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SQL Server 2005 SP2 Brings Self-upgrading Catalogs
May 11, 2007 / No Comments »
A little known but very useful SSRS feature which debuted in SQL Server 2005 SP2 is that the SSRS Windows service automatically upgrades the report catalog (ReportServer database) if required. As I discussed in this blog, you may need to swap the report catalog for testing or troubleshooting purposes. In the past, you had to manually upgrade the catalog from a previous version using the Report Services Configuration Utility or using the rskeymgmt utility. Starting with SQL Server 2005 SP2, when the SSRS Windows Service connects to the report catalog it runs the stored procedure to get the database version of the catalog. If the versions don't match, SSRS Windows Service calls down to WMI to generate an upgrade script and applies it. The service executes the catalog version check every time it connects to the catalog.
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My TechEd Session Scheduled
May 8, 2007 / No Comments »
My breakout TechEd session BIN305 - Applied Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services is scheduled for June 4 at 10:30 AM - 11:45 AM in room S320 A. That's right – let's talk reporting right after the keynote! I hope to see some of you there.
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Reporting Services Blog Roll
April 27, 2007 / No Comments »
I've added two more RS blogs to the Reporting Services link section. The Reporting Services Team blog is used by the RS team as a whole. The Reporting Services User Education blog is used by the education group on the Reporting Services team. It's managed by a former colleague and friend of mine, Matt Mayer, who joined the Reporting Services team a year ago. The entire RS blog roll that I've compiled can be viewed by clicking any of the blog links on my website.
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SQL Server Samples to CodePlex
April 27, 2007 / No Comments »
The March release of SQL Server 2005 samples is available for download. Note that Microsoft has moved all SQL Server 2005 samples (standard and open source) to the CodePlex website. The documentation is still on MSDN. So, GotDotNet is dead, long live CodePlex!
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Introducing LINQ
April 27, 2007 / No Comments »
If you follow the Microsoft .NET roadmap, you have probably heard about the forthcoming Language Integrated Query (LINQ) in .NET 3.0. LINQ will add query capabilities directly into the CLR and will be supported by both VB.Net and C#. This means that you will be able to use standard query operators directly from within your code! To help you get started with LINQ, Marco Russo and Paolo Pialorsi wrote a book Introducing Microsoft LINQ published by Microsoft Press. The book is expected to be published in mid-May. Meanwhile, the authors have set up a public forum (http://introducinglinq.com/) and they are eagerly awaiting your LINQ-related questions. Oh, yes, I've made a tiny contribution to the book by reviewing a few chapters. I found the book to be a great introduction to LINQ. I particularly liked the code examples.
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Cube Browser Woes
April 25, 2007 / No Comments »
I had an interesting issue this week. I was working on a small test cube with financial data. The lowest grain in the measure group was the Account dimension which represents a customer bank account. I had to implement rolling 12 calculations on semi-additive measures (e.g. Avg Account Balance) by weighting the balances at the account level:Rolling 12 Bal = ∑(Number of Account Active Days * Avg Account Balance) / ∑ (Number of Days for 12-month period Since I had to weight the account balances by the number of the number of the days the account was active, I decided to scope at the account level, e.g.; SCOPE (Leaves(Account), Leaves(Date)…). Also, I had to use the ParallelPeriod() MDX function to sum the weighted balanced for the 12-month period. To my surprise, the small test cube took an enormous time to initialize in the Cube Browser. The Cube Profiler showed as...
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SSAS Performance Samples
April 24, 2007 / No Comments »
Thanks for Russell Christopher's blog, I've learned that Microsoft donated an Analysis Services Load Simulator (ASLoadSim) sample project which lets you load test Analysis Services using the VS.NET 2005 test capabilities. While I am to try the code sample, I am very impressed by the whitepaper included in the sample which got harvested from Project REAL. Chris Webb also contributed in the SSAS performance area by donating his MDX Script Performance Analyzer sample which I am yet to try as well.
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Cumulative Update Package (build 3161) for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 Available
April 22, 2007 / No Comments »
Microsoft has released a cumulative update package (build 3161) for SQL Server 2005 SP2. Among other things, the update package fixes the SSRS black preview.
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The Rational Guide to Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005
April 17, 2007 / No Comments »
Nick Barclay is telling us that the book The Rational Guide to Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 that he co-wrote with Adrian Downes is out! You can use BSM to design scorecards that can be published to SharePoint dashboards or SSRS reports. As far as I know, this is the first BSM book which makes it even more appealing.
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Designing SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Cubes for Excel 2007 PivotTables Whitepaper
April 17, 2007 / No Comments »
A bit outdated announcement perhaps but the Office team has released a Designing SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services Cubes for Excel 2007 PivotTables whitepaper. Instead of pestering you with how-to PivotTable questions, now your users can have proper documentation. A great deal of it discusses UDM implementation details but who is to say that you didn't travel the extra mile… As for me, well I still wait for the Office team to implement a few more goodies like pre-filtering support for large dimension, before I get impressed by Excel 2007 as an SSAS browser.
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