FAQ
Troubleshoot real word scenarios with Microsoft SQL Server
What is SQL Challenges?
SQL Challenges is a platform on which we offer the opportunity to analyze and fix problems, we have seen in real world. We prepare the challenges from real-world problems and ask you to analyze and solve the problem yourself. The range starts with very simple topics (indexing) and goes up to the most complex problems (deadlocks, performance, …).
The idea behind SQL Challenges is to give interested SQL Server enthusiats the opportunity to analyze and solve trivial to challenging tasks with SQL Server. To do this, we provide you with a freely accessible instance of Microsoft SQL Server. You connect to the instance and can choose from various challenges which you would like to solve.
Why SQL Challenges?
We have been working as consultants in the SQL Server environment for more than 20 years. We came across so many oddities that we think they might be of interest to you too.
Especially in everyday life, routine can lead to the loss of the ability to examine a problem more closely and analyze the correlations. We want to encourage you to do this type of forensics with our SQL Challenges.
How can you support SQL Challenges
We have had various challenges in more than 20 years of working with SQL Server and will be preparing some challenges for you in the next few weeks.
But maybe you have had some challenges yourself and are curious how the community would solve these challenges?
Send us an email to sqlchallenges[at]db-berater.de with a detailed description of the problem. We will look at the challenge and publish it as a new challenge with you as the host.
How can I connect to the instance of SQL Server?
To connect to our SQL Server, you need a stable internet connection. Nothing more is necessary.
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Connection Information Server Name User Name Password Encryption
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How does it work?
Do you want to take on a challenge? It’s easier than you think.
- Connect to our challenge instance using SSMS
- Open a new query
- Get a list of all active challenges
EXEC sqlchallenge.dbo.create_challenge 'list';
- Create your challenge based on the name of the challenge
EXEC sqlchallenge.dbo.create_challenge 'name of the challenge';
- A new database will be created for you
- The environment will be prepared for you
- A description of the challenge will be displayed
What Permissions do I have for the SQL Challenges?
We gave a lot of thought to the permissions of the SQL Server instance beforehand. It was clear to us from the start that there are NO sysadmin permissions.
The permissions concept provides that all challengers work with the same account. The account has no administrative permissions, the default server role is [public]. We are aware that important permissions must be present for in-depth analysis and forensics.
- Creating extended events for analyses
- Query Store
- DMV for analyses / forensics
We therefore granted the following permissions on the instance for the user account:
Server
- View any event session
- View server performance state
- View server state
Database
- Member of the [db_owner] group
What Tools do I need to solve SQL Challenges?
You are completely free to choose your tools. We naturally recommend that you use SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). SSMS is a powerful and integrated environment for managing SQL Server servers and databases. Here are a few reasons why recommend to use it:
- SSMS provides a single, comprehensive interface for database management, development, and administration, making it easier to perform various tasks without switching between different tools.
- t offers a range of visual tools, such as the Object Explorer, Query Designer, and Activity Monitor, which simplify database management and troubleshooting.
- You can easily create, modify, and manage database objects (tables, views, stored procedures, etc.) using SSMS.
- SSMS includes tools for monitoring and optimizing database performance, such as the Activity Monitor, SQL Server Profiler, and Database Engine Tuning Advisor.
What about my privacy
We take data protection very seriously. We are aware that data is a valuable asset and that we must handle it responsibly.
What is stored about you? The answer is clear and simple: NOTHING!
We are not interested in any of your data, nor do we want to bother you with cold calls.
Technically, your IP address is stored in the instance during your activities with the name of the database created for your challenge. This ensures that you only remain in your database and do not hijack the database of other challengers.
As soon as you close the session, the database and the IP address is deleted after latest 15 minutes.
Important
Neither you nor other challengers can view/change/delete the stored IP addresses. A job runs at regular intervals of 15 minutes to remove orphaned IP addresses and databases from the system.
Our credo is that you should have fun with SQL Challenges. It is far from our intention to make a profit and/or gain new customers. This is a project from the community by the community! I am an enthusiastic community member myself. I guarantee with my name that no information about you will be stored.
Uwe Ricken