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December 8, 2005
1. Perspectives
2. SQL Server 2005 Watch
3. News & Views
4. Events and Resources
5. Featured White Paper
6. Peer to Peer
7. Announcements
8. New & Improved
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1. Perspectives
by Brian Moran, [email protected]
With the release of major new products such as SQL Server 2005, it's easy for magazines and authors to fall into the trap of writing only about all the new toys. But many readers will be using SQL Server 2000 for months, if not years. Some of you probably want to see mostly SQL Server 2000 coverage, some of you want mostly 2005 coverage, and many of you will want a healthy mix, although you'll probably disagree what the mix should be. In addition, you probably want a healthy mix of coverage of BI, developer, and DBA topics, depending on your job's focus. It's a good thing I get to write 50 of these columns per year because I sure have a lot of important topics to cover!
SQL Server Magazine editors and columnists have been chatting about this topic. We've learned our lessons from past upgrade cycles and certainly don't want to abandon folks who rely on earlier versions of the products we cover. But we do want to stay relevant and fresh. We've done all sorts of polls to gauge what you want--and don't want--to be reading about. But it's been a while since I posed an open question directly to SQL Server Magazine UPDATE readers regarding my commentary.
I thought about doing a poll with fixed questions and answers, but I decided against it. I'd never think of the right leading, probing questions to fully capture all the interesting ideas and comments that I hope you'll have to share. So consider this an open request. How am I doing? What do you want to be reading about in my UPDATE commentary section? Tell me. I can't promise to satisfy everyone, but I will promise to read each response and do my best to integrate the feedback into my commentary and analysis for 2006.
Note that I write this editorial piece but not the rest of the UPDATE content, so please segment your thoughts and opinions based on whether it's directly related to my editorial. That way I can make sure your comments are routed to the folks who can act on them. But regardless, send me your thoughts today at [email protected] and let your voice be heard!
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2. SQL Server 2005 Watch
Pocket Guide Provides Portable SQL Server 2005 Support
Microsoft Press released the "Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Administrator's Pocket Consultant," a quick-reference guide by William R. Stanek published in a pocket-sized format for easy portability. The guide contains quick tips about day-to-day SQL Server 2005 administration topics, including how to install, configure, and tune SQL Server; administer servers and server groups; manage and optimize schemas, tables, indexes, and views; create logins, configure permissions, assign roles, and perform other essential security tasks; import, export, and transform data from various sources; implement replication and data merging and manage data publication and subscription; plan and implement a comprehensive backup and recovery strategy; monitor server activity and resolve performance issues; and take charge of automation and maintenance. Published at $29.95, the book is available at discounted prices from online resellers. For more information or to find a reseller, visit Microsoft Press at
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3. News & Views
The Imperva Application Defense Center (ADC) announced its discovery of a SQL Server 2000 vulnerability that lets users mask their login names from the standard Microsoft audit tools. The Microsoft article "BUG: Login names that contain leading zero characters are not visible when you use SQL Profiler to audit connections to SQL Server 2000" ( http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=1B8E4:285886 ) describes the vulnerability and corrective action. The Imperva ADC is a research and professional services organization dedicated to building an advanced application-security knowledge base. ADC research combines lab work with hands-on practice in real-world environments. Imperva describes the vulnerability in its article "Microsoft SQL Server Audit Bug," which is available at
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Microsoft released three new hotfixes that aid troubleshooting of errors and performance problems in SQL Server 2000. The fix described in the article "FIX: You may not be able to capture user dump files in SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services" ( http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=1B8D8:285886 ) adds a mechanism to capture user dump files when a particular error condition is experienced. The article "FIX: Event ID 128 may be logged if the lazy aggregation process is suspended multiple times in SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services" ( http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=1B8D7:285886 ) describes the cause of the error event and provides a fix. And the article "FIX: You may experience concurrency issues when you run the DBCC INDEXDEFRAG statement in SQL Server 2000" ( http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=1B8D5:285886 ) explains the cause of a locking problem and provides a fix. You can get the hotfixes from Microsoft Support at
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Results of Previous Instant Poll: Your 2005 Salary
"What do you expect your total base salary will be for 2005?" Here are the results from the 182 votes:
New Instant Poll: Bonus Time?
"What do you expect your total base salary will be for 2005?" Go to the SQL Server Magazine home page ( http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=1AEA8:285886 ) and submit your vote for
4. Events and Resources
April 2-5, 2006, Orlando, Florida. Don't miss the premier event for Microsoft developers and DBAs. Gain productivity, enhance your development skills, and give your company the competitive edge! Register by January 9 and receive one FREE hotel night at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort. Call 203-268-3204 or 800-438-6720.
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Register today:
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5. Featured White Paper
Get your free white paper today at
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6. Peer to Peer
by Brian Moran, [email protected]
A few months ago, Microsoft launched a new-and-improved SQL Server TechCenter ( http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=1B8CF:285886 ) "designed to connect you with SQL Server-related resources from Microsoft and the broader SQL Server community." It's not perfect, but it's a good single portal for SQL Server technical information and is worth visiting on a regular basis. One of my favorite features is the site's dynamic tracking of top Knowledge Base articles and downloads, which makes it easy for customers to find interesting and relevant technology. In fact, Microsoft now provides Remote Storage Service (RSS) feeds for the top downloads and new Knowledge Base articles. I encourage you to visit the TechCenter, explore, learn, and subscribe to the new RSS feeds for downloads and popular Knowledge Base articles.
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One not-so-secret developer productivity technique is copying code. Most developers don't manually type in all of the required code for a program when it's faster and easier to grab bits of other projects that are already written, paste them into a new project, and modify them to get things working. In his December SELECT TOP(X) column "MSDN Code Samples," Michael Otey highlights some of the best places to find .NET code samples on the MSDN site. Read this article today and post your comments at
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SQL Server 2005 Express is a free, lightweight version of the SQL Server database engine. It has a great list of features with only one major drawback: its lack of management tools. However, Kevin Kline highlights Microsoft's solution to this drawback in this week's blog "SQL Server Express Management Studio CTP." Read about the new Express management tools, download the CTP, and let Kevin know your opinion of its potential today at
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Hot Threads: Check out the following hot threads, and see other discussions in our 30 SQL Server forums.
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Tools: Getting Alerts from SQL Server
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OLAP/Data Warehousing: Data Not Appearing in Virtual Cubes
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SQL Server 2005 Administration: SQL Server 2005 on a SQL Server 2000
Cluster
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T-SQL: How to Show Result Set Numbered
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Performance: Performance Nightmare
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Administration: Data File Size
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Hot Spot
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7. Announcements
Become a VIP subscriber and get continuous, inside access to ALL of the online resources published in Windows IT Pro, SQL Server Magazine, and the Exchange and Outlook Administrator, Windows Scripting Solutions, and Windows IT Security newsletters--that's more than 26,000 articles at your fingertips. You'll also get a valuable one-year print subscription to Windows IT Pro and two VIP CDs (CDs include the entire article database on CD, delivered twice per year). Don't miss out--sign up now:
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8. New & Improved
by Blake Eno, [email protected]
Simplify SQL Server Reporting Services Reports
Designing and delivering SQL Server Reporting Services reports (RDL files) has become easier with SoftArtisans OfficeWriter 3.5. Users can now design and deliver their RDL files inside of Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word through the OfficeWriter Designer, a distributed client-side toolbar that's integrated within your Word documents and Excel spreadsheets. The toolbar can be dispersed among all of your users and once deployed, anyone can create and publish reports directly to the Reporting Services server without leaving Microsoft Office. The toolbar lets you query a data source and add merge fields and repeat blocks. Once you've designed your report, you can save it to your hard drive, view it instantaneously, or publish it to the server for distribution. A free trial version of SoftArtisans' OfficeWriter 3.5 is available. For more information, contact SoftArtisans at 877-763-8278 or [email protected].
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Maintain Legal and Regulatory Compliance
SPI Dynamics announced the availability of SPI Dynamics Compliance Pack, software that helps you address legal and regulatory compliance for Web applications and Web services. The latest release offers a combination of application-security assessments, customizable security policies, and regulatory compliance reporting. SPI Dynamics software-testing products, WebInspect, QAInspect, and Assessment Management Platform (AMP), all include the new Compliance Pack. Existing customers will receive the Compliance Pack automatically through SmartUpdate, which is included in all SPI Dynamics products and provides automatic policy updates and the latest Web-application vulnerability checks. For more information, contact SPI Dynamics at 866-774-2700 or [email protected].
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