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Latest Blog Posts
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175 Views |
At the heart of encryption are keys. These allow you, the authorized user, to unlock the subsequent key in a key hierarchy or the cipher text contained within a database. This hierarchical relationship in SQL Server 2008 is illustrated at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms189586.aspx....
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410 Views |
On 18-21 November this year, in the great city of Seattle, PASS will be holding their 10th annual conference. If you work with SQL Server, you should attend if you possibly can. It's an independently-organized summit, but with the hand of Microsoft firmly...
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134 Views |
Having seen Chris’ post yesterday, I thought I’d bring another perspective to the table. I joined Red Gate a few weeks ago, and from all I’d learned before joining I thought it was a cracking company, doing things in a different way. In particular I think...
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113 Views |
Back in 2001, I attended a seminar in which Microsoft introduced the .NET Framework. I distinctly remember the discussion surrounding the concept of software being offered as a service via the Internet. Over the years there has been many offerings in...
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239 Views |
The Internet includes a huge amount of SQL Server content, but much of it is hard to find. One of the ways I try to keep up is to follow a large number SQL Server-related RSS feeds using a RSS Feed Reader. Some of these feeds are very active, while others...
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151 Views |
I only recently joined Red Gate, and when I found out I was being offered the job I was already pretty excited. After all, they’ve actually got awards for being a great place to work. But then, something happened which completely changed how I thought...
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348 Views |
In previous blog entries, I have talked about the importance of managing your online brand. One important part of this is participation in social networking websites. If you are not yet familiar with the term, social networking refers to websites that...
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181 Views |
It seems it was almost yesterday when SQL Server 2008 went RTM. And now, less than 60 days after 2008 was released, Microsoft has released Cumulative Update Package 1, which includes 78 hot fixes. You can see the entire list here. As is the general rule...
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118 Views |
After a very long wait, SQLPASS has introduced its new website (www.sqlpass.org). If you were a previous member of PASS, you should have received an e-mail with your new username and password. If you thought you were a member, but did not receive the...
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1155 Views |
In SQL Server 2008, a new feature called the Performance Data Collector was added. It has the ability to collect SQL Server-related performance data, store it in a database called the Management Data Warehouse, and then produce various performance...
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482 Views |
In the mysterious viscera of Microsoft Internet Information Server, nothing is as it seems. When applications are designed to work over the web, they must bristle with all sorts of bits designed to make the stateless stateful and many users become...
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872 Views |
On the surface, the question of whether or not a database contains sensitive data may seem like a rather simple one to answer. Most people recognize that a Federal identification number or a credit card number is and should be recognized as sensitive...
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625 Views |
The strangest things done in IT may have a perfectly logical reason. Before you dismiss an application as being the product of a fevered mind, you ought to consider the possibility that it might be a deft and subtle move in the great management Game of...
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1305 Views |
Whether we like it or not, DBAs are becoming security experts. It’s not a job we want, but it’s been thrust upon us as we are the protectors of the organization’s data. Whether required by law, or just for self-protection, more and more...
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540 Views |
In a recent survey conducted by Careerbuilder.Com, 22% of hiring managers said that they use social networking websites to research candidates for potential jobs, which is up from 11% in 2006. In addition, about one third of those said they discovered...
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764 Views |
Profiling and debugging code inevitably adds overhead, and I know that it can be really frustrating. The overhead can either be small, e.g. the Visual Studio debugger, or massive, as with most performance profilers. A developer may invest in a performance...
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1222 Views |
Office 2007's 'ribbon UI', now optimistically renamed 'Office Fluent User Interface', was an act of strange corporate madness by Microsoft.
This may seem an unfair statement, since it looks like a genuine attempt to make the application easier to learn...
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311 Views |
You might think it's all over bar the shouting, but we're already working hard on the first point release because there are a couple of things we wanted to slot in for 4.0 that, in the end, we didn't have time for....
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491 Views |
The LSE seven-hour computer blackout happened on one of Microsoft's most prestigious sites, described by them as 'One hundred per cent reliable on high-volume trading days’. The system ran Windows Server 2003, .NET, and SQL Server 2000. So what happened?...
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298 Views |
I’ve just closed my last bug on
SQL Response (or at least the last one that’s left on my plate for this version).
Code freeze is tomorrow after which it gets a complete going over by the testers
and...
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12679 Views |
Phil tends to hold radical, anarchic, views on many subjects in IT, not least on the subject of the 'Computer Chair'. You've got it all wrong- the contraption is evil and unnecessary....
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542 Views |
In a previous blog entry, I talked about the benefits of getting involved in the SQL Server community. In this blog entry, I'll take a detailed look at many of the different ways you can participate and contribute to the community. While...
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662 Views |
One key trait I see over and over again in successful DBAs is their willingness to share their knowledge with others. Instead of just focusing on what their profession can bring to them, these DBAs also consider what they can bring to their profession....
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918 Views |
In a previous post, I recommended that you attend a local user's group, code camp, SQL Saturday, or a national conference in order to boost your SQL Server skill set. In this blog entry, I want to make some suggestions that you can take in order to improve...
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546 Views |
So it has been several months since my last blog entry. And this one is going to ramble a bit after a long day of vigilantly overseeing many SQL Servers come back up after a hard shutdown in the middle of the night when UPSs and generators failed when...
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