In This Issue:
SQL Server Compact Edition, which Microsoft released to manufacturing a few weeks ago, is the company’s play to capture the occasionally connected database market. Although SQL Server Compact Edition shares a name with its cousins higher up in the SQL Server family, it’s a fundamentally different product in many important ways.
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January 25, 2007
1. Perspectives
- An Edition by Any Other Name
2. SQL Server Watch
- Newsletter Highlights Windows Vista
- IT Pro of the Month—December 2006 Winner
- Product Watch: RippleTech and Red Gate Software
3. Hot Articles
- Tip: Avoid Using Trace Flag 2861 to Cache Zero-Cost Query Plans
- T-SQL Black Belt: PIVOT on Steroids
- Puzzled by T-SQL: Palindromes Puzzle
- Hot Threads: PTO and Database Design
4. Events and Resources
- Consolidating SQL Server Deployments
- Put Consolidation on Your Short List
- Enhance Reporting Services
5. Featured White Paper
- The Power of DataWindow in .NET
6. Reader Challenge
- January Reader Challenge Solution: Converting a Hexadecimal String to a Varbinary Value
- February Reader Challenge: Check for an Empty Table
7. Announcements
- Make Your Mark on the IT Community!
- SQL Server Performance-Tuning Articles and Tips
8. Web Community
- http://www.sqlmag.com
Sponsor: Dell Computers
SQL Server 2005 in a Virtualized Environment
The Dell scalable enterprise architecture uses industry-standard components to help simplify operations, improve resource utilization, and scale cost-effectively. Virtualization technology is advancing IT infrastructure standards by abstracting software from hardware, which can facilitate deployment and management of software in the scalable enterprise. To demonstrate this, the Dell Scalable Enterprise Technology Center deployed Microsoft SQL Server 2005 software in a virtualized environment.
1. Perspectives
An Edition by Any Other Name
by Brian Moran, [email protected]
A few weeks ago, Microsoft announced the SQL Server Compact Edition release to manufacturing (RTM), formally launching the technology that the company is pitching to the mobile and “occasionally connected” workforce. Although SQL Server Compact Edition shares a name with its cousins higher up in the SQL Server edition family, the new edition isn’t the same code base as SQL Server Enterprise, Developer, Standard, Workgroup, or Express editions. The new edition is designed to work with the same programming interfaces—such as ADO.NET—that work with higher-end versions of SQL Server, but SQL Server Compact Edition is a fundamentally different product in many important ways.
Read the full article at: http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/94989/sql_server_94989.html.
Sponsor: FaxBack
Boardless Fax Servers in VoIP Environments
The world is moving toward the future of ubiquitous multimedia communications in which voice, data, video, and fax are deeply integrated. In this free white paper, you'll learn how to integrate fax with leading IP telephony technologies, how hardware-independent fax fits into VoIP environments and more! Download your free copy today at: http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/Faxback/voip?code=SQLMid0125.
2. SQL Server Watch
Newsletter Highlights Windows Vista
Penton Media, home of Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazines, is launching a new email newsletter called Vista UPDATE. Starting February 1, this twice-monthly resource will bring you vital information about Windows Vista, from deployment to security to virtual PC and beyond. Even if your company isn't moving to Windows Vista yet, you'll stay current with what's happening with the help of Karen Forster, author of the ever-popular Hey Microsoft! column in Windows IT Pro magazine. You'll also find desktop and client-side tips and insights from David Chernicoff, and information from Kathy Ivens about what your users need to know—plus Ivens's ever-popular Reader Challenge. If you’re already a Client UPDATE subscriber, you don't have to do a thing to get the new Vista UPDATE. All others, sign up now at http://www.windowsitpro.com/Email/index.cfm?action=Main.
Be sure to whitelist [email protected] to ensure that your new Vista UPDATE isn't mistakenly blocked by antispam software!
IT Pro of the Month—December 2006 Winner
Congratulations to Steven Fellwock, who was voted the December 2006 IT Pro of the Month. Steven successfully improved a logon process by creating a SQL Server database that maintains Active Directory (AD) information. His new logon script never needs modification and is portable—it can run in any AD environment that includes a SQL Server database. To learn more about Steven's solution and to find out how you can become the next IT Pro of the Month, please visit: http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/itpromonth.
Product Watch
by Blake Eno, [email protected]
Real-Time Database Monitoring
RippleTech announced Informant 2.0, a database- and application-monitoring solution that provides real-time alerts to let you know about unauthorized data access attempts and gives you an audit trail for all database activity. Informant now includes a Web-based administration console that you can access from any location. Other upgrades include role-based access to reports, secure management of audit logs, and centralized reporting across all tier-one database servers. For more information, contact RippleTech at 866-739-8587 or visit http://www.rippletech.com.
T-SQL Auto-Completion
Red Gate Software announced SQL Prompt 3.0, an add-in for SQL Server 2005 Management Studio (SSMS) and Query Analyzer that anticipates the code candidates you need while writing T-SQL queries. New features include support for variables—including table-valued variables—and Data Manipulation Language (DML) statement auto-completion for SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE statements. SQL Prompt also includes built-in functions, support for large database schemas and SQL scripts, and auto-expansion of wildcard columns and column picker. You can download a free trial of SQL Prompt at Red Gate Software's Web site, and pricing starts at $195. For more information, contact Red Gate Software at 866-733-4283 or visit http://www.red-gate.com.
3. Hot Articles
Tip: Avoid Using Trace Flag 2861 to Cache Zero-Cost Query Plans
by Brian Moran, [email protected]
Trace flag 2861 causes SQL Server to cache query plans for trivial queries that have a cost of zero or close to zero. Enabling trace flag 2861 seems reasonable if you need to see all queries that are running, but doing so on a busy server can create severe performance problems. Find out what can happen in this scenario by reading this complete tip today at http://www.sqlmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/44845/44845.html.
T-SQL Black Belt: PIVOT on Steroids
Build a better PIVOT operator by encapsulating workarounds in a powerful procedure that uses dynamic SQL. Read this article today and post your comments at http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/94268/sql_server_94268.html.
Puzzled by T-SQL: Palindromes Puzzle
In this week’s blog, Itzik Ben-Gan introduces a querying puzzle: producing palindromes with T-SQL. Up for the challenge? Read the puzzle and send your response to Itzik today at http://www.sqlmag.com/article/articleid/94917/sql_server_blog_94917.html.
Hot Threads:
4. Events and Resources
Consolidating SQL Server Deployments
Does your SQL Server deployment suffer from low utilization rates, sub-optimal availability, and management challenges? Learn to overcome these difficulties by deploying a data clustering utility that can help lower your cost of ownership by 70% and can react to database capacity changes within 30 seconds. On-Demand Web Seminar.
Put Consolidation on Your Short List
Information is the "I" in "IT." Do you know where your information is? Is it protected? Backed up? Download this free podcast today to learn the top 5 reasons that you should be considering storage consolidation.
Enhance Reporting Services
SQL Server Reporting Services is an exciting way for organizations to gain access and insight into the important business data they store in SQL Server. Get an overview of how to increase your production server's performance by offloading Reporting Services to a secondary server. Download your free copy today!
See the complete Windows IT Pro Network guide to Web and live events.
5. Featured White Paper
The Power of DataWindow in .NET
Ready to get serious about data-driven applications? Get unparalleled data access and presentation capabilities and give your users access to the critical business information they need. Download this free white paper today to find out more and begin developing with .NET!
6. Reader Challenge
January Reader Challenge Solution: Converting a Hexadecimal String to a Varbinary Value
by Umachandar Jayachandran, [email protected]
The winner for the January Reader Challenge, "Converting a Hexadecimal String to a Varbinary Value" will be announced at a later date. Please watch for updates and read a recap of the problem and the solution to the January Reader Challenge at http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/94987/sql_server_94987.html.
February Reader Challenge: Check for an Empty Table
Now, test your SQL Server savvy in the February Reader Challenge, "Check for an Empty Table" (below). Submit your solution in an email message to [email protected] by February 1. Umachandar Jayachandran, a SQL Server Magazine technical editor, will evaluate the responses. We'll announce the winner in an upcoming SQL Server Magazine UPDATE. The first-place winner will receive $100, and the second-place winner will receive $50.
Here's the challenge:
Steve is a DBA who manages several SQL Server 2000 installations in his company. He needs to create a batch job that exports and imports several tables from the database servers. As part of the batch job, Steve would like to invoke a stored procedure that can determine whether a table is empty. According to the stored procedure result, he will then perform appropriate actions like executing DBCC SHOWCONTIG or DBCC DBREINDEX statements in his batch job.
Help Steve design a stored procedure that does the following:
1. Determines whether a table in a particular database is empty. (The tables can be present in different user schemas.)
2. Decides the appropriate parameters for the stored procedure and table name as a mandatory parameter.
3. Returns the status of the table (empty or not empty) as an output parameter.
Hot Spot: Quest Software
The Essential Guide to Jump Starting Your SQL Server Skills
Got information? Good! Now, can you use it? Get up to speed on database design and hierarchy, including columns and data types, creating databases, and using the Query Editor. Download your free copy today!
6. Announcements
Make Your Mark on the IT Community!
Nominate yourself or a peer to become "IT Pro of the Month." This is your chance to get the recognition you deserve! Winners will receive over $600 in IT resources and be featured in Windows IT Pro. It's easy to enter—we're accepting February nominations now, but only for a limited time! Submit your nomination today: http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/itpromonth.
SQL Server Performance-Tuning Articles and Tips
Check out the Net's largest site dedicated to SQL Server performance tuning. Get the most out of SQL Server with thousands of performance tuning articles/tips/FAQs for SQL Server 2000 and 2005. Join the forums and chat with more than 18,000 advanced SQL Server DBAs and developers. Click here: http://www.sql-server-performance.com.
7. Web Community
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