Join Rodney Landrum, Senior DBA Consultant for Ntirety, a division of HOSTING, as he demonstrates his favorite new features of the latest Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Service Pack 1. During the accompanying webinar and slides, Rodney will touch on the following: • A demo of his favorite new features in SQL Server 2016 and SP1 including: o Query Store o Database Cloning o Dynamic Data Masking o Create or Alter • A review of Enterprise features that are now available in standard edition • New information in Dynamic Management Views and SQL Error Log that will make your DBAs job easier.

1. SQL Server 2016:
Just a Few Of Our DBA’s Favorite Things
Rodney Landrum, Senior DBA Consultant for Ntirety, a division of HOSTING

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Housekeeping
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3. Microsoft Has Delivered

4. Enterprise Comes to Standard

5. And Not Just SQL Server 2016

6. A List of Our Favorite New Features We Will Cover
• Query Store – Available in All Editions of SQL Server 2016
• Dynamic Data Masking
• Database Cloning
• Always Encrypted
• Fine Grain Auditing

7. Features Worth Mentioning in SQL Server 2016 Standard (SP1)
PolyBase
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt143171.aspx
Row Level Security
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn765131.aspx
Basic Availability Groups
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt614935.aspx
Columnstore Indexes
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn934994.aspx

8. Query Store
No, it is not a place to buy queries.
• New to SQL Server 2016
• Used at the database level to track query execution statistics
• Is persisted in the database over time (not lost from the plan cache via
DMVs)
• Is used to identify poor performing queries and plans

9. Simple to Enable
ALTER DATABASE [Audit] SET QUERY_STORE = ON
GO
ALTER DATABASE [Audit] SET QUERY_STORE
(OPERATION_MODE = READ_WRITE)
GO

13. Database Cloning
• Added to SQL Server 2016 SP1 and SQL Server 2014 SP2
• Does not include data and uses the file properties of Model
• Used primarily for diagnostics and troubleshooting query performance
• Can copy schema, statistics and query store

17. Fine Grain Auditing
Prior to SP1 Only Server Level Audit For Standard Edition
Capture Update/Insert/Delete activity at the object level
Filter audit events with log viewer or programmatically

18. • Create Audit
• Set File Location
• Set Max File Size and Rollover
• Don’t Check “Shut Down Server”
• Next Assign Server or Database
Audit Specification to this Audit

19. • Create an optional filter

21. Standard Log File Reader

23. Dynamic Data Masking
• For masking or obfuscating specific columns of data from users
• Easy to implement
• Can be used for production and test environments

24. CREATE TABLE [dbo].[Confidential](
[ID] [int] NULL,
[Name] [nvarchar](70)NULL,
[CreditCard] [varchar](9)NULL,
[Salary] [int] NULL,
[Email] [nvarchar](60)NULL
)ON [PRIMARY]
ALTER Table Confidential
ALTER COLUMN SALARY ADD MASKED WITH
(FUNCTION='default()')
ALTER Table Confidential
ALTER COLUMN creditcard ADD MASKED WITH
(FUNCTION='partial(2,"XXXX",2)')
ALTER Table Confidential
ALTER COLUMN email ADD MASKED WITH
(FUNCTION='email()')

25. CREATE USER Randy WITHOUT LOGIN;
GRANT SELECT ON Confidential TO Randy;
--Execute a select statement as Randy.
EXECUTE AS USER='Randy';
SELECT * FROM Confidential;
REVERT;
--Execute as administrator or a user
with UNMASK permission
SELECT * FROM Confidential;
REVERT;

26. Always Encrypted
• Encrypts columns of data in transit and at rest
• Relies on the client to encrypt and decrypt the data
• Key store should not be SQL Server itself
• Companies can more easily implement segregation of duties
• Disallow DBAs and Sysadmins to see confidential data
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt163865.aspx

28. Normal connection to SQL Server via SSMS

30. CREATE or ALTER
Probably one of the most requested T-SQL additions
Added in SQL Server 2016 SP1

32. New DMV Information
Lock Pages in Memory
Instant File Initialization
To find whether or not SQL Server was using these features you had to scan through error logs or look up
local security policy assignments for arcane permissions like “Perform Volume Maintenance Tasks”.

33. SELECT sql_memory_model ,
sql_memory_model_desc
FROM sys.dm_os_sys_info;

34. SELECT servicename ,
startup_type ,
startup_type_desc ,
status_desc ,
last_startup_time ,
instant_file_initialization_enabled
FROM sys.dm_server_services;

35. Trace Flags
All the newly introduced Trace flags with SQL Server 2016 SP1 are documented and can be
found at http://aka.ms/traceflags.

36. And Our Favorite New Feature
Reporting Services 2016
With
Power BI Integration on Premises
(not technically SQL Server 2016)

37. My Local SSRS 2016 Instance – Pretty Boring

39. For more information on how HOSTING can help guide your business to the cloud, go to www.HOSTING.com
Q&A