Other SQL Server Blogs around the Web

Compatibility Level of a database

2009-01-05T15:05:00Z

When users migrate from SQL Server 2000 to SQL Server 2005, not all databases are set to Compatibility Level 90 which is required to make use of the newly available functions There are many methods to know the Compatibility Level of a database using queries --Method 1 EXEC sp_dbcmptlevel your_database_name --Method 2 EXEC sp_helpdb your_database_name --Method 3 SELECT name , cmptlevel FROM master .. sysdatabases WHERE name = 'your_database_name' --Method 4 SELECT name , compatibility_level...(read more)

SQL Server TSQL security concerns - highlights for a newbie reference

2009-01-05T07:01:00Z

Here it is first post in the year 2009, still I would like to visit the good old advice of securing your SQL Server environment. For any user in IT, Security must be a top priority in order to ensure their PC or environment is secured. You might have heard or aware of SQL Injection attacks, also you might find plenty of good sources of information about how to deploy SQL Server in a secure fashion. Few relevant blog posts here: SQL Server stored procedure vulnerability heap buffer overrun in SQL...(read more)

December Cumulative Update for Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

2009-01-02T10:33:00Z

Here is the extract from Sharepoint Team blog about December Cumulative Update for Office Sharepoint Server 2007 and Windows Sharepoint Services 3.0. The first and foremost advice from the team is you need not install these updates unless your installation is affected by the problems that are mentioned in KBAs below. Also it is confirmed that these updates will be rolled in a Service Pack2 for Sharepoint Server 2007, following is the extract from the Sharepoint Team blog: The installation of updates...(read more)

SQL Server 2008 tools installation issues when SQL Server 2005 client tools are present - FAQ and gotchas.

2009-01-02T10:25:00Z

How many times you have faced the problems in installing SQL Server client tools? Have you ever tried to install latest version of SQL Server tools on previous version? Recently I have run into such a problem when installing SQL Server 2008 client tools on set of PCs for the DBA support team. KBA956139 refers that: Visual Studio 2008 does not support having both Visual Studio 2008 without a service pack and Visual Studio 2008 with SP1 installed on the same computer. Because certain SQL Server 2008...(read more)

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T14:20:00Z

set nocount on select space ( 7 - len ( replicate ( char ( 42 ), no )))+ replicate ( char ( 42 ), no * 2 - 1 ) from ( select top 5 row_number () over ( order by name ) as no from sysobjects ) as t union all select space ( 5 )+ replicate ( char ( 124 ), 3 ) union all select cast ( 0x4861707079204E65772059656172 as varchar ( 100 ))...( read more )...(read more)

Keep SharePoint Growth in Check with Effective Content Lifecycle Management

2008-12-29T18:11:00Z

Make information archival a component of your SharePoint content lifecycle management strategy Organizations are generating large volumes of mission-critical information on Microsoft SharePoint. As hundreds of gigabytes or even terabytes of unstructured content are being accumulated in SQL Server, managing, accessing, and storing this information becomes an administrative challenge. Information that is infrequently accessed wastes valuable space and resources, adversely affecting overall system performance...(read more)

Managing all your ETL requiement and file system tasks using SQL Server Integration Services

2008-12-29T10:33:00Z

In many case within the forums and newsgroups I still see many questions from the users asking about SSIS (SQL Serve Integration Services) and here few bits I'm covering on basics on this important service in SQL Server arena. SSIS is a key part of SQL Server that will help the user to manage data integration services efficiently, ETL packages such as update data warehouses, interact with external resources (outside SQL) and manage import/export with better administrative tasks. To give a brief...(read more)

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) - very good starter for developers of all levels

2008-12-24T22:15:00Z

During the Microsoft Tech-Ed North America conference Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is one of the interesting topics I would like to go about, it provides a unified framework for rapidly building service-oriented applications that makes it easy to build and consume secure, reliable, and transacted Web services. WF - Workflow Foundation is another platform that includes a set of tools for designing and managing workflows, a programming model for implementing workflow logic, a rules engine...(read more)

SQL Server stored procedure vulnerability heap buffer overrun in SQL Server, MSDE, and SQL Express

2008-12-23T09:46:00Z

You may have seen the sp_replwriterovarbin - New SQL Server Injection-Based Attack Found vulerability about the new public reports of a vulnerability that could allow remote code execution on systems with supported editions of SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2005 Express Edition, 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000), and Windows Internal Database (WYukon). The only exceptional SQL Server systems are SQL Server 7.0 Service Pack 4, SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3, and SQL Server 2008. MSA961040 highlights that this...(read more)

DEVConnections - Orlando FL March 22-25 2009

2008-12-19T13:53:00Z

--> --> --> DevConnections rocks the technology industry as the largest and most exciting event focused on Microsoft technology and your needs. Hands-down this event has the best speakers in our industry, not to mention the coolest attendees. Compare the number of expert speakers, Microsoft architects and in-depth number of sessions to other conference events and you will not find a better value. Don’t miss your opportunity to connect to Microsoft and industry experts to keep your competitive...(read more)

Microsoft security bulletin MS08-078, Security Update for Internet Explorer (960714)

2008-12-18T16:43:00Z

Microsoft security bulletin MS08-078, Security Update for Internet Explorer (960714) to address a vulnerability in all currently supported versions of Internet Explorer . This security update was released outside of the usual monthly security bulletin release cycle in an effort to protect customers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Executive Summary This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The vulnerability could...(read more)

sp_replwriterovarbin - New SQL Server Injection-Based Attack Found

2008-12-17T07:10:00Z

Another security vulnerability or rather call in the sense of security experts that " A zero day vulnerability has been reported in SQL Server "! Though its a not serious flaw or problematic loophole to worry but still its a security flaw in using the sp_replwriterovarbin extended stored procedure, which is an undocumented one as per the BOL information and you will not find any reference on further details on web. Here is what the best explanation on this XP and vulnerability - mssql-sp_replwritetovarbin_memwrite...(read more)

Business Intelligence - control what you want with your hands!

2008-12-16T15:48:00Z

How about you control what you want to see and get with your hands? A global view of information get a real-hands-on on business intelligence! Here is the newest invention from Microsoft about it, Business Intelligence Surface - click on this link: http://sqlserver-qa.net/MicrosoftBusniessIntelligenceSurfaceDemo.flv View Video Format: flv Duration: --:--...( read more )...(read more)

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 3 (SP3) is released

2008-12-16T08:15:00Z

From the Are you ready for SP3 and SQL2005SP3_WorkStarted posts here, it has been officially announced that the SP3 for SQL Server 2005 (out of CTP) is ready to downlod to test and apply on your SQL Server 2005 instances. The Official SQL Server News blog refers about SQL Server 2005 SP3 as: Roll-up of Quick Fix Engineering (QFE) updates completed since SQL Server 2005 SP2, as well as fixes to critical issues reported through the SQL Server community. Per revised servicing strategy for SQL Server...(read more)

Replication and Database Mirroring - things to take care and best practices to administer the environment

2008-12-15T11:37:00Z

Replication and Database Mirroring are the ones which can provide high availability option without an extra cost what it implies on a Clustering setup. So in this scenario Database mirroring can be used in conjunction with replication to provide availability for the publication database. Database mirroring involves two copies of a single database that typically reside on different computers. At any given time, only one copy of the database is currently available to clients, this is known as the principal...(read more)