An overview of Master Data Services - MDS in SQL Server 2008 R2

With Master Data Services, IT organizations can centrally manage critical data assets companywide.

SQL Server 2008 Audit Change Group

Auditing your SQL Server instances has become more of a concern these days. SQL Server 2008 introduced a new feature named SQL Server Audit. Enabling this feature can be done in just a few simple steps, but so could disabling this feature. And when it comes to audits, many times you are asked to provide proof that the audit itself has not been tampered with.

Kimball University: Three ETL Compromises to Avoid

Why neglecting slowly changing dimensions, failing to capture metadata and overlooking scope creep can be the undoing of a dimensional data warehousing initiative.

Database Activity Monitoring Part 2 - SQL Injection Attacks

If you think through the web sites you visit on a daily basis the chances are that you will need to login to verify who you are. In most cases your username would be stored in a relational database along with all the other registered users on that web site. Hopefully your password will be encrypted and not stored in plain text.

Procedural, Semi-Procedural and Declarative Programming in SQL

A lot of the time, the key to making SQL databases perform well is to take a break from the keyboard and rethink the way of approaching the problem; and rethinking in terms of a set-based declarative approach. Joe takes a simple discussion abut a problem with a UDF to illustrate the point that ingrained procedural reflexes can often prevent us from seeing simpler set-based techniques.

Database Activity Monitoring Part 1 - An Introduction

We are inundated with new technologies and products designed to help make our organisations safe from hackers and other malcontents. One technology that has gained ground over the past few years is database activity monitoring. It makes sense to protect valuable databases, and by adding an intelligent monitor capable of sniffing out threats an additional level of protection can be gained.

But what is database activity monitoring and why should you care?

Implementing User-Defined Hierarchies in SQL Server Analysis Services

To be able to drill into multidimensional cube data at several levels, you must implement all of the hierarchies on the database dimensions. Then you'll create the attribute relationships necessary to optimize performance. Analysis Services hierarchies offer plenty of possibilities for displaying the data that your business requires. Rob Sheldon continues his series on SQL Server Analysis Services 2008.

Mnesia: A Distributed DBMS Rooted in Concurrency

Find out what makes Mnesia, the Erlang-based database management system, perfect for distribution across a network of computers.

Using The Data Mining Query Task in SSIS

The Data Mining Query Task can be used to run prediction queries based on data mining models built in analysis service.

Efficiently Reuse Gaps in an Identity Column

This article will demonstrate an efficient way to reuse gaps in an identity column. Please note that this is something you normally shouldn't be bothered about in a well-designed database or application. However, there are circumstances where you are forced to do this.