PSS is Microsoft Product Support Group. When people say contact PSS, they mean raise a support call with Microsoft. This will get the SQL Server PSS people on...

does not mean 'go ahead and do it'. The advice to involve PSS is good.

If you do not think the cost tradeoff...

I have not tried putting Express Edition on a server that already has Standard installed, but putting Express on first definitely works.

If you put another SQL edition on to a...

If you are nwe to SQL Server 2005, you may find SQL Server FineBuild on Codeplex useful. The reference document brings together a lot of best-practice advice given by...

It is good practice to remove the BUILTIN/Administrators login.

Before you do this, there is an obvious bit of work to do:

a) Get a Windows group created for the DBAs

b) Add...

In SQL Server 2000, the SQL service account needed to be local admin, otherwise little things like Windows authentication, etc, etc, etc stopped working. Likewise some bits of EM...

My favourite quote from a technical book is from Graeme Birchall in the DB2 SQL Cookbook. This is a free resource, and contains much good advice on using SQL...

This is a 'feature' of MSDE. I had a long discussion with PSS that DBAs in a large organisation should not need to spend any more time managing a...

It is far better to buy a tool that creates a compressed backup than a tool that compresses a standard SQL Server backup.

All the tools I know of...

Larry,

The FineBuild Reference manual I put on Codeplex has some useful advice on creating SQL Agent and xp_cmdshell proxy accounts, and the authorities needed by the SQL service accounts, that...

I have used it with SQL 2000 SP3 and SP4, and also on SQL 2005.

I have just tried to create the script on my machine, and got some...

sp_ScriptRoles is one of many useful scripts in SQL Server Finebuild.

Go to http://www.codeplex.com/SQLServerFineBuild to get the whole package.

william,

To confirm, SQL Server 2005 Standard x64 SP2 can use up to 128 GB memory. It can be used on servers with up to 4 procesor sockets, each socket...

This sometimes happens. The KILL command in SQL Server 2000 should have been called 'ShoutVERYLoudAndHopeYouScareItAway'.

If you want a non-sysadmin user to run Agent jobs you will need to create a Agent Proxy.

Setting up a Agent Proxy is a bit complex. There are a...