Rick Heiges

Happy Launch Day!

RickH — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:56:00 GMT

It's Official, today!

We have a party for SQL Server 2008 in LA! The product may not be shipping, but that won't stop us from having our party.

Seriously, Today marks the beginning of a more useful Launch than the 2005 launch. What am I saying? The Launch Events will probably be more educational for you this time around because there hasn't been as much focus on having a lot of events on 2008 as of yet. Signup today for a launch event near you!

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

In case you did not hear, PASS Call for Speakers is now open!

RickH — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 13:39:00 GMT

In the latest PASS Community Connector, there is a call for Speakers for this year's summit in Seattle in November. If you have never been to Seattle in November, it really makes you want to learn more about SQL Server in the breakout sessions. ;-) But seriously, it is a great venue to meet other SQL Server professionals and meet the MSFT who actually write the code for SQL Server itself. You know that since MSFT is located in nearby Redmond that the place will be very accessible to MSFT developers and managers.

Also, did you know that the abstracts that are submitted are reviewed/selected by a committee of PASS Volunteers just like you?

Join other industry professionals and help build the SQL Server community as a 2008 PASS Community Summit speaker in Seattle, Washington, November 18-21. Act now and submit an abstract by the March 28^th Deadline.

All speakers receive:

Complimentary registration to the 2008 PASS Community Summit
Industry recognition
Networking opportunities with thousands of attendees

Microsoft employees are encouraged to submit presentations using the online submission website. Please note that any Microsoft submissions will be reviewed and abstract status will be determined by Microsoft.

For more information, please visit our Call To Speakers website at http://calltospeakers.sqlpass.org/ or e-mail any questions to calltospeakers@sqlpass.org.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

3 More Weeks 'til Launch!

RickH — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 15:57:00 GMT

3 weeks from today, the launch party for SQl Serve 2008 will be on! If you are in Southern California, you will be in the "happening" spot. Enjoy!

Why have a launch without the release of the product? SQL Server 2008 is more of an incremental release. There are some great new features in the product, but the bulk of the change was going from 2000 to 2005. From my point of view, there were many more events and opportunities for education on SQl Server 2005 than 2008. I was at the Launch of SQL Server 2005 in San Francisco. It was a great time, but the content at the launch was not new (at least to me). The content at the launch events over the next few months will most likely be more useful than the content at the 2005 events. If you are like many folks who still have 2000 in your environment and have some servers running 2005, these launch events will be useful. If you haven't seen it already, there will be opportunities in your area to sign-up for a launch event. Another great source of information on SQL Server 2008 will be the local user groups across the nation and worldwide that will be involved in launches.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Get Ready for SQL Server 2008!

RickH — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:13:00 GMT

On Jan. 24, there is a FREE virtual conference focused on SQL Server 2008. This is not just a webcast that you can view online. The sessions are scheduled at specific times with Live Q&A following the session from the speakers. Grab one of your SQL buddies and sign-up to attend virtually on Jan. 24!

Drop by the Virtual PASS Booth and say Hello!

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Try out SQL 2008 without downloading it!

RickH — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 03:25:00 GMT

In case you have not heard yet.......

SQL Server 2008 CTP5 Beta Now Available for Free in a Secure Hosted Environment!

PASS, MaximumASP, Dell and Intel have partnered to offer this advance preview...

Try out real-world data online in a secure, hosted environment - you don't have to download or install a thing - and your feedback will influence the final version!

Get started today at www.sqlserverbeta.com and discover the powerful functionality of the latest version of SQL Server 2008 including:

Reporting Services
Language Integrated Query (LINQ)
Predictable Query Performance
Transparent Data Encryption
Integrated Full Text Search
Sparse Columns
Spatial Data Types
Grouping Sets

Visit www.sqlserverbeta.com today!

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

No More HCL - in 2008

RickH — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:25:00 GMT

The old Hardware Compatibility List which was renamed the "Windows Catalog" is no more. When creating a Clustered Solution, you need to have a system that is Certified for clustering or there will be no official support. This has been a point of pain in the past as organizations purchased a clustered solution and then one of the nodes has issues after a year or two. Getting an exact replica of that node is often impossible and impractical. Try explaining to the big wigs that you need to purchase a new system that is 2 years old - not very compelling.

In Windows 2008 and SQL 2008, there is no need for a certified solution. There is a program called clusprep.exe that you run on the nodes of the proposed cluster to test/prepare the nodes. If your system passes, it can run on a cluster.

One drawback of this is that when failing over to a node of lesser "girth", the user experience may suffer. Also, with this change, the base of clustering is changing which means that your upgrade to the 2008 flavor will take some more planning.

If you attended the PASS Community Summit in Denver, you can view the streaming session online on Clustering. It was very educational.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Last Night at the Triad SQL User Group

RickH — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 13:43:00 GMT

I started the Triad SQL Server User Group with several other folks back in 2002. I led the chapter for 2 years before turning the reigns over to a Board of Directors. I have only been to one or two meetings since the turnover mainly because I have been out of town when they have meetings. But last night, I was in town and the Holiday Social was just 2 miles away from my house at a local drinking/dining establishment.

It was good to see the Board of Directors and meet some of the regulars who now attend. I was so happy to see that the group has really grown over the past few years in its sophistication, marketing, and breadth of topics. I wanted to acknowledge and praise the team that is now the Board of Directors - Miguel Cebollero, Michael Wharton, and Karen Lennon.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

RAMing SPEED!

RickH — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:31:00 GMT

All of us have heard that if you just add memory to your system, it will work faster. This is generally accepted and it makes alot of sense, but what is the math behind it?

About 2 years ago, I heard the presenter of a webcast that I was viewing put these two elements in a perspective that I relay on to others when speaking about memory. Basically, Disk Access is measured in milliseconds; RAM Access is measured in nanoseconds. There are 1 million nanoseconds in 1 millisecond. In other words the magnitude of access time is on the order of 1 million; that's pretty big. In real human time, I can't distinguish between a nanosecond and a millisecond, but there is a HUGE difference.

Just about everyone can look at their watch or a clock and know how long a second takes. If you sit and stare at that timepiece until 1 million seconds tick by, you will stare at it for 11.57 days!

(1 million seconds / (60 seconds) / (60 minutes) / (24 hours)) = 11.57 Days

As you can see, there is a HUGE difference in the access speeds between IO and RAM. We all knew this inherently, but sometimes an example can really help - especially when budgeting season is imminent.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Compression inDB Mirroring

RickH — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:19:00 GMT

When you start to look at SQL Server 2008, there is a sub-theme of using compression to help drive performance and usefulness. When I hear the word compression, my first thought is "No - I remember Stacker". How many years ago was that obscure reference? Too many... Stacker was a third party product for MS-DOS which basically doubled your disk space. It worked, but it also seemed to increase chances for corruption on those old disks. I can't recall the exact name of the product, but there was also a third-party product which compressed RAM to give you more of that too.

SQL Server 2008 will use compression when transmitting the transaction from the principal to the mirror. Since a majority of DB Servers are not CPU-bound, there are spare cycles to get the compression of this task done quickly. The goal of using this compression technology is to cut down on network latency. We have all seen this when we have a large file to transfer over the network. It is often faster for us to ZIP a file, copy it over the network and unZIP it than it would be to simply copy the file without being zipped. The same logic applies here.

Compression is used in other areas of SQL 2008 as well such as backups! More on that later in a future blog post perhaps.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Who's got your DB's back?

RickH — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:05:00 GMT

While I was reviewing one of the sessions from the PASS Community Summit using the streaming media on some new things in SQL Server 2008, I stumbled across a new reason to mirror. The primary reason to mirror of course is availability and to give DBAs that warm fuzzy feeling that another up-to-date (or almost up-to-date if using Async mode) copy of your DB is ready to step into action at a moment's notice. That has not changed in 2008, but another feature was been revealed. It is the "Auto Page Repair" feature. If the Principal encounters a page that is corrupted, it will ask the mirror to send of copy of that page for repair. The mirror is of course replaying the transactions that are sent to it. If the Mirror encounters a problem, it will request a copy of the page from the Principal. This is not a new RAID level, but we could make up a new term like DB-RAID - - ;-) Again, it gives the DBA that warm fuzzy feeling that things will be OK.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Learn More in Less Time

RickH — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:11:00 GMT

I recently got my login access to the streaming content from the PASS Community Summit in Denver. I have started to play the sessions on my other system as I work on other projects. It is great to be working along and pickup tidbits along the way while multitasking. There is son much great content, it seems like I will never get through it all. I decided to try an old trick that I had used in the past when reviewing MSDN and TechNet webcasts. This trick is to increase the speed at which the content is replayed. Typically, replaying at 1.2 to 1.3 times the speed will allow you to get through the material quicker without greatly reducing your comprehension (or causing you to think that the Chipmunks are now DBAs). I think that it actually improves comprehension because many of the "Uh-Uh" and "Hmm" breaks are minimized.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Buy the first 32-bits, get the second for FREE

RickH — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:14:00 GMT

I spoke at the Charlotte SQL Server User Group last night. Will Sweeny confirmed that MSFT will continue to offer the free trade-out to 64-bit licensing from 32-bit. In other words, if you upgraded your 32-bit SQL 2000 to 32-bit SQL 2005 and are considering a new 64-bit server, you can simply swap the 32-bit license for the 64-bit license. Of course, you will need to de-commission the 32-bit server. In SQL 2000, this is available, but the 64-bit licensing is only for Itanium based systems as there is no x64 flavor for SQL 2000.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Charlotte SQL Server User Group - Oct 16

RickH — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:09:00 GMT

If you live near Charlotte, NC or are planning to be in the area, drop by the Microsoft Offices at 7pm on Oct 16, 2007 for the local user group meeting. The topic will be "The 64-bit Question" which will discuss the options for moving to 64-bit for SQL Server Databases. For more information and also RSVP, check out http://charlotte-sql.org/meetings.html

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Seemless Upgrade or &quot;seem&quot; less like an upgrade

RickH — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:37:00 GMT

Last week at the PASS Community Summit, I was so busy that I did not get a chance to blog about anything. Looking back, I had a great time and learned a few things. In one of the keynotes, I heard MSFT say that the upgrade experience from 2005 to 2008 would be seemless. When I repeated this information to a few other MSFT folks, I got a chuckle. This combined with my experiences and dialogues with friends, colleagues, and other MVPs has led me to this point. SQL 2005 to 2008 upgrade will "seem" less like an upgrade after going through the 2000 to 2005 upgrade.

With so many installations of SQL Server 2000 still out there, the customers are asking for an easier upgrade. I was very happy when I saw the Upgrade Advisor tool for 2005. I think it helped many customers in preparing for this revolution to the current generation of DB engines. I know that MSFT will have tools available for the 2008 upgrade as well. Just as there was more work to go from 6.5 to 70 and less from 7.0 to 2000 typically, there was more work going from 2000 to 2005 than there will be going from 2005 to 2008. Your mileage may vary.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

OT:Need one more team

RickH — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 18:09:00 GMT

http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1. The League ID and password are as follows:

League ID#: 265861
Password: rssfeed

We'll keep everyone updated throughout the season.

Cross-posted from SQLBlog! - http://www.sqlblog.com

Rick Heiges

Happy Launch Day!

In case you did not hear, PASS Call for Speakers is now open!

3 More Weeks 'til Launch!

Get Ready for SQL Server 2008!

Try out SQL 2008 without downloading it!

No More HCL - in 2008

Last Night at the Triad SQL User Group

RAMing SPEED!

Compression inDB Mirroring

Who's got your DB's back?

Learn More in Less Time

Buy the first 32-bits, get the second for FREE

Charlotte SQL Server User Group - Oct 16

Seemless Upgrade or &amp;quot;seem&amp;quot; less like an upgrade

OT:Need one more team

Seemless Upgrade or "seem" less like an upgrade