Thursday, August 29, 2013

TFS 2010 Power Tools -- Error 1001 in Windows 8

PROBLEM:
When trying to install "Team Foundation Server Power Tools December 2011" in Windows 8, you get the following error: "Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2010 Power Tools -- Error 1001". Also, you cannot see "Process Editor" menu in Visual Studio "Tools" menu.
You already installed (by this order):
1. Visual Studio 2010
2. Visual Studio 2010 SP1

SOLUTION:
Choose custom install and do not install "Best Practice Analyzer"


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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Use MongoDB in Windows Azure

PROBLEM:
You want to use MongoDB in Windows Azure

SOLUTION:
See the following links:

  1. MongoDB Installer for Windows on Azure
  2. Securing MongoDB on Windows Azure

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Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Performance best practices for very large tables

PROBLEM:
What are the performance best practices for very large tables?

SOLUTION:
Here is a summary of best practices for querying, monitoring, and performance tuning for your very large tables:
  • Pay attention to both the results of a query and the execution plan designed to return those results. Make it a routine exercise to scan query plans to become more familiar with how SQL Server resolves queries.
  • De-normalize your schema where possible to reduce the need to join very large tables.
  • Use table partitioning for your largest tables, and be sure when querying that the optimizer uses partition elimination whenever possible.
  • Align secondary indexes with the same table partition function to reduce partitioned table maintenance.
  • Consider using a heap instead of a clustered index, especially with a table that partially mimics a clustered index via its partition function.
  • Design indexes to be covering for larger recurring queries whenever possible, especially when creating a filtered (i.e., partial) index.
  • Use an indexed view as an alternative to a denormalized table or to materialize an aggregated dataset. The more static the underlying data, the less overhead will be required to maintain the indexed views.
  • Use summary tables with automatic (scheduled) updates as an alternative to indexed views, especially when there is less significance in the currency of the data.
  • For query monitoring, focus on the quantitative measures of Disk I/O, CPU Time, and Query Duration.
  • Use the features of the Management Data Warehouse for overall server monitoring, and use the SQL Trace data collection set for query monitoring.
  • Focus your tuning efforts on SQL code that is repeatedly run, either as a stored procedure or a SQL script, and that consumes the most server resources. Data warehouse applications tend to place the greatest pressure on Disk I/O.
  • For tuning and management of large queries, consider saving historical copies of XML execution plans to disk for later reference.


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