SQL Server 2012 will not install on Windows 2003 or below, which includes XP.

You will need Vista or above to use SQL 2012 command line utilities.

All of the SQL Server instances must be on SQL 2012 SP1 for this to work. You cannot mix SQL Server versions. However, you should be able to...

Many backup products allow you to backup to multiple files using multiple threads. The bacukp gets striped across all the files and you need them all available for a...

I have seen similar situations, particulary on my sandbox clusters.

There are a few ways to safely shut down a cluster, and a few that can cause problems.

Safe methods:

a) Shut down...

You cannot share volumes between different Windows clusters. Each Windows cluster needs its own set of shared volumes.

You can add new nodes to an existing Windows cluster. It...

You cannot use local disks if they are going to be used as shared drives by the cluster. You must use disks that can be shared between all nodes...

When you install SQL on the passive node you do not need to access the shared drives. If you are using a command-line install, you should use ACTION=ADDNODE to...

It is pervasive. It is a key driver of business growth and innovation.

Without IT most businesses could not function. Banks are now software houses that also...

You can set up replication so that insert and update are replicated but delete is ignored. Books Online has some advice on this and Google can find you more.

The considerations for char and varchar on SQL Server and DB2 are much the same.

Many (over 10) years ago DB2 moved to having an inheriently variable length row,...

Address clensing and deduplication is a complicated process, particularly if you want to achieve the standard required for discounts on postage.

If you want a result that looks cheap and nasty,...

What you want to do sounds similar to what we have done.

We use P2P but send all our updates to a single node, which is identified using a DNS vanity...

Have you considered AWS? We moved our server estate to AWS last year and have found many benefits compared to our previous co-lo hosting.

Apart from better performance and saving...

Using a domain account that is in the local Administrators group in Windows 2008 or above DOES NOT mean you get the same privilege set that you get when running...

What workload are you trying to work out a performance profile for?

If it is only going to be a SELECT from a 9MB table then you are most...