SQL Server Magazine UPDATE, August 17, 2006--Favorite SQL Server 2005 Features, Big and Small

In This Issue:
It’s easy to focus on high-profile SQL Server 2005 features such as the SQLCLR and partitioning, but many people might have benefited more from a lot of small enhancements. Send SQL Server Magazine author and guru Brian Moran your favorite SQL Server 2005 feature today!

Also:
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August 17, 2006

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1. Perspectives

2. SQL Server Watch

3. Hot Articles

4. Events and Resources

5. Featured White Paper

6. Announcements

7. Web Community

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1. Perspectives

Favorite SQL Server 2005 Features, Big and Small
by Brian Moran, [email protected]

What’s your favorite SQL Server 2005 feature, big or small? What aspect of the new product has most changed the way you design, build, or maintain Microsoft-based databases and applications? SQL Server 2005’s long development cycle gave the SQL Server community, including its pundits, years to speculate about how quickly people would adopt features such as SQLCLR—or whether people would adopt them at all. Now, I’m curious. What parts of the product have proven to be most important to you?

Usually, I share my thoughts and ideas with you. But this week, I’m going to ask you to share with me. When I look for the features that have had the most affect on the SQL Server community, it’s easy for me to focus on the “big ticket” items such as the SQLCLR, partitioning, or database mirroring. However, I suspect that for many of you, the biggest affect of adopting SQL Server 2005 hasn’t come from one or two big features but the aggregate of a lot of small, positive enhancements.

So, how has SQL Server 2005 changed your activities as a database professional? What features do you like the best? What features have saved you time? What features let you build better applications, even if you haven’t saved time? Do you get better performance? Are your databases more scaleable or more available? Do you have better security? Have SQL Server’s improved BI capabilities made it easier for you to add bits of BI and data warehousing capabilities to applications? I want to hear it all.

I considered trying to put together a more traditional poll, but this topic is too broad and open-ended to be shoehorned into the few responses I might be able to think up. SQL Server 2005 has so many new features that most of us haven’t been able fully explore the product. Perhaps someone’s current favorite feature is obscure enough that you haven’t found it yet, but it might be your favorite feature as well once you know about it.

So tell me what you think. I can’t promise to answer every email that I receive about this topic, but I’m hoping to engage in multiple conversations with readers to gain a much clearer sense of how the community is using SQL Server 2005, beyond the obvious and beyond what I can see from interactions with my own clients. I’ll share the most interesting observations and comments over the next few weeks.

Send your input to me at [email protected].

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2. SQL Server Watch

ADO.NET vNext CTP Ready for Download
On Monday, Microsoft released a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of the next ADO.NET release, ADO.NET vNext. The CTP includes the preview build of the ADO.NET Entity Framework, which supports Object Relational Mapping scenarios that use ADO.NET entities.

According to Microsoft, the CTP build includes multiple features related to working with entities, including LINQ to Entities and Entity SQL, features that let you query persistent entities. In addition, object abstractions in this release handle state management, identity resolution, and change tracking. The programming and query models in the CTP emphasize the importance of relationships. And the build lets you work with mappings based on view maintenance concepts to support entity splitting across multiple tables, table-per-hierarchy, table-per-class, and table-per-type mappings, property renaming, and conditional mappings.

For full details and to download the CTP, visit the Microsoft site at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=b68f6f53-ec87-4122-b1c8-ee24a043bf72&displaylang=en

Roadshow Targets Oracle/SQL Server Interoperability
Cross-platform experts from Scalability Experts and Solid Quality Learning will present interoperability tips to IT professionals and DBAs who work with Oracle or SQL Server in a one-day roadshow that kicks off September 7 in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by Oracle Magazine, Windows IT Pro, HP, Intel, and Microsoft, the show will feature information about the Windows 64-bit platform for database computing, an under-the-hood tour of Oracle and SQL Server, an overview of deploying highly available Oracle and SQL Server databases, guidelines for using SQL Server business intelligence on the Oracle platform, and a research-based session about how IT professionals can prepare for the changing database job market.

The roadshow will visit 12 cities between September 7 and October 24: Washington, D.C.; Boston; Columbus, Ohio; Chicago; St. Louis; Houston; Irvine, California; San Francisco; Phoenix; New York; Atlanta; and Seattle. Attendees who register before August 25 will enter a drawing for a free iPod nano sponsored by Windows IT Pro. For complete agenda and speaker information, go to:
http://www.windowsitpro.com/roadshows/sqloracle/

Product Watch
by Blake Eno, [email protected]

Secure Data and Support Compliance
Embarcadero Technologies announced Embarcadero ER/Studio 7.1, a data architecture and database design solution that helps you discover, document, and reuse data assets through visual data models. This release emphasizes reducing risks associated with data security and enhancing data model quality. ER/Studio's improved identification, classification, and communication of policies for sensitive data help support regulatory compliance and reduce the risk of inappropriate data access. New ER/Studio properties help categorize and label data and objects according to the level of security and privacy that should be applied. For more information, contact Embarcadero Technologies at 415-834-3131.
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3. Hot Articles

Tip: Check Out the New SQL Server 2005 Report Packs
by Brian Moran, [email protected]

Although Microsoft released SQL Server 2005 Report Packs at the end of March, many SQL Server professionals have yet to discover the value of this great resource. The Report Packs include 65 reports in a variety of areas. Learn how the reports might benefit you, and send your comments to the author today at
http://www.sqlmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/50261/50261.html

Editorial: Database Design Discipline
Maybe many organizations that use SQL Server don't employ formal change management because SQL Server doesn't have built-in change-management features. Or maybe it's because the majority of SQL Server installations are SMBs. In his August editorial "SQL Server 2000 SP4," Michael Otey asserts that although Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals (Team Data) isn’t a silver bullet for all change-management problems, it’s an attractive and affordable way for lots of organizations to implement change management in their development processes. Read this article today and post your comments at
http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/50647/sql_server_50647.html

Puzzled By T-SQL: Querae Verum: Clustered Index Scans, Part III
In this blog entry, Itzik Ben-Gan answers two burning questions: “Why does SQL Server tend to use allocation order scans when NOLOCK or TABLOCK is specified?” and “Is there a difference in performance between allocation order scans and index order scans?” Read the blog and send your comments to Itzik today at
http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/92888/sql_server_92888.html

In a Nutshell: Multiserver Management
In this week’s blog, Kevin Kline rallies the SQL Server community to comment on the value of the Multiserver Administration feature in SQL Server. Read about this feature, check out the BOL writeup of it, and let Kevin know whether and how you use it today at
http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/93147/93147.html

Hot Threads:
SQL Server 2005 Administration: Downtime Notification
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Database Design: How to Make a Foreign Key Reference One of Several Tables
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4. Events and Resources

Learn how a database utility for SQL Server can help you lower operational costs, simplify management, and increase the availability of your SQL Server deployment. On-demand Web seminar:
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See the complete Windows IT Pro Network guide to Web and live events.
http://www.winnetmag.com/events

5. Featured White Paper

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Hot Spot: Neverfail
SQL Server Guide to Clustering Alternatives
Want the convenience of a server cluster without the expense? Learn about server cluster alternatives that provide high availability, preventative maintenance, and fallover capabilities at pricing that fits your budget.
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6. Announcements

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7. Web Community

Hot Threads
http://sqlforums.windowsitpro.com/web/forum/default.aspx?forumid=10

Reader-to-Reader
http://www.sqlmag.com/Departments/DepartmentID/731/Reader%20to%20Reader.html

New Instant Poll
http://www.sqlmag.com/

Blogs
http://www.sqlmag.com/blog

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