I really enjoy the newsletters and blogs from O’Reilly’s various channels, especially Tim O’Reilly’s commentary.

SQL in a Nutshell, now in it's 3rd Edition

And, of course, there’s my book – SQL in a Nutshell – published by O’Reilly for your consideration.  This book provides a complete reference of the latest release of the ANSI SQL standard, as well as full coverage of support for the ANSI standard from the biggest database vendors – Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, and PostgreSQL.

Join O’Reilly on Facebook now.

In enterprise IT, database professionals face a mixed-bag of platforms within their environments — and the overlapping duties that go along with them. Whether you like it or not, you get asked to support Microsoft SQL Server operations even though you’re an Oracle DBA.

In this instructive webcast, experts from Microsoft and Quest with years of experience in both platforms will discuss the biggest issues and areas of interest for Oracle DBAs who need to work on Microsoft SQL Server. You’ll learn their tips and tricks for efficiency and gain a deeper understanding of SQL Server to help you add more value than ever to your organization.

Of course, there are always questions and we aim to please.  Here are the transcripts of the Q&A chat session (below) that accompanies the presentation.  The only editing I did was to remove blank questions.  If you’re not familiar with Live Meeting, there’s always a [Q&A] menu on the top session bar where you can ask a question.  Quick Tip – The Live Meeting Q&A queue is one question deep, meaning that if you write a question and then write another before the first question is answered, your original question drops out of the queue.  Here’s the transcript:

Meeting Questions and Answers:
Subject: Pain of the Week Webcast - May 27, 2010
Start Time: Thursday, May 27, 2010 10:00:00 AM GMT-5:0

Gabe Kovacs Asked: Do I need to call the hear the audio for this presentation?

Christian Answered: Yes, you will need to call the toll free number – 1888-253-4037 PC: 319874

Luis Cardenas Asked: Morning could you kindly tell me which is the passcode for teleconf?

Christian Answered: 319874

Jossy Tonio Asked: Is it started?

John Allman Asked: What is the PASS CODE for the audio?

inho Asked: To provide similar service level for Oracle database recovery using EMC SRDF and VCS/GCO, for

inho Changes Question To: To provide similar service level for Oracle database recovery using EMC SRDF and VCS/GCO, what similar DR solution(automatic failover, synchronous data replications) is available with SQL Server ?

Roy McBroom Asked: Who’s Pat Boone?

Luis Cardenas Asked: Is there any chance we could get the slides? They seem useful.

John Allman Asked: What is the PASS CODE for the audio?

hre Answered Privately: Toll-free: +1 (888) 253-4037 Toll: +1 (719) 867-0591 Participant code: 319874

Luis Cardenas Asked: Is there any chance we could get the slides? They seem useful.

hre Answered Privately: yes. they will be sent out to all attendees after the live event.

Jerry Mu Asked: I know sql server only has one tempdb that is public to all session. Oracle can create all temp tablespace. is there bottleneck in sql server if application is bigger and busy?

Jerry Mu Changes Question To: I know sql server only has one tempdb that is public to all session. Oracle can create all temp tablespace. is there bottleneck in sql server if application is bigger and busy?

inho Asked: To provide similar service level for Oracle database recovery using EMC SRDF and VCS/GCO, what similar DR solution(automatic failover, synchronous data replications) is available with SQL Server ?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: clustering, mirroring, replication and identical EMC features

Roy McBroom Asked: Who’s Pat Boone?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: A 50′s and 60′s era singer renown for his appeal to white middle-class americans

Jerry Mu Asked: I know sql server only has one tempdb that is public to all session. Oracle can create all temp tablespace. is there bottleneck in sql server if application is bigger and busy?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: tempdb can be tuned to allow multiple filegroups and, thus, multiple IO paths

DBA_Joseph Asked: What portions of the Oracle SYSTEM tablespace live in the MS-SQL “master” database, and what pieces of that info live elsewhere in MS-SQL?

Ray Herrera Asked: Can you customize the model database?

Wayne Starnes Asked: dive a little deeper into ORACLE ‘user’ being a schema object, vs SQL database and the users as the schema

Ray Herrera Changes Question To: Can you customize the model database?

Jerry Mu Asked: You mean muilple file? like how many CPU and we can create files to match CPU. But I think that will create file fragmentation, is that right? Any plan for sql server to support muilple tempdb, like sybase did?

DBA_Joseph Asked: What portions of the Oracle SYSTEM tablespace live in the MS-SQL “master” database, and what pieces of that info live elsewhere in MS-SQL?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: It’s about equal. SYSTEM + SYS on Oracle = MASTER on MSSQL

Ray Herrera Asked: Can you customize the model database?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: absolutely!

Moorthy Rekapalli Asked: Can you please expand on the concept of user and schema in SQL Server and please relate that to Oracle as I am more familiar with that.

Wayne Starnes Asked: dive a little deeper into ORACLE ‘user’ being a schema object, vs SQL database and the users as the schema

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: sorry Wayne, not enough time. links for that at the end.

Robert Stewart Asked: does the master database corralate to the sys user in Oracle

Moorthy Rekapalli Asked: Can you please expand on the concept of user and schema in SQL Server and please relate that to Oracle as I am more familiar with that.

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: Sorry Moorthy, not enough time. But there are links for that at the end.

Robert Stewart Asked: does the master database corralate to the sys user in Oracle

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: SYSTEM + SYS on Oracle = Master on MSSQL

Jerry Mu Asked: You mean muilple file? like how many CPU and we can create files to match CPU. But I think that will create file fragmentation, is that right? Any plan for sql server to support muilple tempdb, like sybase did?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: Yes, you can correlate CPUs to files. It does not contribute to unusual file fragementation.

rick stehno Asked: you don’t want to use OPS$ because it is not as secure as the other methods and you indicated that sql server access is similar to OPS$. this isn’t a good thing is it?

Luis Cardenas Asked: what about synonyms, in oracle we use to managa certains aspect of sucurity do they exist in SQLServer?

rick stehno Asked: you don’t want to use OPS$ because it is not as secure as the other methods and you indicated that sql server access is similar to OPS$. this isn’t a good thing is it?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: Ops$ is similar but not as comprehensive as Windows authentication

Luis Cardenas Asked: what about synonyms, in oracle we use to managa certains aspect of sucurity do they exist in SQLServer?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: Coming in the next release

DBA_Joseph Asked: Just to clarify:: For efficiency ++ To reduce I/O, I take it, that DB-changes are cached in MEMORY, (like Oracle’s SGA) as well as the transactin log… and the MS-SQL then migrates those changes to Database storage… To clarify earlier statement about user writing to LOG and then another process reads log and writes to database…

Ray Herrera Asked: Does MSSQL have something similar to the Oracle’s archive log mode operation?

Jim Rice Asked: does the full method emulate the oracle archive log process

Ray Herrera Asked: Does MSSQL have something similar to the Oracle’s archive log mode operation?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: I think we’re touching on that now

Jim Rice Asked: does the full method emulate the oracle archive log process

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: similar indeed

DBA_Joseph Asked: Just to clarify:: For efficiency ++ To reduce I/O, I take it, that DB-changes are cached in MEMORY, (like Oracle’s SGA) as well as the transactin log… and the MS-SQL then migrates those changes to Database storage… To clarify earlier statement about user writing to LOG and then another process reads log and writes to database…

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: yes, they’re cached in ram until checkpoint

PB Asked: Can SQL Server do block/page level recovery if a corrupt block/page is found on a datafile?

bhupendra Asked: How is the transaction log size determined

Chakrapani Asked: Is there any tool like RMAN in SQLSERVER for backing deltas?

PB Asked: Can SQL Server do block/page level recovery if a corrupt block/page is found on a datafile?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: It’s possible, but not easy. see the dbcc page command on-line

bhupendra Asked: How is the transaction log size determined

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: there are defaults, but it’s easy to change

Chakrapani Asked: Is there any tool like RMAN in SQLSERVER for backing deltas?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: The native backup supports deltas, called differentials. It’s much easier IMO than Oracle’s RMAN

Michael Asked: about user you mentioned, is it the same as Login account? How do you link login account or user to database, schema,..?

DBA_Joseph Asked: DB=Consistant as of finish… this means that backup also pulls info from LOG file, as part of backup set?? Is there an MS-SQL equivalent to Oracle “Recover Database” or is this just so transparent & automatic that it transparent?

Suresh Asked: Good point Kevin …i know Oracle DBA ‘s are very fond of RMAN

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: thanks! =^)

DBA_Joseph Asked: DB=Consistant as of finish… this means that backup also pulls info from LOG file, as part of backup set?? Is there an MS-SQL equivalent to Oracle “Recover Database” or is this just so transparent & automatic that it transparent?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: the recovery process will roll forward any transactions directly from the transaction log as needed

Michael Asked: about user you mentioned, is it the same as Login account? How do you link login account or user to database, schema,..?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: sorry, too many questions to keep up with your reference to “user”. could you restate?

Kenny Smith Asked: Do you know of a website or resource that will compare/contrast task details in Oracle to the similar task in SQL Server?

djb Asked: Isn’t it true that SQLServer benfitted from all the lessons that Oracle learned as it was developed earlier. For example, Oracle didn’t have a hot backup faicilirt at first. SQLServer was developed with that from the start.

Vladimir Lugo Asked: Can you explain a bit about clustering differences?

Carmen Asked: Our backup of master fails because of a single-user mode error. Is there something special that should be done to include master in the backup plan?

Haridas Asked: Is it possible to add Disk space without much re-org ? (In oracle SAN disk space re-org is quite a challenge)

Kenny Smith Asked: Do you know of a website or resource that will compare/contrast task details in Oracle to the similar task in SQL Server?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: nope. no one goes that deep

Michael Asked: In the security slide, User is mentioned, is it the Loing Account?

Kenny Smith Asked: How can you audit active directory user “BuckWoody” and his actions through a database role via a Active directory Group on database objects?

Suresh Asked: what about BI tools in comparison to Oracle’s? SQL BI in 2005 seems very famous now?

Vladimir Lugo Changes Question To: Can you explain a bit about clustering differences?

Haridas Asked: Is it possible to add Disk space without much re-org ? (In oracle SAN disk space re-org is quite a challenge)

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: absolutely – alter database supports this

Robert Stewart Asked: does the index rebuild do so online?

Mauricio Lopez Asked: Hi, will you put the presentation file as a Handout file or where can we download it ? Thanks

Michael Asked: In the security slide, User is mentioned, is it the Loing Account?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: Login and User are actually distinct, though usually linked

DBA_Joseph Asked: For all USERS of this Q+A screen… It is not allowing users to Select+Copy the text. Is there a way to save this list of DBA questions, so we can paste into a file, to remember/review other peopel’s questions later?

Mauricio Lopez Asked: Hi, will you put the presentation file as a Handout file or where can we download it ? Thanks

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: Of course – you’ll get a follow up email!

Bob Asked: will running select statement lock a table on the page level? or only DML will lock the table?

Bob Changes Question To: will running select statement lock a table on the page level? or only DML will lock the table?

djb Changes Question To: Isn’t it true that SQLServer benfitted from all the lessons that Oracle learned as it was developed earlier. For example, Oracle didn’t have a hot backup facility at first. SQLServer was developed with that from the start.

Bob Changes Question To: will running select statement lock a table on the page level? or only DML will lock the table?

sharath Asked: Is it possible to have data replication like in oracle for example materialisezd views or streams or data guard?

Luis Cardenas Asked: Excellent webcast thanks!!

Kenny Smith Asked: How can you audit active directory user “BuckWoody” and his actions through a database role via a Active directory Group on database objects?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: Check out a feature called CDC “change data capture”

sharath Asked: Is it possible to have data replication like in oracle for example materialisezd views or streams or data guard?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: All of those are features in SQL Server = indexed views, replication, and clustering/mirroring

DBA_Joseph Asked: For all USERS of this Q+A screen… It is not allowing users to Select+Copy the text. Is there a way to save this list of DBA questions, so we can paste into a file, to remember/review other peopel’s questions later?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: I’ll get them sent to you

Robert Stewart Asked: does the index rebuild do so online?

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: In Enterprise Edition, but not in lower editions

Luis Cardenas Asked: Excellent webcast thanks!!

Kevin Kline (Qsft) Answered: Thanks!

• Fast Compression Backups – Fast Compression is Quest’s patent-pending backup technology which significantly reduces backup times, improves database recoverable, and automatically reduces a database’s backup footprint by up to 85 percent over and above the backup compression algorithms already in the product.
• Network Resiliency – Backups will still succeed after network interruptions. User can also customize the number of retries and wait period for a finer level of control.
• Easier Restores with Point in Time selection – Restore wizard’s time slider lets user choose exact point in time to recover data.
• Improved Double-Click Restore – 4GB limitation eliminated.
• OLR (object-level recovery) and Log Reader support more funky SQL Server 2008 data types – DATETIMEOFFSET, DATETIME2, DATE, TIME, HIERARCHYID, GEOMETRY, and GEOGRAPHY are now supported.
• SmartCleanup – Intelligently remove backups according to a user-supplied retention policy without affecting backup set integrity.
• Maintenance Plans reinforced – Import/Export Plans, Copy/Paste Tasks and Sub-Plans, Wildcards and Regular Expressions supported for easier database selections.
• New Maintenance Plan Cleanup History Task – Options to delete backup history, log shipping history, job and maintenance plan history, and more…
• Updated documentation – New Install and Log Shipping Guides and references to online video content.

Fightin’ For Fast Compression Feedback!

LiteSpeed for SQL Server’s patent-pending Fast Compression (formerly SmartDiff) technology reduces backup size substantially for huge storage savings. It also decreases backup times significantly—from hours to minutes. Are you familiar with this technology? Are you taking full advantage of it?

We’d like your feedback. Tell how much disk space you’re saving and how much faster your backups are when using Fast Compression. Please share your comments with us in the LiteSpeed Forum at our SQL Server community.

We’d like to offer you the latest information to help you get the most out of your investment in LiteSpeed® for SQL Server. Most of these resources are also available through SupportLink, our customer support portal.

LiteSpeed Video Tutorials

Learn LiteSpeed for SQL Server tips and tricks by viewing our free recorded videos online. You’ll see the solution in action and discover how to:

• Determine the most appropriate backup options for you
• Query backup files without a full restore
• Recover just one table or repair a dropped procedure
• And much more!

Go to LiteSpeed tutorials.

LiteSpeed for SQL Server – Key Documentation

LiteSpeed’s latest product resources can be found via the links below:

• Installation Guide 6.0 – New
• Configure Log Shipping 6.0 – New
• New SupportLink Product Information page
• Product Lifecycle
• Installation Guide 5.2
• SmartDiff Quick Start Guide 5.2

And just an FYI, but you’ll need to register on the Support website to reach most of those resources.

SQL Server Community Sites

Please join our SQL Server communities today to get the latest product information and find helpful resources. You can also participate in discussions with other community members as well as the Quest product team.

• SQLServer.Quest.com: LiteSpeed forum
• SQL Server Blog
• SQLServerPedia

Questions or Comments

If you have any questions, comments or suggestions about this information, contact us.

A support case can be logged using our case management tool or see the Contact Support page for other contact methods available on SupportLink.

Please do not respond directly to this e-mail notification. You can elect to stop receiving product notifications by changing the ”Product Notification” setting under Edit User Profile on SupportLink.

I’ve been trying hard to get more videos out the door about the SQL Server tools from Quest Software (my employer).  I’d sent a new one over to the program marketing team a while back, but it’s not showing up in the Coffee Break Bytes section like it should.  These little videos show a single feature in detail, usually taking no more than 5 minutes to watch in their entirety.

In the meanwhile, check out the excellent video series here.  And the blogs are really good too, available on the interwebs here.

Thinking about cloud computing? 

Well, there aren’t many tools out there that will make your life easier than Toad for Cloud Databases.  As is most cloud technology, this particular tool is still in beta.  But there’s no better time to help set the direction and features of a tool with as outstanding a record as Toad.  Get the details and download the beta here.

And if you like providing feedback to the development team, don’t overlook the IdeaPond where you can provide your own ideas and vote on others that are already posted.  (Currently targeted towards Oracle users, but I say let’s crash that party)!

Enjoy!

-Kevin

 Twitter @kekline

Jack Handy, famous from Saturday Night Live

Just wanted to let you know that a TechNet Radio episode and interview I did about cloud computing is now live on TechNet Edge. It was the featured spot on Thursday, June 3^rd and is also featured on the TechNet homepage.

I’ve been trying to wear more of an analyst’s hat these days, so this webcast has a lot of my “deep thinking” on issues related to cloud computing – hopefully at a higher level of quality that Jack Handy.

A salient point that I think many analysts are overlooking is the changing nature of data as it exists in the cloud.  For decades, data has primarily been about people (and their activities) for consumption by other people.  The cloud is enabling a major shift in data generation and consumption where data is produced by machines for consumption by other machines.  We’ll soon be looking at situations, now rather rare, in which sensors are extremely commonplace.  These sensors, whether they be in traffic signals or high-end medical devices, will create enormous amounts of data far more frequently than ever before, loading that data directly into cloud databases.  The cloud databases will consume and process the data and, when automated analysis (made all the easier through features like StreamInsight in SQL Server 2008 R2) will flag important findings for review by a real-live human being.  Check out the interview for several real-world examples being played out even as we speak.

Here is a direct link:

http://edge.technet.com/Media/TechNet-Radio-Microsoft-SQL-Azure-Growing-Opportunities-for-Data-in-the-Cloud/

Or  if brevity is your thing and you prefer a surrogate key over a natural key:

http://bit.ly/cdLTeP

Perhaps I can persuade you to blog, tweet, or place a link to it in your Facebook or team newsletter?  Maybe with a few deep thoughts? Please?  Pretty please?

And I welcome your deep thoughts and responses here.

Enjoy,

-Kev

Pain of the Week: SQL Server for the Oracle DBA

Webcast: SQL Server for the Oracle DBA
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2010 (Just a couple days hence!)
Time: 8 a.m. Pacific / 11 a.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. United Kingdom / 5 p.m. Central Europe
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Cost: FREE

In enterprise IT, database professionals face a mixed-bag of platforms within their environments — and the overlapping duties that go along with them. Whether you like it or not, you get asked to support Microsoft SQL Server operations even though you’re an Oracle DBA.

In this instructive webcast, experts from Microsoft and Quest with years of experience in both platforms will discuss the biggest issues and areas of interest for Oracle DBAs who need to work on Microsoft SQL Server. You’ll learn their tips and tricks for efficiency and gain a deeper understanding of SQL Server to help you add more value than ever to your organization.

Presenters:
Kevin Kline, SQL Server MVP, Quest Software
Buck Woody, Senior Technology Specialist, SQL Server, Microsoft

Pain of the Week: Easy Ways to Fix Hard SQL Server Problems – Without a Guru

Webcast: Easy Ways to Fix Hard SQL Server Problems – Without a Guru
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2010
Time: 8 a.m. Pacific / 11 a.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. United Kingdom / 5 p.m. Central Europe
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Cost: FREE
In this instructive webcast, you’ll learn straightforward methods for troubleshooting and resolving common poorly performing stored procedures and queries in SQL Server 2008. The presenters will show you how to easily:

• Read query execution plans and identify bottlenecks in performance
• Record system performance metrics for trend analysis
• Design databases and write Transact–SQL code to avoid common problems
• Understand what an index is, what it does, and how to build one
• Use industry-accepted best practices and develop your own to arrive at optimal database performance

Much of the webcast is based on Grant’s book, “SQL Server 2008 Query Performance Tuning Distilled.”

Don’t miss this chance to get practical advice from working experts instead of just theories from academics!
Presenters:
Kevin Kline, SQL Server MVP, Quest Software
Grant Fritchey, “Scary” DBA from FM Global

June 7-10, 2010

New Orleans Morial Convention Center
900 Convention Center Boulevard
New Orleans, LA USA

I'll be there with bells on! Look for me at the Ask-the-Experts lounge or the Quest Software exhibit.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Wondering if you should go?  It’s all about the education.  So check for the most current and detailed conference agenda at https://northamerica.msteched.com.

TECH·ED ONLINE – www.microsoft.com/teched

Can’t make it in person?  There’s still good things in store for you!  Tech·Ed Online offers on-demand technical sessions recorded at our Worldwide Tech·Ed events that explore all aspects of current and soon-to-release Microsoft technologies, tools, platforms and services. View TechTalks, Panel Discussions, and Breakout sessions delivered by industry experts and leaders, engage with community influencers on Tech·Ed Blogs, and share your onsite Tech·Ed experience on the photo page.

I hope to see you there!

-Kevin

-Twitter @kekline

Join Us for 24 Hours of SQL Server Training

(with a special focus on SQL Server 2008 R2)

Did I mention that your Cohorts in Crime (that be me and Brent Ozar) are presenting?!?

The FREE 24 Hours of PASS event is bringing an exceptional lineup of SQL Server and BI experts to your computer starting at 12:00 GMT (UTC) on May 19.

Get an in-depth look at the hottest SQL Server and BI topics, including (but not limited to!) – the new SQL Server 2008 R2, with its business intelligence and data management innovations, and much more.

When does it start? 12:00 GMT (UTC):

New York: 08:00
Chicago: 07:00
San Francisco: 05:00
London: 13:00
Paris: 14:00
Moscow: 16:00
Mumbai: 17:30
Singapore: 20:00
Sydney: 22:00

The roster of phenomenal speakers features many MVPs and top-rated presenters, including Adam Machanic, Andy Leonard, Brad McGehee, Brent Ozar, Brian Knight, Chuck Heinzelman, Dean Richards, Don Kiely, Don Vilen, Donald Farmer, Glenn Berry, Greg Low, Jacob Sebastian, Jessica Moss, Kevin Cox, Kevin Kline, Louis Davidson, Maciej Pilecki, Peter Myers, Peter Ward, Rushabh Mehta, Sean McCown, Simon Sabin, Thomas Grosher.

Check out all the great SQL Server sessions you can attend for FREE. Share this information with a friend or colleague.

PASS is looking forward to having you join us all for this exceptional event. Please contact us at 24hrs@sqlpass.org with any questions.  You can also find lots of general details at http://www.sqlpass.org/24hours/2010/.