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SQL Server 2005 LoadFest
November 2, 2005 / No Comments »
Atlanta.mdf is hosting a LoadFest event to celibrate the launch of SQL Server 2005. They asked me to stop by and answer tough Business Intelligence questions.. Time permitting, I may do a demo or two. You may also put in your calendar my next presentation for Atlanta.mdf on 9/1/2006 when I will talk about Analysis Services 2005. See ya there!
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SQL Pass 2005 slides and code
October 5, 2005 / No Comments »
SQL Pass 2005 was a great show. It had about 2,000 attendees, which is great si nce you don’t feel disconnected in the TechEd crowd of 13,000 people. I did a “RS Tips, Tricks, and Gotchas” presentation with Bruce L-C whom I finally had a chance to meet. I think the presentation went very well. I’ve uploaded the slides and the sample code to my website. Among other things the code demonstrates: Excel export scenarios CSV export External images streamed from a web service Expression-based connection strings CLR stored procedures HTTP handler for intercepting the incoming traffic to the server And more… Happy reporting!
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To the summit
September 21, 2005 / No Comments »
If you are attending SQL Pass event next week in Grapevine, TX and you would like to know more about Reporting Services, stop by to my presentation. I am teaming with Bruce Loehle-Conger (MVP – SQL Server) to present the Reporting Services Tips, Tricks and "Gotchas" session. I have some cool demos that demonstrate retrieving images from a web service, dynamic connection string from configuration file, Analysis Services integration, using CLR stored procedures, and more… If you are not coming, I will upload the code demos on this site after the event. See you in Texas!
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SQL Server September CTP reloaded
September 21, 2005 / No Comments »
In addition to my previous post about installing CTP, here are some additional notes: After you uninstall the previous version of SQL Server, make sure to delete all database files in C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Data. The setup program will comlain about them. If you are upgrading a previous CTP and you are running into performance issues, try the Registry Mechanic. It found 500 registry issues on my machines and it fixed an issue with the ASPNET account not having enough permissions (I don’t have the exact event log entry).
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SQL Server September CTP and VS.NET RC are here!
September 14, 2005 / No Comments »
If you are subscribed to Microsoft Beta, you can downoad the SQL Server September CTP and Visual Studio Release Candidate (plan for a day or two given the 30K connection speed) from the Microsoft betaplace website. Here are the steps I was taking to install both SQL Server CTP and Visual Studio.NET RC that you may find helpful. I had SQL Server 2005 June CTP and Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2 installed prior to installing the new bits and the upgrade went fine for me. You may not need to be so reboot-oriented but I like to start from a clean state just in case J. Uninstall SQL Server 2005 by running the Cleanup Wizard (Setup Tools\Build Uninstall Wizard\sqlbuw.exe on the SQL Server 2005 CTP CD). Make sure to select .NET 2.0 and Native Client (Microsoft SNAC) options. Reboot Remove all files from the C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Data folder. Uninstall...
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SP2 Hotfix available
June 29, 2005 / No Comments »
Microsoft has released a hotfix for SP2 that fixes a few items in SP 2. Specifically: HTML Viewer Style Sheet Configuration Property Missing from Service Pack 2. Incorrect line breaking or random formatting issues with MHTML. Leaving and returning to the Schedule Page from the Subscription Properties page causes dependent report parameters to be disabled, then reset to the first or default value. Tables exported to CSV may lose the first row of data. Download the hotfix here.
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Do more with less!
June 19, 2005 / No Comments »
As you probably know, Microsoft has made a great effort to scale down the SQL Server 2005 components and provide more features at a lesser cost. Here are some links worth checking. SQL Server 2005 Feature Comparison http://www.microsoft.com/sql/2005/productinfo/sql2005features.mspx SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Enhancements http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2005/2005ssrs.mspx SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services Features Matrix http://www.microsoft.com/sql/2005/productinfo/rsfeatures.mspx As far as Reporting Services is concerned, here are a couple of important points. 1. Reporting Services 2005 will run on the Express Edition of SQL Server 2005 (previously known as MSDE in SQL Server 2000). What it means to you is that you can build and distribute reasonably feature-rich reporting solutions for free. This could be nirvana for many software vendors and integrators. Now you can build a report enabled-application and distribute the SQL Server components at zero cost to the client. 2. Different editions support different feature sets. The last...
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Tech Ed US (Day 5)
June 11, 2005 / No Comments »
D-day! I wondered how many people would show up for my presentation about RS Custom Security. I turned out that about 60 people thought that custom security is just what they needed to boot up after the last night party. I think the presentation was well received. While you are waiting for the Tech Ed DVD, I posted the code on my website. I got hammered a bit about my presentation skills. Obviously, the tips I’ve learned from the train-the-trainer session weren’t enough. Next time, I will try some of the Steve Ballmer’s stunts. May be they will do the trick. If someone who’s attended my session reads this, please let me know what I can possibly improve to deliver the message more effectively, since I don’t think I can solve this dilemma by myself. BTW, custom security will be available with RS Standard Edition, as Brian Welcker pointed...
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Tech Ed US (Day 4)
June 11, 2005 / No Comments »
I couldn’t sleep well last night. My neighbor on the left was talking on her cell phone until midnight and I can hear every damn word through the thin wall. My other neighbor was watching a horror movie. A double impact. Not to mention that the cell phone of my left neighbor rang and woke me up at 6. Luckily, today is not presentation day. In the morning, I went to see the Managing Analysis Services 2005 Using Analysis Management Objects (AMO) presentation by Alex Lim. Alex is also a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional. We introduced to each other and talked briefly about South-east Asia. I spent three years in Singapore, so we had a lot in common. I liked the demo code that Alex used for his presentation. For those who are new to Analysis Services 2005, AMO is a .NET-based object library which allows you to manage SSAS...
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Tech Ed US (Day 3)
June 11, 2005 / No Comments »
Wednesday. The pressure and fatigue starts building up. So, I am going to take it easy today. Now that I am writing a book about Analysis Services 2005, I felt like I need a pinch of MDX to boost my spirit. So, I went to see theSolving Business Problems with MDX in Analysis Services presentation by Amir Netz and Richard Tkachuk. I didn’t regret at all! It was an excellent presentations which gave me some tips about how to structure the MDX part of my book. Next, I attended the SQL Server 2005: End-to-End Part 3 presentation by Donald Farmer (Product Manager of Integration Services, aka DTS). It was a good presentation as well. In the afternoon, I had a train-the-trainer session which goal was improve the speaker’s presentation skills. I found out that I have to show more energy and articulate every word to captivate my audience. Now I know the secret...
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