In this article, Brian looks at how Citrix MetaFrame can use SQL Server for its internal data repository. The basic operation of SQL Server in a Citrix MetaFrame installation is covered. In addition, Brian looks at how a DBA is an integral part of the support team for a successful Citrix MetaFrame farm.   Read more...

Your development system might be as valuable as your servers, but is it worth setting up with RAID? Read an interesting argument from one of the largest custom computer builder.  Read more...

How many DBAs need a solution to track those changes made for multiple systems? Auditing is becoming more and more prevalent in all systems and having a good solution can really make your DBA job interesting. New author Keren Ramot brings us his technique that works indepedent of the database structure.   Read more...

Testing is an important part of any software development process, but it's a part that many of us skimp on or ignore because of the tedious nature of testing. Longtime author Grant Fritchey has been working with Visual Studio Team Edition for Database Professionals and has written us an article on how you can make your unit testing easier.   Read more...

Learn how to keep track of previous versions of code in case your next upgrade doesn't go well from SQL Server guru Tim Chapman.  Read more...

Pop provides a cunning, trigger-based technique for auditing the activity on SQL Server tables   Read more...

In response to an editorial on eliminating tape in favor of disk backups, new author Tim OPry brings us a look at his environment and the process by which they eliminated the need for tape in their backup scheme while maintaining a well thought out disaster plan.   Read more...

As a DBA, you can find very useful information in the Windows event logs. About important events, the health of your SQL Server and the operating system it runs on. Unfortunately, the logs also contain a lot of useless information. Some applications have a tendency to log hundreds of events every day, filling up the logs very quickly with info that you, as a DBA, do not need. But you still need to see that important message that informs you the server is going to crash if you don’t take action.   Read more...

All good detective stories have a femme fatale. In the case of corporate espionage scandals, Celia Goodson, a seasoned businesswoman and once a glossily groomed blonde, has been involved in investigating more business transgressions to hit the City in the last three decades than anyone else of her years.  Read more...

We'll go over some examples of attacks against protocols and rules following, which will help you when designing and implementing protocols of your own.  Read more...

In this article I will discuss some new ideas that can result in either modifying SQL statements or injecting SQL code even if the code has escaped the delimiting characters. I will start with some best practices for constructing delimited identifiers and SQL literals, and then I'll show you new ways attackers can inject SQL code in order to help you protect your applications.  Read more...

The suggested method illustrates a way how such tampering by an authorized user can be detected. While this method doesn't provide tamper-prevention measures, but as there is no such thing as ultimate security, detection of such tampers will help maintaining the integrity of information in a great way   Read more...

While no disaster recovery plan provides ironclad protection, your company will be far less vulnerable to an extended business disruption from a disaster with a plan than without one.  Read more...

The same ANSI Standard SQL query can run against identical data on SQL Server and Oracle and return different results. So just because your application issues ANSI standard SQL, don't assume it's portable.   Read more...

Damon Armstrong learned the hard way about the consequences of not having a clearly defined project scope or work contract  Read more...

Every SQL Server developer has a preferred method of doing things; mine is what I call molecular queries. These are queries assembled from atomic queries; by which, I mean that they address exactly one table. By combing atoms, I can create molecules.   Read more...

The .NET Framework 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005 make it easy to create a basic but extensible database-monitoring solution without a lot of complexity or coding.   Read more...

Arthur Fuller advises DBAs to try to break their software in order to make sure their SQL Server databases can withstand potential attacks. See if your code can hold up to his suggested tests.  Read more...

Database concurrency conflicts are somewhat of a plague in software development because they're hard to predict and handle. Unfortunately, they're also hard to prevent.   Read more...

Properly sizing your SQL Server hardware and testing application loads against them is a complex and difficult topic. Anthony Bressi brings us a great new article that gives you a systematic approach to performing your own stress test.   Read more...