Tracking Disk Usage

December 2002

In this issue, you'll find a two-step, do-it-yourself process for collecting database storage statistics, seven steps for implementing SSL encryption in a clustered SQL Server environment, answers to recompiling riddles, and more!

Letters, December 2002

By

Readers encourage people not to wait for Windows .NET Server before developing and deploying .NET applications and explore set-based solutions.

Using a Command to Move a Virtual Instance

By Brian Moran

Learn how to use a command-line tool to schedule a move of a virtual SQL Server instance from one clustered node to another.

Tip: Improve Performance by Inspecting UMS IDs

By Brian Moran

If you're running multiple, concurrent, large data-load operations, you might be getting reduced throughput. Learn a workaround that can significantly improve your performance.

7 Steps to SSL Encryption

By Gary Zaika

Information about setting up server-requested SSL encryption in a clustered SQL Server environment is hard to come by. But these clear steps pave the way to a straightforward implementation.

Divide and Conquer

By Geoff Langos

With limited time and resources, what’s a call-center team to do when CPU utilization is about to go over the top? A system redesign that included replication slashed overhead, boosted performance, and guaranteed scalability for years.

Recompiling Riddles

By Kalen Delaney

In its quest for the best query-execution plan, the optimizer sometimes works too hard. Learn how to determine when the optimizer is recompiling stored procedures unnecessarily and what to do about it.

Serious About Security

By Michael Otey

Even with Microsoft’s ramped-up security efforts, your systems are still only as secure as you make them. Here are some common-sense measures you can take to safeguard your SQL Server systems.

Avoiding the Red Zone

By Greg A. Larsen

You know you can predict future database storage needs by evaluating past usage, but how do you collect the historical statistics? Here's a 2-step process that lets you do it yourself.

Securing DTS

By

Securing DTS packages is important, but it can be difficult if many users have access to the packages. Here are two techniques for restricting user access to DTS.

Missing Identity

By

If you're engrossed in finding missing identity values, here's a query that performs the search more quickly.

Shutting Down SQL Server

By Michael Otey

There are more ways to stop SQL Server than you might think.

SPID Association

By Brian Moran

Learn a technique for correlating a SQL Server SPID with the UMS responsible for managing its execution.

Defining XML Views

By Rich Rollman

If you need to map columns to elements or attributes, chain relationship annotations, specify columns as unique keys, or signal that an element or attribute isn’t in the database, you need to use these annotations.

Points of (Indexed) Views

By Itzik Ben-Gan

Sometimes, T-SQL just can't solve a problem alone without severe performance penalties. When this happens, consider using indexed views to rev up performance.

December 2002 MDX Puzzle

By Russ Whitney

To even out variations in a trend line, you can use a rolling average. Need practice? This puzzle challenges you to write an MDX query that displays monthly sales values as a rolling 3-month average.

Using a Trigger to Launch a DTS Package

By

Would using a trigger to launch your DTS package streamline your process? One of these three methods likely fits your scenario.

Covered Query vs. Covering Index

By

What constitutes a covered query? What’s the definition of a covering index? And when do you use one, or the other, or both? Microsoft’s SQL Server development team sheds light on one reader’s question.

November 2002 MDX Puzzle Solution

By Russ Whitney

In most dimensions, you determine like items by counting their distance from the topmost dimension member. But in some dimensions, you have to count from the bottom of the dimension. Here's a solution that shows you how.

Security and Parameterization

By Russ Whitney

Analysis applications frequently contain confidential information. Here's a scalable way to use MDX to determine which users can access sensitive information.

Generating an Incrementing Value from a SELECT Statement

By

Numbering rows incrementally from a SELECT statement is difficult, but it can be done. Here are some suggestions from Microsoft’s SQL Server Development Team.

Extracting Data from Multiple Tables

By

Each of these two ways to extract data from many tables has its pros and cons. Choose the approach that works best for your situation.

CA Basics

By Gary Zaika

To enable SSL encryption on your system, your server and clients must have a digital certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA). Here is some basic information you should know when you're ready to request a certificate.

New Products, December 2002

By Carolyn Mader

Check out the latest SQL Server-related new and improved products.

SQL Server 2000 and 6.5 on the Same Machine

By

If you avoid these setup traps, you can run SQL Server 2000 and 6.5 on the same machine.

Calculating Percentage

By

If you frequently have to calculate percentages of data that meet a condition, here's a T-SQL solution that can help streamline the process.

Search the Archives

Browse the Archive by:

advertisement

GOOGLE LINKS
SPONSORED LINKS
FEATURED LINKS