Business Intelligence

February 2004

See how cube partitioning can improve Analysis Services query performance, and get a first look at Analysis Services Yukon's new Unified Dimensional Model (UDM). Then, automate the generation of new SQL Server logins, and peek into some T-SQL back doors.

Solving Enterprise Problems with NetMon

By Douglas McDowell

In an enterprise that uses heterogeneous data systems, providing high-quality customer service is a challenge. Innovator Award winner Douglas McDowell shares a solution that lets a company track and solve problems quickly.

The UDM End-User Model

By Paul Sanders

The UDM lets you define an end-user model over its base data-access layer, providing a comprehensible view of the data that lets users quickly understand, analyze, and act on business information.

Subtleties of Data-Type Precedence

By Brian Moran

Failing to understand the rules of data-type precedence leads to subtle T-SQL errors and incorrect result sets that are difficult to troubleshoot.

Stopping Profiler Traces

By Brian Moran

Learning how the procedures associated with running an SQL trace work is tricky because they aren't documented well. Here's an example of how you can stop a SQL Server Profiler trace and delete the definition from your server.

New Products, February 2004

By Dawn Cyr

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

Evaluation Edition is Closer to Enterprise Edition

By Brian Moran

Customers can end up with inaccurate benchmarks by conducting tests on SQL Server Evaluation Edition when they plan to deploy Standard Edition.

Patterns and Practices

By Michael Otey

To get practical knowledge and advice about implementing Microsoft technologies in your organization, check out Microsoft’s Patterns and Practices Library. Here are five database-centric guidebooks that you will find there.

The Art of Cube Design

By Tim Ramey

Because forecasting depends on the needs of your business, creating a forecasting cube often requires some artistic finesse. Here are some techniques you can use to solve some common cube-design problems.

Crossing the Line: Ownership Chains

By Kalen Delaney

A broken link in a cross-database ownership chain can put your data at risk. Understanding SQL Server 2000’s security model can keep your data safer now and prepare you to take advantage of security enhancements in Yukon.

Letters, February 2004

By

Microsoft's Lubor Kollar--responding to Itzik Ben-Gan's January 2004 column, "Take Control of Joins"--explains how to control joins in the FROM clause, noting that parentheses are optional but helpful.

An Offer You Can’t Refuse

By Michael Otey

Reporting Services fills the one big hole that still exists in SQL Server: the inability to generate reports for the database. Best of all, it’s free for all existing SQL Server 2000 license holders.

Improving Analysis Services Query Performance

By Herts Chen

Analysis Services is a valuable business intelligence (BI) tool, but when queries become complex, Analysis Services can bog down. Get your queries running efficiently by using these techniques for proper cube partitioning.

UDM: The Best of Both Worlds

By Paul Sanders

The next release of Analysis Services, coming in SQL Server Yukon, will combine the best aspects of traditional OLAP-based analysis and relational reporting into one dimensional model--the Unified Dimensional Model (UDM).

Generating New SQL Server Logins

By Greg A. Larsen

When you create a SQL Server login that has the same permissions as an existing login, the process of researching the old login's permissions and reassigning them can be tedious. Here's a way to automate permissions analysis-- and save your sanity.

T-SQL Back Doors

By Itzik Ben-Gan

Here are some keys that open hidden back doors to special T-SQL objects.

Reducing the Page File Size

By Brian Moran

SQL Server performance won't suffer if the page file is too large and not being fully used, but having a large page file wastes disk space.

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