SQL Server database administrators can now turn to several new resources. Check out the Web site (http://www.sqlmag.com) for Windows NT Magazine's forthcoming sister publication SQL Server Magazine. Also, in June Microsoft posted updated Intel and Alpha versions of the SQL Server 6.5 Programmer's Toolkit (approximately 3.5MB http://backoffice.microsoft.com/downtrial). The official site for SQL Server 7.0 beta products is http://microsoft.com/sql/beta. Finally, check out the Microsoft Knowledge Base articles "INF: How to Manually Install SQL Server Books Online" (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q188/8/83.asp) and
"INF: Missing System Errors in Books Online for SQL Server 6.5"
(http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q187/4/91.asp).
What is the SQL Server Internet Connector, and do I need one to put my SQL Server on the Web?
The SQL Server Internet Connector is a software license, which Microsoft describes as follows: "The SQL Server Internet Connector is an add-on product, required for any customer connecting a Microsoft Internet Information Server or any equivalent third-party Web server to Microsoft SQL Server. It is purchased independent of SQL Server and SQL Server Client Access Licenses (CALs), and allows an unlimited number of Internet connections to a single SQL Server."
Here's our translation. First, calling SQL Server Internet Connector a product is a stretch. It's really just a piece of paper, because no software is involved. The SQL Server Internet Connector is a license that Microsoft requires for connecting a client to SQL Server through any Web server, regardless of who made it. The SQL Server Internet Connector license comes in several versions, and the restrictions depend upon whether the Web client is an Internet user or an intranet user.
SQL Server Internet Connector 6.5 lets an unlimited number of public
Internet users connect to SQL Server through a Web server and costs a flat
$2995. However, Microsoft defines an Internet user as "any person currently
connected to the Internet, other than a person: (i) employed by you (as an
employee, independent contractor, or in any other capacity) or (ii) otherwise
providing goods or services to you (for example, one of your suppliers) or on
your behalf (for example, one of your distributors or resellers, or a consulting
firm hired by you)."
The original SQL Server Internet Connector 6.0 let an unlimited number of
users connect to SQL Server through a Web server--even if those users were on an
internal intranet--but Microsoft quickly realized the loophole this license
created and closed the door. You might be eligible for a break if you purchased
version 6.x before July 1, 1997. You don't have to upgrade your license to SQL
Server Internet Connector 6.5, so you can still let an unlimited number of Web
users connect to the Internet Connector 6.0 or 6.5but only if you
purchased the license before July 1, 1997.
The newest versions of SQL Server Internet Connector require all intranet
and extranet users to purchase an individual client license. The Internet
Connector is obviously a great deal for public Internet users because an
unlimited number can connect for $2995, but intranet users still need the same
number of CALs that are required without going through a Web server. Both the
CALs and SQL Server "Server Software" licenses contain the following
multiplexing clause:
"No 'Multiplexing' or 'Pooling'Use of software or hardware that
reduces the number of users directly accessing or utilizing the Server Software
(sometimes called 'multiplexing' or 'pooling' software or hardware) does not
reduce the number of CALs requiredthe required number of CALs would equal
the number of distinct inputs to the multiplexing or pooling software or
hardware 'front end.'" This clause means you must buy individual licenses
even if you're using a technique such as Open Database Connectivity (ODBC)
connection pooling, but Microsoft doesn't mention the SQL Server Internet
Connector.
By the way, don't confuse the SQL Server Internet Connector with the SQL
Server Internet Database Connector (IDC). The IDC is an Internet Server API
(ISAPI) application that provides ODBC connectivity to browsers via a Web
server. The IDC was Microsoft's first Web-database connectivity solution and is
very simplistic compared with current options, such as Active Server Pages
(ASP).
How can I quickly see the approximate number of rows in each table of a database? I need this information for management reports, and SELECT COUNT(*) for all the tables takes a long time to run.
Database administrators frequently ask this question, especially when they're trying to get a quick handle on someone else's databaseto get a rough idea of how data is distributed among the tables and which tables are the
biggest. The biggest tables tend to be the most heavily updated and the most heavily queried. Running SELECT COUNT(*) commands for all the tables takes a while to run and might affect the performance of the customer's server, so you can cheat by using some information from the system tables.
Every database contains a special system table called sysindexes,
which contains information about indexes and tables in the database. You get a
feel for the tables' size by looking at the rows and dpages
columns in the sysindexes table, as Table 1 shows. Rows tells you how many rows
are in the table, and dpages shows how many 2KB data pages the table is using.
These values are approximations; you wouldn't use these numbers if you needed an
exact count.
The id column tells you which table the sysindexes entry refers to,
and the indid tells you what type of entry it is. An indid = 0 means the
table has no clustered index and the entry refers to the base table. An indid =
1 means the entry refers to a clustered index. Indids of 0 and 1 are mutually
exclusive--either a table has a clustered index or it doesn't so you
can get a list of all the user tables in a database and the number of rows and
2KB data pages in use by running the query in Listing 1.
I want to use bulk copy program (bcp) and the money datatype to export data from a column. How can I eliminate the commas embedded in the amount?
Bcp always uses the default money format (which includes commas if you're
using the us_english language character set) to export data, as you see in Listing 2. You can't eliminate the embedded commas directly, but you can get around the problem by creating a view and exporting data out of the view. Listing 3, is a script that creates a view on MoneyInfo that uses the CONVERT function to delete the commas.
How can I tell which service pack is running on SQL Server?
Just type SELECT @@version using Interactive SQL (ISQL), ISQL/w, SQL
Enterprise Manager (EM), or any other tool that lets you submit SQL queries to the server. The result will include a line such as
Microsoft SQL Server 6.50 - 6.50.240 (Intel X86)
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