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Check if xp_cmdshell is turned on and flip the bit

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Byte Me: Compilation Vacation

Bob Lang from SQLServerCentral.com

Join the debate, and respond to today's editorial on the forums

Free SSMS add-in: SQL Search

Redgate SQL Search is a free SSMS add-in that lets you find fragments of SQL across multiple objects and multiple databases. Once installed, SQL Search appears on the SSMS toolbar, allowing you to quickly navigate to objects wherever they are on a server. Download SQL Search now.

Featured Contents

Stairway to Exploring Database Metadata Level 7: Extended Properties

Phil Factor from SQLServerCentral.com

In this level, I’ll introduce Extended Properties. As with the previous levels, I want to illustrate as much as possible with practical and immediately useful code. More »

Questions About the Use of PowerShell That you were Too Shy to Ask

Additional Articles from SimpleTalk

Let's forget the actual PowerShell code for a moment: Why is PowerShell important? Why should I use it? Where did it come from? Why did it take so long to arrive? These and many other basic questions are answered in William Brewer's latest addition to the series that answers those seemingly simple questions that you were too shy to ask in public. More »

From the SQLServerCentral Blogs - Estimated Costs of All Queries

Grant Fritchey from SQLServerCentral Blogs

One question constantly comes up; What should the Cost Threshold for Parallelism be? The default value of 5 is pretty... More »

From the SQLServerCentral Blogs - How to sign a SQL Server CLR Assembly in Visual Studio 2015

Jeffrey Yao from SQLServerCentral Blogs

It took me quite a while to figure out how to sign a SQL Server CLR Assembly (like a CLR... More »

Question of the Day

Today's Question (by Steve Jones):

I run this command:

 Backup-SqlDatabase -ServerInstance .\SQL2014 -Database sandbox -Incremental

What is the name of my differential backup file?

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This question is worth 1 point in this category: PowerShell.

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The Definitive Guide to DAX: Business intelligence with Microsoft Excel, SQL Server Analysis Services, and Power BI - This comprehensive and authoritative guide will teach you the DAX language for business intelligence, data modeling, and analytics. Leading Microsoft BI consultants Marco Russo and Alberto Ferrari help you master everything from table functions through advanced code and model optimization.

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Yesterday's Question of the Day

Yesterday's Question (by Steve Jones):

I have a SQL Server 2016 instance and want to use BULK INSERT to load data. What file types can I import? Note that native refers to the native binary representation used by bcp. Character refers to the character formatting produced by bcp.

Answer: native SQL Server import/export files or character files meeting SQL Server rules

Explanation:

The correct answer from these choices is only the native or character formats from SQL Server. While a CSV could potentially be used, it must conform to certain restrictions, so any CSV cannot be used.

Ref: Prepare Data for Bulk Export or Import (SQL Server) - https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms188609.aspx

» Discuss this question and answer on the forums

Featured Script

Check if xp_cmdshell is turned on and flip the bit

Edward Pochinski from SQLServerCentral.com

In some shops \ cases this feature may be turned off as part of the security regulations. You may need to flip xp_cmdshell on to perform a piece work and then flip the bit back when the work is done. You can also tweak the code to flip the bit off again when done. Simple, non complex script but very effective in an automation task. The script uses sys.configurations to check the bit set for the xp_cmdshell feature, if the value = 0 we turn it on. I hope you will find some use for the code.

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Here's a few of the new posts today on the forums. To see more, visit the forums.

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