New SelectViews Show, Virtualization vs. Instances
SSWUG.ORG Community Survey - Coming Monday!
On Monday I'll be including a link to the survey for the SSWUG.ORG community. We need your help determining features and direction for SSWUG.ORG, so if you have a few minutes, I'd sure appreciate your feedback! Keep an eye out for the newsletter Monday...
Work Tamer - One Day IT Pro Events, No Fluff
Three lucky Canadian cities (Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal) will be the sites for these one-day intense events. These are really unique information sessions for IT professionals, covering all sorts of great information from telecommuting to technical topics and much more. Check out the sessions at the site - 18 sessions, 6 time slots! Get more information here at the site, including registration links.
New SelectViews Show Posted
SQL Server 2008 R2 release date, database happenings, using SSIS for more than imports. Also, SharePoint release information and features for 2010, Access and SQL Server and a lot more.
[Watch the Show]
Instances vs. Virtualization - Reader Feedback
Mike wrote in about the question of Virtualization or Instances for SQL Server - which is your approach.
"How about both - Instances in a virtualized environment. The objective being to have one instance per major application (maintaining their independence) in order to keep the SQL Server installation "portable" to any virtual environment (move instances off to their own virtual environment as necessary over time for performance).
Also works well if desiring only one virtual environment (cost containment) for development, QA, etc while leveraging multiple servers in a production environment."
and John wrote to say:
"I have used both virtualization and instances in DEV and QA environments. I have never used either in production. I would recommend instances over virtualization because of simplicity and performance.
Once SQL Server is installed, adding an instance is almost trivial. I have also found the performance to be significantly better. Although I have not compared the performance on equivalent hardware. The only down side to instances is training developers to refer to the right instance by name or port number."
Featured White Paper(s)
SQL Server Fragmentation Explained
This technical whitepaper will help you understand SQL Server fragmentation and the performance benefits you can gain on your... (read more)
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12/4/2009
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A Look at the Data Growth Coming with SQL Server
Upcoming Learning Events
- 12/10/2009 - SQL Server Security Virtual Workshop [More Info/Register]
- 1/2010 - DBASchool Class - 3 days - [More Info/Register]
(Limited seats remain)
Featured Article(s)
Understanding the Power of SQL SELECT in Oracle—Part I
The SELECT statement is the most common statement used in extracting data from the oracle database. Part I of the tutorial examines how the select statement can be used to extract data, create views or sort information from an oracle database.
Featured White Paper(s)
Meeting Compliance Objectives in SharePoint
In recent years, the business and political landscape has seen incredible change with regard to the rules and regulations gov... (read more)
Webcast: 7 SQL Server development practices more evil than cursors
Cursors do indeed cause performance issues, but cursors are easy to correct. This session addresses the problem of cursors and then uncovers 7 common practices that are more costly than cursors Based on several years of consulting specializing in optimizing third-party ISV databases, the list of worst practices range from critical database design blunders to indexing errors. Avoiding the blunders on this list will be the difference between a successful database project and a failure. Not to leave you in the dark, this session will contrast every evil practice with a best practice to solve the problem. Presented by: Paul Nielsen
> Register Now
> Live date: 12/9/2009 at 12:00 Pacific
A Look at the Data Growth Coming with SQL Server...
SharePoint 2010 will be releasing at the same time as SQL Server 2008 R2 and Office 2010. Makes sense, they are so very intertwined and integrated that you'd really have to update the whole thing or nothing. No problem there.
One of the features areas in SharePoint 2010 is social media - though not full-on intranet Facebook type applications, the first steps are there. You'll be able to tag items in the system, browse other items that are related based on those keywords, etc. Integration with many social features is also coming, and, without getting into specific features, you can quickly see that the lessons learned from the likes of Facebook and even Twitter, with capacity challenges and the like, may be coming soon to a server near you.
If you experience growth and utilization of the new social-type features along the same lines of some of these social sites, clearly you'll be facing data storage growth, traffic, application utilization and performance challenges that come along with it. To say you simply won't allow it is probably wishful thinking, so the time is ripe to learn the implications of these features with your systems. (The SharePoint 2010 site and information is here.)
The issue with social features, and an issue we, as DBAs and database professionals have likely not had to deal with directly, is that of explosive growth. This is the kind of thing that, if it takes off on your systems, can cause challenges almost literally over night.
How will you plan for and address it? What are your plans? Drop me a note - will you be planning for the possible massive data explosion associated with the social features, or will you take a wait-and-see approach?
Drop me a note, let me know here.
Featured Script
Script SQL Database DDL
A tool which scripts out SQL Server 2000/2005 database objects to individual files in a manner which mimics Microsoft's Visua... (read more)
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12/3/2009
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Baselines, Your EKG for SQL Server
Featured Article(s)
Undocumented SQL Server 2008 extended stored procedures to work with files and directories
In this article, Alexander Chigrik describes some useful undocumented SQL Server 2008 extended stored procedures to work with files and directories.
Work Tamer - One Day IT Pro Events, No Fluff
Three lucky Canadian cities (Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal) will be the sites for these one-day intense events. These are really unique information sessions for IT professionals, covering all sorts of great information from telecommuting to technical topics and much more. Check out the sessions at the site - 18 sessions, 6 time slots! Get more information here at the site, including registration links.
Webcast Today
Protect & Defend Your Data
With most SharePoint implementations storing critical business data, it is crucial that this data be protected and quickly restorable in the event of a disaster. Learn how utilizing Data Protection Manager 2007 as your backup/restore/disaster recovery solution provides a full-fidelity solution with granular control. We will walk you through the initial configuration of DPM as well as setting up a recovery farm. Presented by: Christopher Regan
> Register Now
> Live date: 12/2/2009 at 12:00 Pacific
Baselines, Your EKG for SQL Server
If you haven't yet, it's time to start taking baselines for your SQL Servers.
If you're using a third-party tool, great. If not, no problem. You need to know, however, what "normal" is and how you can dig into that if things start acting "abnormal." Without knowing your key baseline stats, you will have a much more difficult time digging into issues. Start by trying to get key indicators of your server health at a high level. Things like CPU, Memory utilization, Disk utilization will give you a good look at a very high level. From there, get key SQL Server counters and log what a typical day or week looks like for them.
What you're really looking for here is what amounts to being a "cross-eyed" look at what your systems have going on under typical load. You get this information with Performance Monitor, by capturing the counters you're interested in over a period of typical use.
Later, when something not so good is going on on your systems, you'll be able to pull the same counters and information and compare it to your baselines. You'll be able to gain a good deal of insight into where you need to look next to determine the root cause of an issue that might be showing itself.
You also need to update your baselines on a regular basis, perhaps a couple times per year. This lets you see trending information and will let you monitor growth and utilization stats. These types of things will help you plan for adding disk, memory or even scale up/out requirements.
Upcoming Learning Events
Two great opportunities to learn -
- SQL Server Security Virtual Workshop [More Info/Register]
December 10 - 9a - Be sure to register to save a spot
- DBASchool Class - 3 days - [More Info/Register]
Max of 15 people, 10 slots remain, January class
Featured White Paper(s)
Streamline Backup and Recovery with LiteSpeed® for SQL Server and LiteSpeed® Engine for Oracle
Database backup and recovery is becoming more difficult and more complicated. Two factors are putting a “double whammy” on to... (read more)
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12/2/2009
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Access and SQL Server - Tips for Optimization
Featured Article(s)
Tips and tricks on improving SharePoint search in larger organizations
MOSS 2007 search is not just about single page result set coming from the same MOSS 2007 site; there are many hidden values in this piece of functionality available out of the box. Check out what you have been missing out on in MOSS 2007 search.
Webcast TOMORROW - Register Now
Protect & Defend Your Data
With most SharePoint implementations storing critical business data, it is crucial that this data be protected and quickly restorable in the event of a disaster. Learn how utilizing Data Protection Manager 2007 as your backup/restore/disaster recovery solution provides a full-fidelity solution with granular control. We will walk you through the initial configuration of DPM as well as setting up a recovery farm. Presented by: Christopher Regan
> Register Now
> Live date: 12/2/2009 at 12:00 Pacific
Access and SQL Server - Tips for Optimization
I know a good number of people do indeed use Access as a client to SQL Server, either for writing reports or simple forms or building applications in the Access toolset. SSWUG.ORG reader Chris wrote in with some suggestions for making the love-hate relationship between SQL Server and Access better. Here's what he had to say:
"I used to work with the combination of MS Access using the JET engine to connect to SQL Server for several years. The cases where join queries are processed in Access usually happen when an Access function or operator is in the Access SQL. You can always modify things to get the majority of the query joins and filtering done in the SQL Server engine. In some cases you might need to replace parts of a complex Access query with sql server views. I haven't worked much with Access for several years, but here are a few observations I recall from the older days:
1. The combination of a MS Access front end using the JET engine with linked tables and sql server can work really well.
2. The Access queries sent to sql server retrieve the primary keys of the tables in the query. Using this information you can create good covering indexes. Access will pick up the extra columns in the background using batches of parameterized queries retrieving the rows based on the primary key values it retrieved in the main query. This mechanism is only used if you are using linked tables with JET.
3. A left join in Access is updatable if the select list includes the join column values from all the tables. You have to include the redundant values in the select list.
I know that I have left out many details. With a bit of experimenting with profiler, you can deduce how the Access/SQL Server combination works. Then you can get it to work a lot better than is commonly believed."
Announcing: SQL Server Security Virtual Workshop
Registration is now open - The virtual workshop will be on December 10 and will be all about SQL Server Security - I'll be going through what you want to know to understand options, what security is all about with SQL Server and where to look to lock things down. This virtual workshop will bring you up to speed on setup options, best practices, what SQL Injection is all about and a lot more. We will be issuing certificates on completion of the short quiz after the workshop and I'll be available live for Q&A during the workshop.
[Get More Information] or [Register Today]
Featured White Paper(s)
Performance Optimization: Extending the IT Infrastructure
Due to time, money, and resource limitations it is often no longer feasible to rewrite, re-architect, or even replace under-p... (read more)
Featured Script
Flag only the duplicate Rows
Flag duplicate rows, leaving the 1st row one of each kind not flagged... (read more)
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12/1/2009
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Instances vs. Virtualization...Your choice?
New Virtual Workshop Announcement Tomorrow
SQL Server Security - Registration will open tomorrow for the December 10 virtual workshop, the next in our series.
Featured Article(s)
Transparent Data Encryption in SQL Server
Security is the first concern a developer face when the decision to create a database or project is taken. Encryption is one of the methods with the best performance, but it has to be done correctly or the results would be a complete failure.
Instances vs. Virtualization...Your choice?
Last week I asked about virtualization and the pros and cons of using that approach vs. the approach of working with instances of SQL Server. Here's Jonathan's take:
"From a strictly licensing stand point it is cheaper to consolidate with multiple instances vs multiple VM's when using Standard Edition. If you neeeded 8 instances of SQL that is only one license when running named instances. However to have 8 VM's on Standard Edition would be 8 licenses for standard edition. Enterprise Edition makes the difference since you can spin up 8 VM's with a single server license or by licensing the sockets for the server.
We looked at both recently since we are a heavily virtualized environment as a possible cost saver for our licensing. It is easier to add additional resources to a physical implementation with multiple instances from my experience. If you were to upgrade the server from 32GB RAM to 64GB RAM, all it takes is to power off the server, add the memory, power it on, and then reconfigure the instances maxservermemory settings to utilize the additional memory as needed. However for a virtual implementation, you have to power off the VM's, power off the host, add the memory, power on the host, reconfigure the VM's to see the additional memory, power on the VM's, and then reconfigure SQL to use the memory.
The other trade off with multiple VM's is that you have wasted disk space from the redundant OS installations unless you have a de-duping technology in place for your storage layer. You also have less resources available per instance since the OS has its own overhead, processor and memory wise. If you had a 64GB RAM Server with 8 VM's on it, you would need 2GB per VM for the OS to run in, which means you now have 48GB for SQL. On a multi-instance server, you would need to reserve between 4-6GB for the OS, and the rest could be allocated to SQL.
In the end we stayed with our multiple VM setup because it already exists and there wasn't budget for this year to plan out the multi-instance environment properly."
DBASchool - In-Person Class - Hope To See You There!
Instructor: Stephen Wynkoop (me!)
I'll be teaching a 3-day class on the things that you really need to know about SQL Server. We'll have hands-on exercises, lots of discussions and real-world lessons learned. Check out the site here and reserve your spot - we will not allow more than 15 students total (we do have seats available, but more have responded than seats in class, so reserve as soon as you can confirm) so we can keep the class to a great size for discussions, demos and such. I can't wait to work with everyone - register ASAP if you'll be attending.
[Class Information] (check out the quotes on the site too from past attendees!)
Did You Know?
When working with SQL Server and SharePoint, you do have options when creating content databases in support of web applications. Rather than letting the tool do the automatic work for you of allocating and setting up database properties, set up the new database yourself and indicate the settings you need. Once created, you can use the admin tools in SharePoint to point things to your new database that runs the way you need.
Featured White Paper(s)
15 Minute Guide to Building Efficient Infrastructures for Microsoft SharePoint Server
Read the guide to learn how to build efficient infrastructures for Microsoft SharePoint Server environments-whether physical... (read more)
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11/30/2009
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