Curious about what kind of improvements SQL Server 2008 provides in terms of development and programming? Then check out this video to learn about new T-SQL enhancements in SQL Server 2008.

Video Length: 00:09:25
Video Summary: Curious to see what kinds of benefits SQL Server 2008 provides for developers? Check out this video tutorial to learn about T-SQL enhancements in SQL Server 2008 including: Row Constructors, Inline Variable Assignment, Compound Assignment Operators, and DML enhancements for the OUTPUT Clause. Likewise, get a sneak peak at the new T-SQL DML MERGE statement and Table-Valued Parameters.

With any luck, I should have a few new videos out this week and the next. Then I think I might go 'underground' for a while to work on some Business Intelligence Videos.

Otherwise, check out this latest release to learn about new SQL Server 2008 data types designed for larger and more precise date and time storage options.

Video Length: 00:09:08
Video Summary: SQL Server 2008 introduced a number of new date and time data types. In this video you'll learn about these new data types, see some of the common traits that they share, and learn about changes and additions to intrinsic T-SQL date and time functions that have been provided to make working with these new data types that much easier.

I'm happy to announce SSV's 26th "SQL Server Video" which focuses on SQL Server Management Studio 2008. It's a bit of a fast-paced walkthrough that covers about 95% of all of the new additions and features added in SQL Server Management Studio 2008.

In future videos I'll look at tackling the new date/time data types, and issues and concerns surrounding upgrading to SQL Server 2008 along with ways to determine what kind of impact obsolete and depricated features from previous versions will have on your environment. Until then, make sure to watch this latest video to learn about new additions and features of SQL Server Management Studio 2008.

Video Length: 10:59
Video Summary: In this video you'll learn about new connection management features, the Object Explorer Details Window, IntelliSense, Debugging options, and ways to change and modify new SQL Server Management Studio 2008 options and preferences.

I'm very excited to release a new video in SSV's fourth and latest Series: What's New in SQL Server 2008. And, while this first release is mostly fluff (well, it's GOOD stuff if you've been living under a rock and have no idea what's new in SQL Server 2008 - but it's all slides and no hands-on content), I've got a couple of follow-up videos planned.

Likewise, the goal of this, and all other, SQLServerVideos is to try and condense as much useful stuff into a small amount of time as makes sense. So this video works as a bit of a whirlwind that will provide a high-level overview of what's new in SQL Server 2008 for developers, dbas, analysts, and anyone using SQL Server 2008.

Video Length: 10:02
Video Summary: Curious about what SQL Server 2008 offers? Is there anything for you? Well, SQL Server 2008 provides tons of new features, functionality, and benefits and by watching this video you'll get an idea of some of the major new changes and improvements that will apply to you as well as get a feel for how the other videos in this series will play out.

One of the things that makes copying and moving SQL Server databases a bit hard to handle is the fact that moving them typically also requires that you move logins from one server to another - and make sure that they're remapped as needed.

In this vidoe, you'll learn how to transfer and re-map SQL Server Logins from one server to another, and see how to enumerate and troubleshoot logins against assigned users and roles within SQL Server databases.

Video Length: 10:12
Video Summary: The final step in moving and copying SQL Server Databases is to make sure that your Logins are successfully mapped to database users and roles. In this video you'll therefore see what makes this requirement necessary and watch a step-by-step walkthrough of exactly what you need to do to ensure proper mappings between SQL Server Logins and database users and roles.

If you're looking for an easy way to copy and move SQL Server databases, then it doesn't get much better than using backups - even though that may sound a bit counter-intuitive if you're not very familiar with SQL Server.

So check out this video to learn how to easily copy and move your SQL Server 2005 and 2008 databases using backups - which is much easier than you might think.

Video Length: 10:22
Video Summary: Copying and moving SQL Server databases with backups may sound a bit intimidating if you're not familiar with SQL Server. But in this video you'll learn how backups provide one of the easiest ways to move or copy your databases by watching a step-by-step tutorial that shows you exactly what you need to do.

Learn the exact steps you'll need to take to successfully detach and attach SQL Server 2005 and 2008 databases in order to move or copy them.

Video Length: 10:49
Video Summary: Attaching and Detaching SQL Server Databases represents a viable way to copy and move SQL Server databases when they're offline. Therefore, in this video you'll learn about the exact steps you need to take, and see a step-by-step tutorial that shows you exactly what you need to do to copy and move your SQL Server 2005 and 2008 databases.

One of the very first topics that I wanted to address when I initially had the idea to do SSV was the notion of copying and moving databases. Part of the reasoning behind that is due to the fact that there are so many questions about how to do this on newsgroups, lists, and so on. But another reason is due to the fact that there are really a number of different ways of doing it - and they all come with pros and cons. So, while this video ended up being a bit longer than I would have liked (I really only wanted it to be 3 or 4 minutes long), it should give anyone needing to copy and move databases a good overview of which options and possibilities are available.

Better yet, four new videos in this series went up on to the site on Friday and looking at some early info on downloads, it looks like the copy/move series is already doing well (with videos from the series making it into the top 5 with the few hundred downloads already made in November).

Learn about technical considerations for moving and copying SQL Server databases, and learn about the videos and options available for copying and moving your own databases.

At any rate, enjoy the first video in this series: Options for Copying and Moving SQL Server Databases, and I'll go ahead and 'announce' other videos in this series over the next day or so.

Video Length: 06:01
Video Summary: Moving SQL Server databases is a bit harder than just moving simple file-system files. In this video, you'll learn why that is and what you need to account for when moving and copying your own databases. Furthermore, this video outlines the different options available to you for moving and copying databases - and shows you exactly which videos in this series you'll want to watch to move and copy your databases using the option that best matches your needs.

I've long maintained that SQL Server Templates are almost one of the best kept secrets in SQL Server. Though it looks like that's changing as SQL Server 2008 is actually including them in a couple of interesting areas (besides just the Template Explorer - such as when it detects a missing index, where it gives you the option to create the missing index - and use template syntax to name it as you'd like).

At any rate, I'm still working on the series about copying and moving databases, but wanted to put something new on the site to make sure people don't think the site has died. (It hasn't.)

And, for those of you interested in Templates, In this video you'll learn how to use, create, and manage SQL Server Templates.

Video Length: 07:12
Video Summary: If you don't know what SQL Server Templates are, then you're missing out on something that can really help you be more efficient when it comes to using SQL Server. And if you do know what they are, but aren't using them, then you should see what makes them so great. In this video you'll learn how to use, create, and manage them - in order to improve productivity.

This video showcases a technique that I pioneered a few years ago in order to clear out large numbers of rows from very large and heavily used tables - without negatively impacting concurrent operations. (I'm sure other people have come up with similar approaches, and there are other, different ways, to tackle this same problem as well (that I don't address in this video).)

Video Length: 09:37
Video Summary: Have large tables full of millions of rows where you need to delete data on a periodic basis without impacting write operations? Then check out this video which will show you how to tackle the problem using nibbling deletes.

Hooray!!... my 18th video is now up/live. (And considering that each video takes roughly 6-9 hours to create and finalize... that's saying a lot.) At any rate, in this new video you can learn how to use SQL Server Enterprise Manager to test your database backups as part of a disaster recovery and to restore and recover your SQL Server 2000 databases in the case of a disaster.

Video Length: 13:01
Video Summary: In this how-to video, you'll learn how to test your SQL Server 2000 backups as part of your disaster recovery plan in order to make sure that you can easily recover in the case of an emergency. To accomplish this, you'll learn how to use SQL Server Enterprise Manager in coordination with the MSDB's history tables to easily populate recovery options, and then you'll see how to manually restore databases as well - and learn how to recover should an error or problem happen along the way.

I'm very excited to release this latest video - as it helps bring the entire 'backup and recovery' series full-circle by presenting an overview of what typical (and not-so-typical) restore operations look like with SQL Server Management Server.

In this video you'll learn how to both test your database backups as part of your disaster recovery plan, as well as how to restore and recover your SQL Server 2005 and 2008 databases in the case of a disaster.

Video Length: 12:52
Video Summary: In this how-to video, you'll learn how to test your backups as part of your disaster recovery plan in order to make sure that you can easily recover in the case of an emergency. To accomplish this, you'll learn how to use SQL Server Management Studio in coordination with the MSDB's history tables to easily populate recovery options, and then you'll see how to manually restore databases as well - and learn how to recover should an error or problem happen along the way.

I'm happy to announce another video. In this video, you can learn troubleshooting tricks for addressing problems with your SQL Server 2000 maintenance plans.

Video Length: 08:01
Video Summary: Learn about built-in logging and reporting options that will help make troubleshooting problems with SQL Server 2000 Maintenance Plans much easier to deal with.

Just a handful of additional videos to tackle in my series on backups, and then I'll move on to some other topics. But if you're interested in learning about how to turn on additional logging and reporting with your SQL Server 2005 and 2008 databases (using SQL Server 2008), then make sure to check out this video.

Video Length: 09:14
Video Summary: Learn about built-in logging and reporting options that will help make troubleshooting problems with SQL Server 2005 and 2008 Maintenance Plans much easier to deal with.

Yeaaay - with this latest release, SQLServerVideos.com now has 2.5 hours of totally free video training and content. Most of the content is currently focused on backups, but once I create a few more videos in that series, I'll move on to a couple of other angles such as how to copy and move databases, what's new in SQL Server 2008, and possibly even 'basic T-SQL skills'.

Otherwise, check out this new video to learn how to create SQL Server 2005 and 2008 Maintenance plans using SQL Server Management Studio.

Video Length: 11:01
Video Summary: In this how-to video you'll learn about creating SQL Server Maintenance plans as part of creating a viable disaster recovery plan for SQL Server 2005 and 2008 databases. In addition, you'll also learn about commonly encountered problems and best practices when it comes to configuring maintenance plans for backup purposes.

I've just uploaded all of the files for a new video - which will show you how to to create SQL Server Maintenance plans using SQL Server Enterprise Manager. Next week I'll release a few more videos on backups (one for Maintenance Plans with SQL Server Management Studio, and a few on troubleshooting and restoring/recovery), then I'll probably start working on a new series as I keep working on completing the series on backups.

Video Length: 10:43
Video Summary: In this how-to video you'll learn about creating SQL Server Maintenance plans as part of creating a viable disaster recovery plan. In addition, you'll also learn about commonly encountered problems and best practices when it comes to configuring maintenance plans for backup purposes.

I'm happy to announce a new video on the site - that now brings the total content on SQLServerVideos.com up to just over 2 hours worth of tutorials and videos. And, as you can guess from the title of this video, it's all about SQL Server Backup best practices and the role of disaster recovery plans.

Video Length: 12:30
Video Summary: Creating a viable disaster recovery plan for your SQL Server databases can be tricky. In this SQL Server Video, we'll therefore look at core components that every disaster recovery plan needs, along with common mis-steps and best practices that will help ensure minimal data loss in the case of a crash or disaster.

I'm happy to announce SSV's first 'guru' level video. In terms of Guru videos, I'm pretty sure that non-gurus will be able to watch these videos and learn from them, but the implication with them is that most of the nuances and some of the caveats that I would throw out or mention in 'lower level' videos are simply not there. As such, all that's left is a concise video covering advanced topics. And, in this case, this video is designed to teach viewers how to overcome the 900 byte limit for indexes in SQL Server.

Video Length: 08:11
Video Summary: SQL Server indexes are constrained to a maximum width of 900 bytes. In this video you'll learn how to get around that limit using T-SQL in order to create indexes that can be used for a wide variety of performance purposes - including 'extra wide' covering indexes.

Sorry this one took so long to post as a new release, but I just got swamped with a few big issues today (despite the fact that the video was done and uploaded on to the site yesterday).

At any rate, this video helps you learn the ins and outs of manually executing backups for SQL Server 2005 and 2008 databases using SQL Server Management Studio.

Enjoy!

Video Length: 10:06
Video Summary: In this short how-to video, you'll learn how to manually backup SQL Server 2005 and 2008 databases using SQL Server Management Studio. You'll also learn about backup retention periods and learn how to use, initialize, protect, and overwrite SQL Server Media sets.

Here's a new how-to video showing how to manually create backups using SQL Server Enterprise Manager. (A similar video for SQL Server Management Studio will be up on the site shortly...)

Video Length: 09:31   
Video Summary: In this short how-to video you'll learn the ins and outs of manually backing up databases using SQL Server Enterprise Manager. You'll also learn about backup retention periods and learn how to use, initialize, protect, and overwrite SQL Server Media sets.

Learn about backup types, execution options, storage locations, and other options in order to best address your backup and recovery needs.

Video Length: 13:02
Video Summary: Backups can become rather complex - when you start to account for all of the options. In this video you'll get a great overview of the backup types, tools, execution methods, storage locations, and other options that will help you understand SQL Server backup options.

Check out this video for a light-hearted look at the best way to take advantage of all of the resources available on SQLServerVideos.com.

Video Length: 05:46
Video Summary:Free videos are nice, but did you know that SQLServerVideos.com (SSV) Provides a bunch of other resources geared at helping you learn SQL Server? To find out how to best use the site and to take advantages of these additional resources, check out this short and informative video.

Learn about the kinds of conditions that make log files adversely grow - and see how to troubleshoot and prevent these problems from blowing your databases out of space.

Video Length: 12:01
Video Summary:Need to Shrink your Database Log files? Plenty of tutorials online will show you how to trash your log file while implementing a hack. This video will show you what's really going on with your log files, and will help you troubleshoot the real source of your problems instead of telling you to just use TRUNCATE_ONLY on your log files.