Kevin Kline : Releases

Help Me Update the History of SQL Server

KKline — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 15:01:00 GMT

Find out the early history and evolution of Microsoft SQL Server in this engaging article from database expert Kevin Kline....(read more)

New on SQLMag.Com: Update to SP_WHOISACTIVE

KKline — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:12:00 GMT

I profiled Adam Machanic's ( blog | twitter ) excellent stored procedure, SP_WHOISACTIVE, back in August of 2010 in my monthly SQLMag column, Tool Time. Adam has been diligent about maintaining the tool and adding new features. Read the details on my...(read more)

Got a slow holiday seaons? Why not spend it learning?

KKline — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:40:00 GMT

Traditionally, the time between Christmas and New Years is a bit slow. Many people take time off from work and, for those of us still working, it's a good time to catch up on all of those low priority projects that have been on the back burner for the...(read more)

Product Watch: Scalable SQL Server Grid with XKoto. Could this be MSSQL's answer to Oracle RAC?

KKline — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:35:00 GMT

Microsoft SQL Server has been advancing technologically on every front with each new release. Having spent five years as an Oracle professional (I wrote my first technical book about Oracle) before moving to SQL Server in 1995, I spent a lot of time explaining and sometimes apologizing for the technical limitations in SQL Server when compared to Oracle. With SQL Server 2005, Microsoft finally had a product that required no apologies. This was a product that could scale to multi-terabyte database sizes and could handle tens of thousands of transactions per second. SQL Server could now handle just about anything you threw at it.

Despite these innovations, there's still one thing that Oracle has that SQL Server doesn't - Real Application Clusters (RAC). RAC promises that you instantly add new servers to the Oracle cluster, adding their processing power to the cumulative total processing power available for the database application. In a nutshell, RAC promises to deliver seemless scalability and load balancing. (The marketing claims are just that, btw. RAC is not nearly as easy to install, configure, or maintain as it should be.)

What if you'd like RAC-like capabilities for your SQL Server environment? Are you out of options? Not with Xkoto's new product called Gridscale. Gridscale virtualizes your SQL Server database(s) thereby enabling you to scale them out. As you add more servers, you get more power and improved availability. I've seen a demo presented by several members of the XKoto team and, despite my skepticism, I'm impressed. If you have extreme scalability needs or what to start with a limited amount of power today and scale up later, you should watch the on-line demo here.

As always, I welcome your comments!

Cheers,

-Kevin

What's Exciting in SQL Server 2008?

KKline — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:51:00 GMT

If you'd like a quick rundown on what I think is most interesting in SQL Server 2008, check out my new white paper at:

http://info.quest.com/KKBlog_WorththeWait_WhitePaper_KKline

Enjoy!

-Kevin

TechEd 2007 Day 1

KKline — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 02:01:00 GMT

I'm working three days in the SQL Server lounge area - Tuesday mid-day, Wednesday morning, and Friday morning. I'm also delivering an all new version of my popular session "SQL Server Performance Benchmarking & Monitoring. The crowds are thick and energetic. The technology is fresh. And the momentum seems to be very positive!

You can see my session, along with everyone else's at https://www.msteched.com/public/sessions.aspx. Remember - you can buy a conference DVD after the event. So check out the sessions to see if there's anything that you might want to buy the DVD to get at.

I also wanted to let you know about a key SQL Server announcements that Microsoft is making at TechEd that you should be aware of:

· The name for the next release of SQL Server™: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, formerly code-named SQL Server “Katmai,” and the delivery of the first SQL Server 2008 Community Technology Preview (CTP), now available for customer download at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/futureversion/default.mspx. The press release is shown below.

· The acquisition of Dundas Data Visualization Inc.’s Data Visualization products, which provide rich charting within SQL Server Reporting Services, enabling users to create information-rich reports and applications

Check http://connect.microsoft.com/sqlserver for the Katmai CTP download files. It's very popular at the moment, so expect delays. They gave away 3000 DVDs at the SQL Server booth in the first few hours of the exhibit hall today. So I expect even more folks will be trying to get it on-line. And if you decide to install it right away, take my advice and only install Katmai on either a virtual machine or a dev machine that you can rebuild at any time.

Cheers,

-Kevin

~~~
With the SQL Server “Katmai” June CTP release, customers can immediately utilize new capabilities that support their mission-critical platform and enable pervasive insight across the enterprise. June CTP lays the groundwork for innovative policy-based management that enables administrators to reduce their time spent on maintenance tasks. June CTP provides enhancements in the SQL Server BI platform by enabling customers to provide up-to- date information with Change Data Capture and MERGE features, And develop highly scalable analysis services cubes with new development environments.

Mission-critical platform

Declarative Management Framework (DMF)

Declarative Management is a new policy-based management framework for the SQL Server Database Engine that delivers the following benefits:

· Ensure compliance with policies for system configuration

· Prevent/monitor changes to the system by authoring policies for the desired configuration

· Reduce total cost of ownership by simplifying administration tasks

Pervasive Insight

Change Data Capture (CDC)

· Change Data Capture (CDC) is a generic component that will track database changes asynchronously and expose the changes through a relational interface which can be consumed easily.

· Through this interface, consumers can very easily track changes based on their specific requirements and consume the change data using T-SQL or other data access methods.

MERGE SQL Statement

· Common data warehouse scenarios require developers to either insert information or update information. SQL Server 2008 will provide new statements within the SQL language to enable developers to provide this functionality with a single statement.

VSTA Support for the Script Task and Component

Auto migration – Existing script components in SQL Server 2005 will automatically invoke the new VSTA environment, which makes the migration of old script components seamless.
C# support - With this improvement, SSIS package developers will be able to code in C#, along with existing Visual Basic .NET
Debugging – Standard VS debugging features are also fully enabled in this new environment.

Star Join Query Optimizations

· For improved query performance for common data warehouse scenarios, Star Join Query optimizations reduce query response time by recognizing data warehouse join patterns.

AS Dimension Design: Improved Supportability and Integration of Best Practices

· Enhance UI for creating and editing dimensions to guide users toward designs that follow best practices.

· These include: Finish Attribute Relationship Designer, Dimension structure (presentation of attribute relationships), modification to wizards to align output with best practices, simplifying creation of composite keys, and AMO warnings (spanning all objects, not just dimensions)

Developer Productivity

Table Value Parameters

· In many customer scenarios, it is necessary to pass a set of table structured values (rows) to a stored procedure/function on the server. These values may be used for populating/updating a table directly or for more complex manipulation of data for business logic purpose. Table valued parameter will provide an easier way to define a table type as well as allow applications to create, populate and pass table structured parameters to stored procedures and functions.

June CTP builds upon the robust platform of SQL Server 2005 and continues to improve the functionality in key areas like Manageability and Replication. For a complete list of June CTP features and enhancements, please refer to the Readme file included in the download.

Microsoft announces next version of SQL Server

KKline — Thu, 10 May 2007 18:58:00 GMT

Check out the press releases:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/may07/05-09KatmaiPR.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/futureversion/default.mspx

-Kevin

Microsoft/PASS Survey

KKline — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 14:06:00 GMT

Help Microsoft and the Professional Association for SQL Server with our latest survey drive. We're trying to figure out as much as we can about your wants and needs as they relate to SQL Server. Help us out by filling out the survey, which can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes, at http://survey.euro.confirmit.com/wix/p55650250.aspx.

This survey is extremely important in terms of guiding future decisions at Microsoft with regards to SQL Server. So give voice to your priorities and issues by taking part.

Many thanks,

-Kevin

New Windows Live Search Macro for SQL Server

KKline — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 22:23:00 GMT

If you're a fan of the MSDN on-line search tool for the SQL Server 2005 Books On-Line (BOL), you might want to try a new tool. The new search tool is available at http://search.live.com/macros/sql_server_user_education/booksonline and offers more precise and targeted search results than MSDN.

You can investigate creating your own Windows Live search macro here. The macro is an easy to share home page that you can reuse, email to your friends, and post to the Windows Live Gallery. There are lots of examples, such as:

If you give this site a spin, send feedback to the SQL Server Documentation team at

SQLServerUE@hotmail.com.

Enjoy!

-Kevin

Slipstreaming Hot Fixes and Service Packs

KKline — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 18:42:00 GMT

I've been getting requests from users concerning the best way to roll out new service packs and hot fixes to their SQL Server computers. A perenial question that always seems to come up is "Why doesn't Microsoft slipstream (that is, add the hot fixes and service packs directly into the product) updates for SQL Server?"

This is an important philosophic question about what is the best way to support a production software product. It all comes down to mindset and how you prioritize various issues. I can't pretend to speak for Microsoft, but you can get some great insight into these issues by reading Euan Garden's, a person I emminently respect, blog posts on this topic at http://blogs.msdn.com/euanga/archive/2006/04/27/584637.aspx.

Let me, and more importantly Euan, know what you think.

Cheers,

-Kevin

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 - December CTP

KKline — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 23:18:00 GMT

Microsoft published the December CTP of SQL Server 2005 SP2 on the web on December 19th. Find it at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=d2da6579-d49c-4b25-8f8a-79d14145500d&DisplayLang=en

This update replaces the November CTP located at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/ctp.mspx. Read Paul Mestemaker's blog post about it here: http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlrem/archive/2006/12/19/SP2-Dec-CTP.aspx

Enjoy!

-Kevin