Installing SqlServer PowerShell module from PowerShellGallery.com

With the release of SQL Server Management Studio 17.0 (SSMS) the SqlServer PowerShell module has finally been decoupled and now can be installed independently. To take full advantage of this change I recommend using PowerShell 5.0 (if your on Windows 10 or Server 2016 then this is your default).

Full details of the SSMS 17.0 updates https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssms/download-sql-server-management-studio-ssms

The official installation details for SqlServer module are at
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssms/download-sql-server-ps-module but they are a bit light on currently so this post will walk through the process in more detail. You can also find the public listing of the SqlServer on PowerShellGallery.

Firstly check what modules you have installed.

Get-Module -Name SQL* -ListAvailable

If you have installed the SQL Server DBEngine then you should have SQLPS for that particular version. On my server I upgraded SSMS 2016 to SSMS 16.0 so I have both 130 and 140 versions installed.

What I don't currently have installed is the SqlServer PowerShell module, and my SQLPS module hasn't been updated with the upgrade of SSMS to version 17.0

So let's download and install the latest SqlServer module.

First, check your PowerShellGet is configured for the public gallery (the default setup).

Get-PSRepository

You should have the PSGallery repository setup. By default it will be untrusted, this will just mean you get prompted before installing any modules from it. It is recommended public repositories should not be marked as trusted, but internal private repositories can be to make the installations easier.

If you don't have any other repositories configured then you won't have to supply the repository name to any future commands, but if you do then you can simplify the module searches by specifying the repository name. This is very useful if you want to host private custom copies of the publicly available modules on a private repository.

Now you can search for the module in the gallery to check what the most recent version is available

Find-Module -Name SqlServer

NOTE: If prompted to continue enter 'y'

Add the -AllVersions parameter to list all the available versions. Currently there is only one version in the gallery but this will change overtime.

To install the module from the gallery run Install-Module. Use the Scope parameter to install for either CurrentUser or AllUsers based on your needs. With PowerShell 5.0 it is also possible to install versions side-by-side. In my case I am installing the module for all users and requiring a specific version (the current one).

To avoid the error message like "A command with name '' is already available on this system" I will also use the parameter -AllowClobber.

Install-Module -Name SqlServer -Scope AllUsers -RequiredVersion 21.0.17099 -AllowClobber

Now check that the module is available for use on the server with

Get-Module -Name SqlServer -ListAvailable

Notice that the path is now one of the common $PSModulePath paths. This is also part of the improvements that these changes bring.

Now going forward to update the module you can use the Find-Module and Update-Module cmdlets. Look out for my post on automating that process next month.


Happy PowerShell'ing


Legal Stuff: The contents of this blog is provided “as-is”. The information, opinions and views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of any other company with affiliation to the products discussed. This includes any URLs or Tools. The author does not accept any responsibility from the use of the information or tools mentioned within this blog, and recommends adequate evaluation against your own requirements to measure suitability.

Why VSCode has replaced Management Studio as my default SQL Database and Query editor

Firstly let me start by stating that when I originally set out in an IT career I was heading down a developer path, and certainly had a number of developer type roles over the years, or found ways of continuing development projects while working in infrastructure roles..... probably why I have an interest in DevOps. So taking that into account it's no surprise that for my entire career I have always been comfortable working in code and not relying on GUIs. Even for all the years as a SQL DBA armed with SQL Management Studio (SSMS), yet I was always most comfortable working in TSQL rather than the wizards. Probably comes from the days of Enterprise Manager and Query Analyser (ahhhhh nostalgia). Now the MS Product Team has done a great job at improving the wizards in SSMS and making tasks as easy as they can be in the tools. I will also state that this post is by no means saying SSMS is dead because there are just some things where it is better positioned.

What I will cover in this blog post is why my go to TSQL editor and tool for general database work is now VSCode with the MSSQL extension.

Please don't take this as a statement that I have now uninstalled SSMS or Visual Studio with SQL Data Tools (SSDT) from my laptop, I wish, but I have always found those tool a bit bloated with memory consumption when all I want to do is connect to a database, run some queries, or make some basic changes. What I will show is why/how I now perform those tasks with VS Code, but for anything more in depth like designing SSIS packages or performance troubleshooting I still rely on the existing tools (for now).

Another factor that is driving this adoption of a text based editor is that a large amount of my work is now with Azure and other cloud solutions, and for the majority of the work you need to do it is largely console or script based.

Now that you know why I have arrived at this place, lets get into how I setup and use VS Code for this purpose. I look forward to healthy discussions with people around this because I am not a believer of the "one size fits all" approach to a tool set either so it is always great to hear what others use.


Setup and configure your environment
Here are the steps I use to setup my VSCode environment:

1. Download and install VSCode https://code.visualstudio.com/download
2. Open VS Code
3. Press Ctrl+Shift+X (on windows)
1. Alternatively use the View > Extensions menu item
4. Locate and install the following extensions
1. vscode-icons
2. mssql
3. powershell
4. c#
5. Configure the extensions
1. From File > Preferences > File Icon Theme select "VSCode Icons"
   This will ensure that any files you open and access have nicely displayed icons to make your experience easier.
6. Configure the environment settings
1. From File > Preferences > Settings
1. VS Code works in two setting modes, User and Workspace. User should be personal preferences and Workspace should be used for project specific settings that will ship with the repo.
   User settings are stored in the file C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Code\User\settings.json but you shouldn't have to edit that manually as the VS Code window provides the best method for working with these files.
2. I don't change too many settings at this time from the default, but some to consider depending on your needs are:
   mssql.splitPaneSelection = "current|next|end"
   
   IntelliSense will help you complete the values if you need to see what is available.
7. Now you should be ready to start working inside VS Code. However, I recommend reading the release notes when new updates are made as the developer community is extremely active improving VS Code and there is always new and useful features being added.

While VSCode has a built-in integrated terminal, I like the cmder tool for my terminal use. If you aren't familiar with cmder check it out, very versatile, run multiple terminals and languages. Best of all a Quake mode. 

http://cmder.net

For more info check out my post on it http://blog.matticus.net/2017/03/cmder-enhance-your-windows-terminal.html

Connecting to a database and executing SQL queries
There are many tricks and ways to work within VS Code but here is a simply walk through on the basics to get you started.

1. Open VS Code if you haven't already
2. You do not need to open a folder or save files just to run queries but it could be beneficial. Think of a folder like a Project/Solution, but in a simplier (faster) format. This works great with Git and cross platform collaboration.
   For the case of this walk through just create a new file (click New File on the welcome page)
3. Without saving the file, lets make sure we are in the right language mode.
   
   Click the current language in the tray menu (e.g. Plain Text)
   
   
   
   This will open the command palette with prompts to select the language. Either browse or type to find your language and select it.
   
   
   
   Now the correct SQL language is shown in the tray menu
   
    
   
   Now the color coding and formatting, along with IntelliSense, will be suitable for SQL Server development.
   
   TIP: When you save a file then the language mode is automatically detected based on the file extention.
4. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette
5. Type "mssql" and select the mssql: Connect option or press Ctrl+Shift+C
   
   
   
   TIP: Make sure your focus is in a file with the SQL language set and not any other areas of VSCode when you press Ctrl+Shift+C as otherwise it will open a console as per those keyboard shortcuts default.
6. Select an existing connection profile or select the Create Connection Profile to create a new one. So lets create one.
7. Follow the wizard filling out your server/instance, database (optional), authentication etc.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Once you start to connect the status is shown in the tray menu
   
   
   
   Any errors connecting will be shown with an overlay
   
   
   
   Once connected VS Code will update intellisense dictionary and perform other operations set by the extension.
8. Now write your query in the file
9. When ready you can execute the query in a few methods
   
   Use the Command Palette and the MSSQL: Execute Query command.
   
   
   
   Right click in the editor and select
   
   
   
   or my favorite just simply press Ctrl+Shift+E
10. The query results tab will open. By default this opens in a new split window column, or the next one if you have multiples. The idea here is so you can see the query and result all in one window.
    
    
    
    You can put the query results at the bottom of the screen which might be a more familiar view to those use to SSMS. To do this select the Toggle Editor Group Layout from the View menu, or press Alt+Shiftt+1.
    
    
    
    Now the results are below the query you executed.
    
    
    
    Alternatively you can also set the query results to display in the current split window column (e.g. new tab)
    
    
    
    So as you can see you can customise where the results are displayed just like in SSMS.
    
    Something to keep in mind is that a new result tab will open for every file you execute a query from, but if you re-run a query or a new query from the same file then it will use the existing results tab for that file.
11. Now just like the query editor in SSMS, it will either execute the entire file contents or what you have selected. So like in this example it will just execute the selected query and not the entire file contents.
    
    
    
    This is why I like the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+E to execute queries because it becomes really quick to work from a file and execute different selected queries as desired.

Obviously some people will really miss Object Explorer to understand the schema's of databases they are not familiar with, but keep in mind VSCode is designed for developers and so typically you would have a folder that contains all the scripts for creating the database and therefore your schema to refer to, or you would be familiar with the schema. However, as we all know there are plenty of views you can easily query to get that data (because after all that is all Object Explorer does). 

Happy SQL Scripting.

Registering your SQL Server connections

VS Code has a json based configuration system. SQL Connections can be saved in the User Settings file, think along the lines of "Registered Servers" in SSMS. I have already briefly touched on how to create a new profile when you connect. However here is how to register them ahead of time and manage existing connection profiles.

Keep in mind though, these connections are not unique to a project/solution/folder, they are unique to your user settings. So you make sure you give them meaningful names to easily identify which databases/projects they belong to.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette
2. Type "mssql" and select the MSSQL: Manage Connection Profiles option
   
   
3. The Command Palette will then prompt you with some more options.
   
   
   
   Create: This will walk you through creating a new profile via the Command Palette prompts
   Edit: This will open the User Settings JSON file and allow you to manually edit the connection profiles. NOTE: Passwords can be saved in an encrypted form but are not stored in this file for security.
   Remove: This will walk you through removing an existing profile via the Command Palette prompts
   
   This is an example of the JSON configuration provided with the Edit option.
   
   
4. Once you have configured the profile you can then simply select it from the list provided under the MSSQL: Connect command.

References

VS Code official site https://code.visualstudio.com/
VS Code opensource repo  https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode

VS Code Extensions https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/VSCode
Cmder http://cmder.net/

Legal Stuff: The contents of this blog is provided “as-is”. The information, opinions and views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of any other company with affiliation to the products discussed. This includes any URLs or Tools. The author does not accept any responsibility from the use of the information or tools mentioned within this blog, and recommends adequate evaluation against your own requirements to measure suitability.

Latest SSMS stream lines the process for adding Azure Firewall Rules at connection

If you haven't heard, Microsoft have broken the release of SQL Management Studio away from the main product. While at this stage it is continuing to be released at the same cadence as the SQL 2016 CTP 2 cycle (e.g. Monthly) the updates are targeting features for existing releases, Azure SQL, and of cause SQL 2016. You can get the latest release @ http://aka.ms/ssms.

I have been working on a project of late with an Azure SQL DB back-end and one thing that has always frustrated me given my role keeps me out in the field is that I am constantly having to log into the portal and update the firewall rules....... Well the latest release of SSMS makes this process much easier.

Now when you try and connect to an Azure SQL Server and a firewall rule on the server blocks your connection, you are no longer prompted with the message informing you that the client is not allowed to connect. Now you are prompted with a dialog asking you to log into Azure and create a firewall rule. It even populates the client IP Address for you and suggests an IP range.

One you authenticate, select the appropriate option for the Firewall Rule (e.g. static or IP range). Click OK and SSMS will place a call to the Azure web services to add the firewall rule.

Once the rule is added, the authentication process continues which is a nice touch because I was half expecting to be prompted to log in again.

 

 

 Obviously for this to work the user then needs the required permissions on the subscription

This is a great example of how the team is actively working on improving the toolsets and responding to feedback so make sure you keep the connect items rolling in.

In other news, I am presenting with a colleague at MS Ignite Australia next month on some of the new toolset features in SQL 2016. If your attending make sure you attend and come say hi as I will be around the Data Den and Exhibition hall throughout the event.

Legal Stuff: As always the contents of this blog is provided “as-is”. The information, opinions and views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of any other company with affiliation to the products discussed. This includes any URLs or Tools. The author does not accept any responsibility from the use of the information or tools mentioned within this blog, and recommends adequate evaluation against your own requirements to measure suitability.