SQL Server Training

SQL Server 2008 training - Just in Time…

Brian Egler — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 09:11:28 -0400

As a training company we always have a dilemma when a new release comes out. The early adopters want the training yesterday so that they can be at the leading (or bleeding) edge of technology. Many people want to see the latest release as part of their own curiosity or for planning for an upgrade in the future. Many people need training in the release that's in place at their company so they can return to work and feel comfortable that they have the skills to use the technology there and then. In terms of SQL Server that may require supporting training from 3 different releases. And, of course, we have to plan classes 6 months in advance to reserve the correct resources. So how do we do it?

Maybe to your surprise, it does not include a finger in the air to detect the wind direction. The key is flexibility to change without burning your bridges. For instance, when SQL Server 2005 was in Beta, we started developing training for the early adopters. We knew there would be technology evangelists ( I always wanted that title on my business card, never got it...) who would want to see the latest version of SQL Server in action even in pre-release form. So we developed a full 5-day class with extensive labs on subjects from SQLCLR to Database Mirroring based on the latest "CTP" Beta release. We designed it so that we could plug in the latest CTP whenever a new one was available. And we would update the lab guide as features became available. But we couldn't just stop SQL Server 2000 training, as the majority of our requests for training in SQL Server were for the "current release". When SQL Server 2005 was finally released Nov 7^th 2005, we had training in place that day and we used the RTM product in the labs. I remember, because I taught a SQL Server 2005 class in Morristown, NJ that week. It was very impressive to be able to offer just-in-time training.

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Database Mirroring 2008 style

Brian Egler — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 08:02:38 -0400

Database Mirroring was introduced in SQL Server 2005. It was one of the main features that excited people when reading about the new release. Here was a capability for synchronizing a database across two servers providing automatic failover that did not need the Windows Cluster Service nor the expensive hardware and software that goes along with it. Yes, the “poor person’s” Failover Cluster at the database level. This feature has been enhanced in SQL Server 2008.

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SQL Slipstreaming please

Brian Egler — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:04:32 -0400

The concept of Slipstreaming is a very useful feature. It refers to the concept of having a single set of install files for a current version of a product even though updates such as service packs have been issued. An example is Microsoft XP SP2 or Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP3a. Slipstream versions were created by Microsoft for these Service Pack releases. That way you could install once without having to apply the latest Service Pack - it is already there. This would save time and effort. For instance, some service pack installs take longer than the original installs themselves. For some reason Microsoft SQL Server 2005 does not officially support a slipstream version for SP1 or SP2. Let's hope that changes with SP3.

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Déjà vu all over again – new SQL Service Pack opens the door for slippage

Brian Egler — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 10:59:46 -0400

Looks like we are going through the same release schedule of SQL Server 2008 as we had in 2005. A new Service Pack has been announced for the current release which seems to herald a possible slippage of the Katmai release - now named SQL Server 2008. In May 2005, Microsoft released SP4 for SQL Server 2000. At the time, the Yukon release or SQL Server 2005 was slated for a "Summer release". Reading Microsoft release schedules are a bit like reading Real Estate listings - you have to read between the lines. When you see a house listed with an "easily maintainable garden" and "easy access to commuter rail" you know what they mean: small yard next to the station...right?

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The World Cup 1994 and SQL Server – we’ve come a long way

Brian Egler — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 09:32:31 -0400

Anyone who has attended one of my classes knows that one of my passions outside of Database technology is soccer, or football as we call it outside the USA. Back in 1994 there was no professional league here in the United States but the USA was still given the privilege of hosting the World Cup, the single biggest sporting event in the world (it eclipses even the Olympics in terms of total viewers). At that time the internet was in its infancy, at least from a mainstream e-commerce point of view. It's hard to remember those days, right?

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Real-Time Analytics using Analysis Services 2005 – a viable option?

Brian Egler — Thu, 29 May 2008 09:21:39 -0400

Analysis Services 2005 introduced a brand new architecture, namely the UDM (Unified Dimensional Model) allowing a level of abstraction to be created between the Business Analyst and the underlying Data Sources. This meant that the inherent complexity of the Multi-Dimensional database access would always be transparent to the end user, regardless of the storage options selected by the development team. This is all well and good and much appreciated by all concerned. The key object in the UDM is called the Data Source View (DSV) which creates the unified viewpoint of the data irrespective of where or how it is stored. It also opens the door to Real-Time Analytics, something that was not possible before. But is this really a viable option?

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The International Dirty Word Database

Brian Egler — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:56:47 -0400

I recently made a reservation on American Airlines and noticed that my record locator was a six-character alphabetic code. This automatically generated code reminded me of a funny story regarding database design from early in my career. I was working as a consultant for a large multi-national automobile company in England, which shall remain nameless to protect the innocent. We were busy developing a purchasing system that would be used by the company's buyers throughout Europe. It was quite sophisticated for the time (around 1985) and included automatic bid generation and recording using an IMS Database on the IBM MVS platform and supported five native European languages - English, Spanish, Italian, German and Flemish.

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Sliding Doors or Sliding Windows?

Brian Egler — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:27:18 -0400

I recently watched a great movie called "Sliding Doors" with Gwyneth Paltrow. When I say "with", I mean she was in the movie in the starring role, not that I watched it actually with her. Do you think the likes of Ms Paltrow would hang out with your average DBA? Not likely. No, she hangs out with your average rock star. (Namely, Chris Martin of Coldplay). It's a clever movie about what might happen if something fairly trivial like missing a train by seconds may affect one's life and it follows the two parallel threads of life, one where she makes the train and one where she doesn't. So what has this got to do with SQL Server you may ask?

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Database Design – build a blueprint for your database

Brian Egler — Wed, 21 May 2008 11:40:14 -0400

I started out in Database Design early in my application development career. I still remember being issued with an official IBM stencil for drawing Entity Relationship Diagrams (ERDs). Change management was performed using erasers and pencils. You remember that, don't you? Maybe not. I ended up working for Bachman Inc, a great company that pioneered the graphical database design tools we know today. The important thing I learnt in those early days was how to build a blueprint for your database, much like an architect draws up a blueprint for your dream house - before a brick is laid.

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Intellisense in SSMS at last

Brian Egler — Wed, 14 May 2008 09:54:33 -0400

The Yukon Beta program lasted over 2 years, culminating in the release of SQL Server 2005 Nov 7th 2005. I remember the date because I ran a training class that week using the production release of the software in the hands-on labs. Just-in-time training! Hit the ground running! How did we do it? Well, we had already offered "early adopter" training using the CTP releases from earlier in the Beta program. These proved popular for those who wanted to know what was coming down the pike. One feature we were all looking forward to was "Intellisense" within the SQL Query Editor...that would be cool...Visual Studio already had it, so SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) would have it too, surely...

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Slowly Changing Dimensions – a cool new transform in SSIS

Brian Egler — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:49:26 -0400

SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) has superseded DTS in SQL 2005 and has some great new features beyond better performance, more scalability and an integrated debugging facility. As if that was not enough, we have been given a whole new set of pre-defined tasks and transforms. But wait; we can also write our own tasks and transforms, making SSIS a truly industrial strength extensible ETL tool that can now compete against the Informaticas of the world. One of the predefined transforms that you might find useful is the Slowly Changing Dimension (SCD) transform.

One of the major uses of ETL (Extract, Transform and Load) tools is to populate Data Warehouses.

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Bill Gates is giving us a break with SQL Server licensing – or is he?

Brian Egler — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:55:37 -0400

The latest development of multi-core processors has opened the door to affordable performance that was only achievable before from multi-CPU machines. I gave an example recently with the 8-way dual-core HP ProLiant servers used by bostonmarathon.com. Intel is now busy rolling out its Core 2 Extreme processors with quad-cores. What's this got to do with SQL Server? Better performance?

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Database failure? Don’t update your resume - You can be the hero!

Brian Egler — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:39:06 -0400

SQL Server is architected so that you can recover ALL of the committed transactions right up to the point of failure. This fact did not go unnoticed by financial services companies on Wall Street during the early days of distributed applications - the early days of SQL Server. To these companies, even a few minutes of lost transactions can mean millions of dollars - yes, time is money. But we still need to practice disaster recovery, so that when disaster does strike, we are ready to play the hero. As a colleague of mine always says, you want to avoid any "resume generating events!"

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Log File too big? Try some significant shrinkage!

Brian Egler — Wed, 07 May 2008 09:18:05 -0400

A frequent question that students bring to class when I am teaching is this: "My transaction log is growing out of all proportion - what can I do?" I always answer with another question "Are you backing it up?" The student usually replies "Of course, we backup the entire database every night". "But are you backing up the LOG?" At this point the student lets me know that if we solve this dilemma, the boss will feel the cost of the class will be worth it right there and then. Well, the answer, believe it or not, is to back up the log twice. Yes, twice. Let me explain...

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So I can’t use BACKUP LOG WITH TRUNCATE ONLY – but what can I do instead?

Brian Egler — Tue, 06 May 2008 08:31:29 -0400

In an earlier blog entry, I talked about "Deprecated" code and I highlighted the fact that the BACKUP LOG WITH NO_LOG and BACKUP LOG WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY statements are no longer allowed in SQL Server 2008. I mentioned that these functionally equivalent statements were a quick way to truncate the log and free up space. The downside of the statements was that they would break the "chain" of log backups exposing the database to potential data loss until a full database backup could be made.

OK, so Microsoft is trying to protect us from ourselves, but what should we do instead?

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Group Policy for SQL Server 2008 – the Declarative Management Framework (DMF)

Brian Egler — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:25:05 -0400

Microsoft's Active Directory has enabled Group Policy since Windows 2000. Policies can be set once then applied continually to hundreds or even thousands of machines within a network enabling central control of both client and server machines. Wouldn't that be nice for SQL Server specific features?

Now we can use the DMF as a powerful new feature of SQL Server 2008. SQL Server DBA's can define configuration policies against multiple servers, databases, tables and indexes enabling enforcement and consistency of database objects across multiple servers. Policies can be enabled to either "prevent" or "log" object properties that are "out-of-compliance".

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So you want to store movies in a SQL Server database? Go ahead, make my day.

Brian Egler — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:29:32 -0400

There has always been the debate as to whether to store binary large object (BLOB) data such as images, documents, audio and video inside the database or outside on the file system. The problem with storing the BLOB data inside the database was that the database would become huge and unwieldy. The downside with storing BLOB data as external files was that your data would be exposed in terms of the lack of transaction processing and synchronized recovery after system failures.

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Shipper lost another backup tape? No worries in SQL Server 2008

Brian Egler — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:01:48 -0400

Recently, I hosted a Web Seminar entitled "Microsoft SQL Server 2008: What to expect" which focused on the new features of the new Katmai release due out later this year. This is one of the perks of being a Global Knowledge Instructor and Course Director: being able to explore and present new functionality of upcoming versions and prepare for the new release using the Beta software (or as Microsoft likes to call it: the CTP - Community Technology Preview). In 2005 we developed training during the Yukon Beta so that clients could get a sneak preview of the software before it came out using the CTP version in hands-on labs.

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