The voting for the 2010 Exceptional DBA opens today, and you can read about the finalists and prizes inside.

Making your SQL Server database changes backward compatible: Adding a new column

by Additional Articles

MSSQLTips.com

Database Design

As multi-tier architectures grow over time, it is often challenging to coordinate those changes across the data, logic and presentation tiers. Unless planned and implemented carefully, an act as simple as adding a column to a table can grind all of the components of your application to a halt. While some of us have comfortable 12-hour maintenance windows every weekend, many of us are bound by service level agreements that are much more strict. So we must find ways to introduce fixes and new features with zero downtime, and without requiring every single component to be refactored at the same time.

Expert Systems – an SSRS Approach

by Jonathan Spink

SQLServerCentral.com

Reporting Services (SSRS)

An interesting approach to solving a complicated problem using SSRS. Users have too much documentation to read about a process, so Jonathan Spink introduces a better way to do things.

The Schema Debate

by Steve Jones

SQLServerCentral.com

Editorial

There was quite a bit of debate over the use of schemas recently on the Internet. Steve Jones talks about some of the reasons why you might want a schema, and a few reasons why you might not.

Creating XML in SQL Server

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Database Journal

XML has become a common form of representing and exchanging data in today's information age. SQL Server introduced XML-centric capabilities in SQL Server 2000. That functionality has been expanded in later releases. One aspect of working with XML is creating XML from relational data, which is accomplished utilizing the FOR XML clause in SQL Server.

Making Your Career Go Further

by Steve Jones

SQLServerCentral.com

Editorial

Steve Jones comments on a few things that can help you, and are worth keeping in mind as you interact with people.

Moving to the Cloud

by Steve Jones

SQLServerCentral.com

Editorial

There has been a lot of talk about moving to cloud based computing, and cloud based services. Steve Jones comments on what this might mean today.

Using Certificates to Sign Stored Procedures

by Jonathan Roberts

SQLServerCentral.com

Certificates

How to sign stored procedures with certificates, this is useful if the procedures use dynamic SQL.

Configure Windows Firewall for SQL Server 2008 Integration Services in Windows Server 2008 R2

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MSSQLTips.com

firewall

I have installed SQL Server 2008 on Windows Server 2008 R2 and I am unable to connect to SQL Server 2008 Integration Services Instance from SQL Server 2008 Management Studio which is installed on another remote server. As I am new to Windows Server 2008 R2 it would be great if you can let me know the step by step approach to enable the default port of SQL Server 2008 Integration Services in Windows Firewall for user connectivity.