps to find the details of user who drop the database.

Method-1

• Connect the SQL Server instance using management studio
• Right-click on the instance and select

“Reports”—“Standard Reports”—“Schema Changes History”

• We get a report of schema changes for all databases from which we can get the user account which was used to delete/drop the database

Sample output:

Note: This report doesn’t contain the details of application or the server from which the DROP statement was executed.

Method – 2:

• Get the location of SQL Errorlog using one of the below commands

sp_readerrorlog 0,1,'Logging SQL Server messages in file'

go

Sample output:

LogDate                 ProcessInfo  Text

----------------------- ------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2015-01-09 15:31:31.330 Server       Logging SQL Server messages in file 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.SQL14\MSSQL\Log\ERRORLOG'.

--or

select SERVERPROPERTY('errorlogfilename')

go

Sample output:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.SQL14\MSSQL\Log\ERRORLOG

• Look for default SQL trace files and open the trace files which points to the time of issue. “Log_111.trc” for example.

• Make a copy of the file in same or different location “log_111 - Copy.trc”
• We can now manually open this file in SQL Profiler and search for keywork “Object:Deleted” or load it to SQL table and use T-SQL query to get the details. Here I’m providing the steps for T-SQL

--To load the trace to SQL table

use tempdb

go

SELECT * INTO trace_table FROM ::fn_trace_gettable('C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL12.SQL14\MSSQL\Log\log_111 - Copy.trc', default)

go

--Get the details of the deleted database

--Change the value of the database name to the one which was deleted

select DatabaseID,DatabaseName,LoginName,HostName,ApplicationName,StartTime from tempdb.dbo.trace_table

where DatabaseName = 'somedb' and eventclass =47 -- 47 is Object:Deleted Event Class

 

Sample output:

DatabaseID  DatabaseName LoginName  HostName     ApplicationName                                 StartTime

----------- ------------ ---------- ------------ -----------------------------------------------------------------------

26          SomeDB SQL_User1 Client1 Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Query 2015-01-14 12:43:46.630

26          SomeDB       SQL_User1 Client1    Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio - Query  2015-01-14 12:43:46.630

(2 row(s) affected)

From the above we can clearly say that  “SQL_User1” user deleted the database from machine “Client1” using SSMS at the above mentioned time.

Method – 3

Use the below script to get the details of deleted/dropped databases. We can explicitly specify the name of the database which was deleted or get the output for all databases.

use tempdb

go

declare @enable int

select top 1 @enable = convert(int,value_in_use) from sys.configurations where name = 'default trace enabled'

if @enable = 1 --default trace is enabled

begin

declare @d1 datetime;declare @diff int;declare @indx int ;

declare @curr_tracefilename varchar(500);

declare @base_tracefilename varchar(500);

declare @temp_trace table (obj_name nvarchar(256) collate database_default,database_name nvarchar(256) collate database_default,start_time datetime,

              event_class int,event_subclass int,object_type int,server_name nvarchar(256) collate database_default,login_name nvarchar(256) collate database_default,

              application_name nvarchar(256) collate database_default,ddl_operation nvarchar(40) collate database_default);

select @curr_tracefilename = path from sys.traces where is_default = 1 ; set @curr_tracefilename = reverse(@curr_tracefilename)

select @indx  = PATINDEX('%\%', @curr_tracefilename); set @curr_tracefilename = reverse(@curr_tracefilename)

set @base_tracefilename = LEFT( @curr_tracefilename,len(@curr_tracefilename) - @indx) + '\log.trc';

insert into @temp_trace select ObjectName,DatabaseName,StartTime,EventClass,EventSubClass,ObjectType,ServerName,LoginName,ApplicationName,'temp'

from ::fn_trace_gettable( @base_tracefilename, default ) where EventClass in (46,47,164) and EventSubclass = 0 and DatabaseID <> 2 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

and DatabaseName = 'SomeDB' -- <<<======Specify the name of the database here, else comment this line to get details of databases

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

update @temp_trace set ddl_operation = 'CREATE' where event_class = 46

update @temp_trace set ddl_operation = 'DROP' where event_class = 47

update @temp_trace set ddl_operation = 'ALTER' where event_class = 164

select @d1 = min(start_time) from @temp_trace

set @diff= datediff(hh,@d1,getdate())

set @diff=@diff/24;

select  start_time as Event_Time,Database_name,Server_name,Login_name,Application_name,

--SQLInstance,

              DDL_Operation from @temp_trace where object_type not in (21587)

order by start_time  desc

end

Note:-  The above query is the modified version of query which is executed in the background when we use SQL Server Reports (Method-1)

Author:

Raghavendra Srinivasan , Support Engineer, Microsoft India GTSC

Reviewed by:

Balmukund Lakhani, Support Escalation Engineer, Microsoft India GTSC

ISSUE

Let’s say you are monitoring Replication Agent status and noticed that the Snapshot Agent has failed with the following error while generating a snapshot, particularly during creation of BCP files.

Error: 241, Severity: 16, State: 1

Conversion failed when converting date and/or time from character string.

To further investigate the above error and to understand which query is causing it, run a SQL Profiler trace in the background.

CAUSE

In order to understand the cause of the issue, it’s important to look at the schema structure and the column on which indexing is done. So let’s take a look at a schema script for a sample table “product” which has been published for Transactional Replication.

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[ product] (

                [ItemID] [int] IDENTITY(1, 1) NOT FOR REPLICATION NOT NULL

                ,[ReportDate] [date] NOT NULL

                ,[ProviderID] [int] NOT NULL

                ,[InvoiceImmediately] [bit] NOT NULL

                ,CONSTRAINT [PK_ItemUnbilled] PRIMARY KEY NONCLUSTERED ([ItemID] ASC)

                )

CREATE CLUSTERED INDEX [IX_ItemUnbilled_ReportDate] ON [dbo].[ product] (

                [ReportDate] ASC

                ,[InvoiceImmediately] ASC

                ,[ProviderID] ASC

                )

So the primary key (which is non-clustered index) is on [ItemID] column, and the clustered composite index is on three columns with the leading column as [ReportDate]. Before the error is raised, you will see something like the following query getting executed.

Select * from [dbo].[syncobj_0x4434414538323435] where ([ReportDate] is null) or ([ReportDate] <= N'31/01/2014 00:00:00') order by [ReportDate] ASC,[InvoiceImmediately] ASC,[ProviderID] ASC

The “Where”  clause we see here in the SELECT statement is because of BCP partitioning and the BCP file partitioning was done based on the [ReportDate] column (the leading column in the clustered index key). [ReportDate] column is of data type Date. The conversion fails because of the difference in language used by the account used to run the snapshot agent which was  “UK English” - (dd/mm/yyyy)  in this case, and the default language of SQL Server is “ US English “- (mm/dd/yyyy).

WORKAROUNDS

Now there are multiple easy workarounds available for the problem in question. I have listed the workarounds below.

A) Use a different account, for which the default language setting is same as “ US ENGLISH” to run the Snapshot agent. Alternatively if possible, change the default language setting of the existing account to “ US English”.

Note: This is the most preferred method.

B) You can disable BCP partitioning only for the problematic table by using static row filters. We do not go for BCP partitioning for tables that are filtered. Thus you can have a static row filter on the table in question but still retrieve all the rows without triggering BCP partition, using a query like, “Select * from table where 1=1”.

Note: BCP partitioning will be disabled only for the table in question not the entire publication.

C) If @sync_method property of publication is set to “Native”, it’s recommended to change it to the default option of ”Concurrent”. This will be helpful if the snapshot agent is picking up a Date type column for BCP partitioning just because it has clustered index on it and the actual primary key column in the table is non-clustered. In the default setting, which is “Concurrent” , BCP partitioning happens only if the primary key column has a clustered index.

Exec sp_addpublication ---@sync_method = N'concurrent'----

Note: If the primary key column does not have clustered index and the @sync_method is set to “concurrent” then the BCP partitioning will be disabled for the entire publication. You might find snapshot agent taking more time to generate snapshot if there is any other big table in the same publication.

D) You can disable BCP partitioning for the entire publication by using the -EnbaleArticleBCPPartitioning 0 in the Snapshot Agent job step properties. Please refer to Paul Ibison’s blog for more details: https://www.replicationanswers.com/BCPPartitioning.asp.

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Note: BCP partitioning will be disabled for the entire publication; you might find snapshot agent taking more time to generate snapshots if there is any other big table in the same publication.

E) The last option is to ensure that the primary key column has a clustered index and is not of data type Date.

Note: This needs schema level changes.

While I strongly suggest using the first workaround because it’s the recommended approach, I am eager to hear about the workaround you choose for your environment and the reasons for your choice. So please state the details in the comments section.

Author:

Madhumita Tripathy , Support Engineer, Microsoft India GTSC

Reviewed by:

Rishi Maini, Escalation Engineer, Microsoft India GTSC

Vikas Rana, Technical Advisor, Microsoft India GTSC