Going down the IT rabbit hole

Although I’m not DB admin (not yet that is), I do have to work with SQL server from time to time. Since I do like automation, I tend to work with PowerShell as much as possible.

And this is where some good news comes in – Microsoft has recently released July 2016 update for SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio) which includes several new CMDLETs.

Part of this update is also new SQL PowerShell Module – SQLPS was the old one and the new one is SqlServer (be sure to check and update existing scripts if you use Import-Module and/or similar Cmdlets). Current version of SSMS installer packs and installs both versions of PowerShell modules but only SqlServer has the updates and new Cmdlets.

New Cmdlets are available for the following areas:
– Always Encrypted
– SQL Agent
– SQL Error Logs

Updated version of SSMS works with all supported versions of SQL Server (SQL Server 2008 – SQL Server 2016), and provides the greatest level of support for working with the latest cloud features in Azure SQL Database.

More info and download available at:
– SQL Server Blog: SQL PowerShell: July 2016 update
– Download SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)