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Free Disaster Recovery Toolkit for the SQL DBA
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Breakthrough Solution for SQL Server Consolidation
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Track Changes for Maximum Database Performance
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March 17, 2005
1. Perspectives
2. News and Views
3. Events and Resources
4. Peer to Peer
5. Announcements
6. New and Improved
Sponsor: Free Disaster Recovery Toolkit for the SQL DBA
Written by SQL Server expert Brian Knight, this handy, "how-to" toolkit contains comprehensive first-hand advice and scripts for SQL Server DBAs that need to build and implement a successful disaster recovery plan. With his tips and quips, Brian walks the DBA through real-world scenarios using an easy, step-by-step approach. And as part of the download, you'll receive four scripts, which will greatly speed your recovery time! Download it today, compliments of Lumigent:
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1. Perspectives
by Brian Moran, [email protected]
You arrive at work one morning with a lot of important work to do on the production system. You sit down at your station, armed with coffee and a danish. Then, you open your database-management tool set--and have absolutely no idea what any of the screens and buttons do! How do you perform a backup? How do you look at blocking? Where do you add new users? Ah! You wake up in a cold sweat, breathing hard. Thank goodness it was only a dream! Or was it?
Unless you get acquainted with the new SQL Server 2005 database tools, you might find that dream closer to reality than you think. SQL Server 2005's new tool set is a radical departure from previous releases' toolkits. The database press, yours truly included, has spent considerable time talking about the effect that the Common Language Runtime (CLR) will have on your world. That's big news, but what about the fact that the tools SQL Server 2005 will ship with look nothing like the tools you use today? The new tools are great, but you'll need time to get used to them. For example, a developer will feel a lot more at home using Management Studio than a DBA because it has a Visual Studio-like look and feel. Learning a new tool set isn't rocket science, but you shouldn't put it off until after you've rolled out SQL Server 2005 in production. Up to now, the tool shifts between SQL Server tool set releases haven't been too hard to become accustomed to. Moving from SQL Server 2000 to SQL Server 2005 won't be as easy.
As conference chair for SQL Server Magazine Connections, I select most of the content for the show. For the Fall 2005 show, we're planning a full-day seminar titled "Understanding and Effectively Using SQL Server 2005's New Tools." You might be surprised that we've scheduled a pre-conference session for tools, given that our sessions typically handle more difficult topics, such as performance tuning. But what good are SQL Server 2005's new capabilities if you don't know how to use any of them? Avoid a steep learning curve--attend this fast-paced full-day workshop to get a jump-start! The day will be packed with detailed explanations, demonstrations, and examples to help you discover the new features designed to make both the DBA and database development teams more productive. Kimberly Tripp will bring you up to speed on Management Studio, Visual Source Safe integration, Visual Studio database projects, the Database Tuning Advisor, Query Showplan, SQL Server Profiler, and more! Armed with this information, you'll be prepared and productive the day you start using SQL Server 2005.
I don't mean to sound like Chicken Little. In the grand scheme of things, adding the CLR will cause many more long-term hiccups than rolling out a new set of tools. But don't get caught asleep at the wheel, dreaming of the good old days. Spend some time with the new tools well before you're scheduled to roll out SQL Server 2005 to production. Downloading the latest SQL Server 2005 Community Technology Preview (CTP) from the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) site is a great way to begin learning how the tools work.
Breakthrough Solution for SQL Server Consolidation
With ARMTech for SQL Server workload management technology from Aurema, you can improve system utilization and performance, lower TCO and say goodbye forever to the days of "one app, one server." The only workload management solution specifically designed to enable SQL Server consolidation, ARMTech delivers increased reliability, improved performance, and higher system utilization in Windows server environments. Download your free evaluation copy of ARMTech for SQL Server and start saving today!
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2. News & Views
The "Get Ready for SQL Server 2005" roadshow, brought to you by SQL Server Magazine, Microsoft, and the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS), will visit seven cities across the United States beginning April 19 in Boston. The $99 fee for show attendance includes a 1-year membership to PASS, a 1-year subscription to SQL Server Magazine, breakfast and lunch, and admission to the PASS user-group party at the end of the day. PASS has also announced it will offer every roadshow attendee a $100 discount to its fall PASS Summit in Dallas. "These 1-day events are the best 'quick-start' opportunity available for SQL Server users to get a jumpstart on migrating to SQL Server 2005," explained Kevin Kline, PASS President and SQL Server MVP. "By providing users with the very best education and outstanding local networking outlets, the roadshows help strengthen the SQL Server community and facilitate the information sharing that helps us all do our jobs better." The roadshow will travel to Boston (April 19), New York (April 21), Anaheim (April 26), San Francisco (April 28), Chicago (May 12), Houston (May 17), and Dallas (May 19). You can email questions about the PASS discount to Vicky Van Alphen at [email protected] or visit the roadshow Web site at
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57AE:7B3DB
"Do you access system tables directly?" Here are the results from the 182 votes:
"How do you enforce cascade actions?" Go to the SQL Server Magazine home page ( http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57BA:7B3DB ) and submit your vote for:
3. Events and Resources
One full day, three tracks: DBA, Developer-DBA, and Business Intelligence. See the exciting new features of SQL Server 2005 up close. Keynote speakers include filmmaker and mountaineer David Breashears, Microsoft Senior Vice President of Server Applications Paul Flessner, and Michael Otey of SQL Server Magazine. Use event code 1032268846 and register online at:
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A0:7B3DB
Get the facts about migrating to SQL Server 2005. SQL Server experts will present real-world information about administration, development, and business intelligence to help you implement a best-practices migration to SQL Server 2005 and improve your database-computing environment. Receive a 1-year membership to PASS and a 1-year subscription to SQL Server Magazine. Register now!
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A9:7B3DB
March 20-23, Orlando, Florida. More than 45 sessions presented by Microsoft and industry gurus. Registration includes an exclusive day of sessions about SQL Server 2005 by the SQL Server product team. Attendees receive the latest SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 betas and a chance to win a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. 800-438-6720.
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57B7:7B3DB
See the complete Windows IT Pro Network guide to Web and live events.
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57B5:7B3DB
4. Peer to Peer
by Brian Moran, [email protected]
During performance tests in both single-user and multiple-user modes, I received some confusing results. A particular stored procedure generally runs in 5 seconds; however, when multiple users run the query at the same time, it takes nearly five times as long to run all the queries. After the first user receives the results, the others come back one right after another. Does SQL Server let only one person execute a stored procedure at any given time?
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A7:7B3DB/p>
The Web is one of the most important information resources for solving problems and learning about new technologies. There's no way one person can know everything about SQL Server 2000, so everyone has areas of expertise. However, sometimes the projects you tackle don't fall neatly into your comfort zone, and the Web is typically the first place you look for answers. In his March SELECT TOP(X) column "Web Resources," Michael Otey offers his nine favorite SQL Server Web sites. Read this article today at
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A8:7B3DB
In this week's blog "Ingres as Open Source?" Kevin Kline encourages you to take a look at what Computer Associates is doing in the open-source database space with Ingres. Even though Kevin says he probably wouldn't consider an open-source database now that SQL Server 2005 Express is available, he says Ingres is a powerful database platform that has all the features you expect from a relational database platform. Let Kevin know what you think of Ingres and the open-source debate today at
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57AB:7B3DB
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57B0:7B3DB
Performance: Profiler Reads vs. SET STATISTICS IO Logical Reads
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A4:7B3DB
Administration: Recommendations for SQL Server Monitoring Tools
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A2:7B3DB
T-SQL: Need Query to Compare Login and Password
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A1:7B3DB
Security: Killing Invalid SQL Connections
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A5:7B3DB
Data Access: ODBC Confirmation
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A3:7B3DB
Development: Changing a Date Format
http://lists.sqlmag.com/t?ctl=57A6:7B3DB
Hot Spot
How can tracking database changes help maintain performance? Download Quest Software's Webcast "Tracking Changes--SQL Server" and learn about types of changes, how they relate to application performance and ways to improve overall availability, reliability and performance in your SQL Server environment. Download the Webcast now.
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5. Announcements
Help decide who the most valuable member of the MCP community is. Take the time to reward excellence to those that deserve it and to make yourself a part of the first-ever MCP Hall of Fame. Voting takes only a few seconds, so cast your vote now. Click here:
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6. New & Improved
by Dawn Cyr, [email protected]
Have you used a product that saved you time or made your job easier? Tell us about it! If we print your story in the Hands On department, we'll send you a SQL Server Magazine t-shirt. Send your product success story to [email protected].
Panorama Software announced the beta release of Panorama 4.5, a BI solution that supports SQL Server 2005 and 2000. New features in the latest release include an enhanced dashboard that's customizable and provides live updates so that decision makers can access near realtime dynamic data; an exception ticker, which notifies users of problems or exceptions inside a scrolling ticker bar; expanded report-authoring capabilities that support building production reports as well as multi-level grouping and sorting for ad hoc queries; and support for large dimensions, which lets users navigate, search, and select relevant information from large data sets. Companies that are investigating SQL Server 2005 can take advantage of the improvements in the new SQL Server release by leveraging Panorama's new features to access data that already exists inside the organization. Panorama 4.5 will be generally available in April 2005. For pricing and other information, contact Panorama Software at 877-709-5848, 416-545-0990, or [email protected].
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