A big party is being held to honor relational database systems & their impact on the modern society.  Outside the hotel, the host awaits the guests.

The first limousine arrives and out steps Oracle followed by 4 people

Host: Who have you brought along?
Oracle: I have 4 DBA's in tow. One to install me, one to design the databases, one to administer me and the other to justify the cost.

A second limo arrives and out steps DB2 followed by 40 people

Host: Who have you bought along?
DB2: I have 2 DBA's, 2 hardware specialist and 36 consultants.

A third limo arrives and out steps SQL Server all on his own.

Host: Why haven't you brought anyone?
SQL Server: I didn't bring anyone because I am easy to install and am basically self managing. But I did bring the #sqlhelp twitter hashtag for when the sh*t hits the fan.

20 minutes later, up rushes MySQL, unshaved, hair a mess.

Host: Where have you been MySQL
MySQL: Sorry, I thought it was February 31st

A SQL Query walks into a bar. Walks up to 2 tables and says, "May I join you?"

Look, I'm not dead.  Just been very busy, and unfortunaley have neglectied this blog.

I've made a list of resolutions for the new year, and keeping this site updated is one of them.  I plan on a lot more technical (SQL, .NET development and Windows server products) posts. 

Also, the date on this post will say 2009/12/31 becuase it's hosted in the US.  This will be corrected in the new year.

Brad M. McGehee is the Director of DBA Education for Red Gate Software; an accomplished Microsoft SQL Server MVP with over 14 years’ SQL Server experience, over 6 years’ training experience, and has been involved in the industry since 1982.
 
A well-respected and trusted name in SQL Server literature, Brad is the author or co-author of more than 14 technical books and over 100 published articles.
 
 
Auckland
Monday 19th
http://aucklandsql.com/Meetings/Brad-McGehee.aspx
 
DBA 101: Best Practices Every DBA Should Know
This session focuses on key fundamentals, such as: Installing & Upgrading SQL Server; SQL Server Configuration; User Data and Log File Management; Database Configuration Settings; Configuring Critical Maintenance Jobs; Setting Up Alerts for Critical Errors; Security Basics; Implementing a Backup Strategy; Creating a Disaster Recovery Plan; Testing; Monitoring; and Documentation

Wellington
Tuesday 20th
http://wellington.sqlpass.org/Home/tabid/1764/Default.aspx
 
How to Optimise tempdb Performance
DBAs often don’t spend a lot of time watching tempdb performance. They think of it as a black box that takes care of itself. What many DBAs don’t fully realize is how tempdb performance can affect SQL Server’s overall performance. In this session, we will cover how tempdb is used; tempdb internals; how to monitor tempdb; and how to optimize tempdb for best performance.

 
Christchurch
Wednesday 21st
http://www.dot.net.nz/Lists/Events%20Calendar/DispForm.aspx?ID=144
 
Want to become an exceptional DBA?
Becoming a DBA doesn’t have to be just a job; it can be a very rewarding career. While many DBAs are happy with just getting by, the Exceptional DBA is not only outstanding in their knowledge of SQL Server, they are consummate professionals who are in high demand, and command high salaries.
 

Dunedin
Thursday 22nd
http://www.dot.net.nz/Lists/Events%20Calendar/DispForm.aspx?ID=137
 
Best Practices Every SQL Server DBA Must Know 
With the continued popularity of SQL Server, more and more people are becoming SQL Server DBAs, whether they planned to or not. Many of these DBAs don’t have formal training, but are doing the best they can under the circumstances. Most of these DBAs want to do a good job, but just don’t know where to start. While Books Online is a great reference tools, it doesn’t tell someone what they need to know about commonly established best practices that experienced DBAs know by heart.
 

From tomorrow (September 2) at 12 pm (NZ Time) PASS (the Profession Association of SQL Server users) is kicking of their 24 hour SQL Server training marathon.

The speakers include many who will be presenting at the PASS Summit 2009 in November.  The list of speakers is a who’s who of the world of SQL Server including Tech Ed NZ favourites like Greg Low and Peter Ward as well as world renowned experts such as Kalen Delaney.

Take a look at the full schedule of speakers and topics and sign up for free to tune in.

If you have a MSDN or TechNet-Plus subscription, you probably know that today the downloads for the latest version of the Windows client operating system were released.

Windows 7 comes in a number of flavours, targeted/marketed at different audiences.  Starter (for NetBooks and the like), Home Basic (for emerging markets), Home Premium (the primary candidate for home users), Professional (for most common business uses) and Ultimate (all the features). There is also Enterprise edition which is the same as Ultimate, but with a different licensing mechanism.

Like Windows Vista, Microsoft use a common install media (DVD) which has all the bits required for any of the installation versions on the same disc.  Which bits to install is determined by the edition selection/configuration.

With the Windows Vista downloads from MSDN / TechNet, you had a single disc and when you started the install process, you picked which edition you wanted/had the key for.  You then entered the key.  This was easy, except when you didn’t know what edition the key you had was designed for.

Windows 7 downloads are different this time round, because Microsoft have created a DVD for each edition, not giving you the choice of which edition to install at run-time.

That means if you want to test different configurations using Home Basic, Home Premium and say Ultimate, you need to download 3 different DVD images (at 2.4 or 3GB each)

BUT.  There is a was to bring back the selector.  HOWEVER, it requires a bit of time and a few tools.  The tools I use in this description are ones I used, but there are alternatives available.

1. Download an ISO for the desired platform (x86 or x64).  I recommend the Ultimate but it makes no difference (except possibly the enterprise edition, due to it’s different licensing system)
2. If you want, burn the ISO to disc.  Remember that this disc will only be for that particular edition.
   • If you didn’t burn a DVD, then you can use a virtual drive software (Daemon Tools, Virtual Drive, etc..) to mount the ISO as a drive.
   • Otherwise, use a archive extraction tool like 7Zip or WinRAR to open the ISO like an archive file
3. Copy the contents of the ISO/disc to a temp folder on your hard-drive.  Be sure to copy all subfolders.
4. Now navigate to <temp>\sources and delete ei.cfg.  This config file tells the installer what edition the disc has been classified as.  Removing it enables the edition picker.

Right.  That’s it.  Now you just need to make a bootable media so you can do some installs.  I prefer to use a USB drive.  There are a number of good tutorials on how to do this, such as http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-install-windows-7vista-from-usb-drive-detailed-100-working-guide/

Otherwise, if you want to make a DVD, you will need to create a bootable ISO image. Again, there are a number of packages out there.  I use a Microsoft (internal) tool called CDImage

cdimage –lGRMCULFRER_EN_DVD –m –u2 -b<temp>\boot\etfsboot.com <temp> <dest>\Windows7.ISO

Give it a while and you’ll have a ISO file that can be burnt with any standard burning software (or even Windows itself if you’re using the RC)

Let me know if you have any problems and I’ll try and help where I can…

Went in to Marcus’ bedroom to check on him after he went quiet.

He was asleep, but…

Given the choice of the whole spare bed to sleep on, the cat chooses

My suit jacket

My wife has also pointed out that I:

• Noticed the cat on my jacket
• Came upstairs to get a camera
• Went back downstairs, took a series of photos of the cat
• Came back up stairs, transferred and processed the photos
• Tweeted the photo
• Started this blog post

The AucklandSQL, Ellerslie .NET and the Auckland Connected Systems user groups would like to invite you to:

The Microsoft Sync Framework
This session will look at the prerequisites for installing and using the Microsoft Sync Framework to synchronise data between a server and occasionally-connected applications.
There are two halves to the presentation:
•Using SQL Server to automatically sync a Windows application
•Coding exception handlers and demo

Presenter:
James Hippolite – Telecom New Zealand
James is a Senior Developer for Telecom New Zealand and regular speaker for PASS and INETA. He straddles both the Web (MCPD) and Database Developer (MCITP) realms.  He is also a trainer (MCT).

Location:
Datacom Systems Ltd
210 Federal St
Auckland CBD
(map)

Date/Time:
Thursday, July 30th 2009
Food / drink available from 5:30, with the presentation kicking off after 6.

Registration:
http://www.aucklandsql.com/Meetings/The-Microsoft-Sync-Framework.aspx

STOP! This is important…

No dinosaur karaoke permitted!