SQL Server Magazine UPDATE, June 29, 2006

In This Issue:
If you haven’t upgraded to SQL Server 2005, you’re not alone. Many customers have yet to invest in migrating. Fortunately, when you’re ready, you’ll benefit from the experiences of early adopters. Here are some resources that will help you along the way.

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June 29, 2006

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

Resources for Your SQL Server 2005 Upgrade
by Brian Moran, [email protected]

It’s fun to talk about SQL Server 2005, but you’re not alone if you’re still running SQL Server 2000. I don’t have specific numbers, but my personal experience tells me that a large percentage of SQL Server customers are still running SQL Server 2000, even if they’ve migrated some applications and servers to SQL Server 2005. Many customers still haven’t invested much time and energy at all in upgrading. If you’re itching to upgrade but simply haven’t had the time to invest in learning all the ins and outs of the process, you’re in luck. Early adopters have reaped many benefits, but if you’re just planning your upgrade now, you can use a growing body of information to help smooth out the rough edges of a migration.

Microsoft recently published the SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Technical Reference Guide. This guide is wonderful place to start and is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3D5E96D9-0074-46C4-BD4F-C3EB2ABF4B66&displaylang=en . This document is much more than just another white paper. The 350-page guide contains a vast amount of valuable information that covers the full spectrum of the SQL Server 2005 product suite. The guide is an essential resource for those of you planning an upgrade.

Need some hands on practice? You’ll want to review the SQL Server 2005 TechNet Virtual Lab for IT pros ( http://www.microsoft.com/technet/traincert/virtuallab/sql2005.mspx ) and the MSDN Virtual Labs for developers ( http://msdn.microsoft.com/virtuallabs/sql ). These labs don’t require Virtual PC; Internet Explorer is all you’ll need to interact with more than 30 labs. Each lab takes about 90 minutes to complete.

You might also want to review the TechNet Upgrade to SQL Server 2005 site at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/themes/upgrade.mspx . You’ll find links to a large number of white papers and Web seminars that provide valuable upgrade information.

I also highly recommend Microsoft’s SQL Server 2005 Upgrade Resource Kit. Alas, I have not yet found a way to download or order the kit, but Microsoft representatives have been distributing it widely to customers. The kit doesn’t provide much information that isn’t available somewhere else on the Microsoft site, but it’s lovely to have all of the information available in one place. I’ve been checking with Microsoft to track down how the kits can be ordered or downloaded. I’ll let you know the answer as soon as I find out!

Regardless of whether you’re planning your upgrade soon or you’re still some time out, these resources will help you make the most of the experiences of those early adopters.

Sponsor: Neverfail
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2. SQL Server Watch

Microsoft Drops WinFS, Will Integrate Tech into Other Products
by Paul Thurrott, [email protected]

On Friday, Microsoft revealed through a corporate blog that it wouldn't deliver its next-generation storage engine, Windows Future Storage, as a separate product as previously planned. Instead, the software giant will ship WinFS technologies as part of other upcoming products, such as with the next version of SQL Server, which is code-named Katmai.

"We aren't pursuing a separate delivery of WinFS, including the previously planned Beta 2 release," Quentin Clark, a member of the WinFS team, wrote in the WinFS Team Blog. "With most of our effort now working towards productizing mature aspects of the WinFS project into SQL and ADO.NET, we don't need to deliver a separate WinFS offering."

According to Clark, WinFS work is ongoing at Microsoft. All that's changing is the packaging: Instead of shipping a WinFS deliverable that users could install on client and server versions of Windows, Microsoft will deliver mature WinFS technologies in the near future, then deliver less mature portions later.

This isn't the first major change to the WinFS schedule. Microsoft originally promised WinFS as part of Vista, then last year delayed the WinFS release until Longhorn Server's 2007 launch, promising that WinFS would be integrated with Windows at a later date. Now, it's unclear when or whether that will happen. But Clark suggests that work will continue. "Windows will continue to adopt work as it's ready," he wrote. "We will continue working the innovations, and as things mature they will find their way into the right product experiences—Windows and otherwise."

Microsoft Announces Made in Express Finalists
Microsoft announced the twelve finalists in its Made in Express contest, in which the selected finalists will build and display a software application or physical device that uses Visual Studio Express and/or SQL Server Express. The twelve finalists’ projects—which include an all-terrain robot, a relationship-tracking system, and a community-oriented, Web-based radio station—will be completed by August 6 and evaluated by a panel of judges. During this phase of the contest, finalists are tracking their progress towards project completion by providing updates on the Made in Express blog. Judges will choose the winners based on their projects’ originality, innovative use of Express products, code quality, and quality and quantity of blog entries. Microsoft will also post the projects online so that site visitors can vote for a Community Choice winner. Details about the finalists and their projects are at
http://www.madeinexpresscontest.com

Product Watch
by Blake Eno, [email protected]

3PAR Supports Always On Technologies
3PAR announced that its 3PAR InServ Storage Servers will support SQL Server 2005 Always On Technologies, a new high-availability SQL Server program that ensures near-zero downtime for mission-critical applications. 3PAR's Utility Storage platform delivers predictable service levels automatically, with minimal storage system and database administration time and expertise. Additionally, through 3PAR's RAID 5 and thin-provisioning technologies, customers can cut capacity-related expenses as much as 75 percent. For more information, contact 3PAR at 510-413-5999 or [email protected]
http://www.3par.com

.NET-Based Reporting Made Easy
Stimulsoft announced StimulReport.Net 1.6, a .NET-based report generator solution that lets you create bound and unbound reports from multiple data sources including SQL Server, Oracle, FirebirdSQL, and XML files. The built-in report designer lets you create and modify report templates in ASP.NET and Windows Forms. Available reporting components include texts, shapes, images, and containers. Generated reports can be exported to such formats as PDF, Rich Text Format (RTF), HTML, bitmap file extension, and JPEG. Pricing for StimulReport.Net starts at $499.95 for a single-developer license. For more information, contact Stimulsoft at [email protected] or [email protected].
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3. Hot Articles

Q&A: Performing Very Large Set Updates
by Microsoft’s SQL Server Development Team, [email protected]

I’m using transactional replication with SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition Service Pack 4 (SP4) on Windows 2000 Server. The replication worked fine until the night we tried to archive more than 37 million records from one of the replicated tables. We used a single transaction, employing the syntax DELETE WHERE . I think SQL Server hit its limit with the 37 million items: It returned the error The process could not execute 'sp_replcmds' on . Can you recommend a way to safely perform such a large update?

Read the answer to this question today at
http://www.sqlmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/49638/49638.html

Feature: Build Your Own Automated Security Systems
Database security used to be a simple matter of access control. Break your users into task groups, then assign each group the permissions its members require. How times have changed! No SQL Server professional today would ever think of releasing a database without first checking it for security vulnerabilities such as weak passwords or porous firewalls. But how do you know whether you've verified every essential security setting? Forget to lock down your installation folders or disable your server's Guest account, and just like that, you're toast! In his June article “Build Your Own Automated Security Systems,” Dan Sawyer gives you the answer: Develop an organized security-testing plan that checks various configuration settings that your company requires and generates reports that log the test results. Dan explains the elements of a security-testing scheme, then provides T-SQL code examples that you can use to automate various parts of your configuration-testing and test-reporting process Read this article today and post your comments at
http://www.sqlmag.com/Articles/ArticleID/50027/50027.html

In a Nutshell: Whither WinFS
WinFS is a lot like the song "The Itsy-Bitsy Spider.” The rain has come down several times during WinFS's development cycle and washed the spider out. Over time, the sun would come out, dry out all the rain (find a new home and application for WinFS), and then the spider would start its climb again. Read about the latest plans for WinFS in Katmai, and let Kevin know your opinion today at
http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/53898/53898.html

4. Events and Resources

Learn how a database utility for SQL Server can lower operational costs, simplify management, and increase the availability of your SQL Server deployment. Live event: Tuesday, June 20
http://www.sqlmag.com/go/seminar/polyserve/availability/?partnerref=0626emailannc

Event Log (for Windows systems) and Syslog (for UNIX/Linux systems) contain a wealth of information. In this free Web seminar, you'll learn about the processes, challenges, and benefits of consolidating events on a centralized server. Plus—identify the 50 critical events that should be monitored in your enterprise. Live Event: Thursday, June 29
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/seminars/prism/eventlog/

Learn the essentials about how consolidating hardware and updating selected technologies can help you build an infrastructure that can handle change effectively.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/essential/hp/infrastructure/?code=0628emailannc

In this free podcast, Randy Franklin Smith outlines five points to consider when choosing an antispyware solution. Download the podcast today, and you could win an iPod!
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Implement real-time processes in your email and data systems—you could also win a Best Buy Gift Card! Register today; the contest ends June 30.
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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

Strategically managing software licenses saves time and cuts costs by centralizing licensing operations. Use this 5-step program to quickly implement your license management program.
http://www.windowsitpro.com/go/whitepapers/macrovision/centralizinglicenses/?code=0628emailannc

Don't miss your chance to win a pair of Bose Triport Headpones! Download any white paper from Windows IT Pro before June 30 to enter. See the full selection of papers today at
http://www.windowsitpro.com/whitepapers

Hot Spot: EMC
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6. Announcements

Summer Special: Save 58% On SQL Server Magazine
Subscribe to SQL Server Magazine today and SAVE 58%! Along with your 12 issues, you'll get FREE access to the entire SQL Server Magazine online article archive, which houses more than 2,300 helpful articles. This is a limited-time offer, so order now:
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Need Access to Helpful Windows IT Articles?
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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/

In a Nutshell Blog:
http://www.sqlmag.com/Departments/DepartmentID/965/965.html

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