Database Mail failed to initialize - Unable to start mail session

After configuring Database Mail on a clustered SQL Server 2008 R2 instance using a script based on the Create a Database Mail profile in 4 Steps (or less) article, the test email was not delivered.  Some investigation showed that the email was actually not sent.  I also checked the Database... [Read More]

Error setting private property 'VirtualServerName' when installing an SQL Server 2008 R2 cluster

I was recently installing SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition on a two-node failover cluster (see Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server 2008 R2 on MSDN).  The cluster was working perfectly and the Validate a Cluster Configuration Wizard reported all components in green. I had prepared a slipstreamed... [Read More]

Script to Generate CREATE TABLE Definitions

Once the target environment is installed and configured, a database migration cannot commence before the database and the table structures that will hold the new data are in place.  Creating table definitions can be performed using various methods, a couple of which are tools provided with SQL Server, and third-party... [Read More]

Moving the tempdb Data and Log Files as Part of a Planned Relocation

A colleague recently told me that an SQL Server instance tempdb was installed to the Program Files folder of the C: drive and that occasionally the server was complaining of low disk space.  The only way this could be solved was by restarting the server. The tempdb is a system... [Read More]