Keep Bad Guys at Bay with the Advanced Security Features in SQL Server

In this article I'll explore the most interesting security enhancements in SQL Server 2005 from a developer's viewpoint. I covered admin security features in the Spring 2005 issue of TechNet Magazine. But there are plenty of dev-specific security enhancements I can explore, such as endpoint authentication and support for the security context of managed code that executes on the server.

SQL Server 2005 Import/Export Server Registrations

SQL Server 2000 has a great management tool in Enterprise Manager, but one of the hassles is registering large numbers of servers on all your workstations. SQL Server 2005 makes this easier and new author Vinod Devasia shows us how.

Database Migration from Pocket Access to SQL Server CE

This article is about migrating Pocket PC applications that are written in eMbedded Visual Basic to the .NET Compact Framework. The migration includes a change from using ADO CE for accessing data in a Pocket Access database to using ADO.NET for accessing data in SQL Server CE. The sample code is supplied in both Visual Basic and C#.

Long Running Jobs

SLQ Server has a fantastic job scheduling system, but there are some times that things go wrong. Leo Peysakhovich brings us another great article that looks at a way to check if your job engine is running and how to restart it. Practical code included in this one.

SOA, Multi-Tier Architectures and Logic in the Database

If you are a developer creating Web services, a webmaster creating database-enabled pages or a database administrator (DBA) tuning SQL queries for a 24x7 web site, you've probably experienced the phenomenon known as "web time." The computer industry has never been quiet, but recent years have been particularly frenetic. The popularity of the web produced a flurry of software-development activity. New versions, new technologies, and new products appeared seemingly overnight. Web time became a useful phrase for describing compressed development cycles between new product releases and documentation that is obsolete before it arrives from the printer.

2005 IW Salary Survey

Knowing where you stand as a SQL Server 2000 DBA in terms of salary can be great information for your next review or raise discussion. Steve Jones participated in Information Week's 2005 survey and got the results back. Here are a few notes and thoughts from the survey.

How to Asynchronously Execute a DTS package from ASP or ASP.NET

The Data Trasformation Services are a powerful tool, and sometime its features are so useful that you’d like to invoke a DTS package not only from SQL Server but from an external program.

To do this you have several choices: you can use the DTSRun.exe tool or you can do it leveraging the SQL-DMO features.

Unfortunately if you’re developing a web application (ASP, ASP.Net or whatever you use) none of them seems to be the right choice: too much problems, too much effort and a very modest results. In addition none of these solutions can be called asynchronously: if you just need to implement a “fire-and-forget” technique, you just cannot do that!

XML Simplified

Everyone should be aware that XML is supported in SQL Server 2000 and plays an integral part of not only SQL Server 2005, but all of the Windows family. IIS metadata, web services, etc. all involve XML. But do you know what XML is and how to work with it? Author Raj Vasant brings us a basic article on what XML is and how the documents are structured.

DATA STRATEGY INTRODUCTION

A Chief Financial Officer (CFO) was approached by the CEO and asked for an accounting of the company’s financial assets. The CFO gave a vague response indicating a lack of knowledge of the corporate bank accounts, had little idea what was in each account, and had no idea about the status of accounts receivable. The Board of Directors asked the CEO about the intended use of the corporate assets and were told “there is no plan for their use.” The CFO and the CEO were soon pursuing new personal interests.

TACKLING DATA MODELERS' TOUGHEST CHALLENGE

Recently, I began a Data Modeling “Master Class” by asking participants to nominate the toughest challenges facing them in their professional work. Virtually all the responses were about “soft” or “political” issues: persuading project teams to include a data modeling phase, negotiating territory with database technicians, gaining access to business people, and, of course, staying employed. No mention of normalization, star schemas, time-dependent data, exploiting new DBMS features, choice of language or indeed anything remotely technical