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[Focus]

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Bare-Metal Tuning
Many of your system's performance problems result from simple ignorance of good hardware design. Here are some tips you can use to maximize SQL Server performance before you ever install the software.
 — Kevin Kline

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[Features]

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Pep Up T-SQL Procedure Testing
Wouldn't it be great to cut the time it takes to unit test T-SQL stored procedures? Well, now you can! You can automate your testing by using nothing more than Query Analyzer and a little T-SQL code. Here's the solution in four easy-to-implement parts.
 — Dan Sawyer


Performance-Tuning the Data Model: Configuring the Database
You can improve performance by retrofitting a database with indexes and more powerful hardware, but you can never completely compensate for a bad data model. Performance-tuning SQL Server starts with a sound database configuration and data model.
 — Michelle A. Poolet


Reporting Services Tip: Resolving 403.9 Errors on Windows XP
Here's a handy workaround to help you avoid errors that cause Microsoft IIS to lock up when when you're working with SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services on Windows XP.
 — William Vaughn , et al.

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[SQL Server Savvy]

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Communicating with Analysis Services
ADO MD.NET and XMLA clients communicate differently with a SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services instance then with a SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services instance.
 — Carl Rabeler


Deploying an Analysis Services Database
Learn how to deploy a SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services database from your development environment to your test, staging, QA, or production environment while keeping your production and development environments synchronized.
 — Carl Rabeler


Fine-Grained Permissions in Analysis Services
Find out if you can delegate permission to a Window user or group to process an Analysis Services cube or dimension without also granting permissions to view the data in the cobe or dimensions.
 — Carl Rabeler


Hardware and Software Resources for Analysis Services
Learn how to determine what hardware and software resources your SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services instance requires.
 — Carl Rabeler


High Availability in Analysis Services
A typical approach to high availability in Analysis Services 2000 is to use Windows NLB to distribute user queries across multiple Analysis Services instances on disparate machines while also increasing availability.
 — Carl Rabeler


Monitoring Queries In Analysis Services
How can you monitor the queries your business users submit?
 — Carl Rabeler

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[Editorial]

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The Empire Strikes Back
With SQL Server 2005 Workgroup edition, Microsoft takes on the low-end database market.
 — Michael Otey

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[Inside SQL Server]

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Reusing Query Plans
In many cases, reusing a precompiled plan benefits your stored procedure's performance--but not always. To know when reusing a plan might not be appropriate, find out how the query optimizer determines the best plan for each query.
 — Kalen Delaney

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[T-SQL Black Belt]

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Performing Base Reconversions
In computer systems, you sometimes need to save space by using non-decimal values. But how do you convert those numbers back to decimals when you need them? Find out in this article.
 — Itzik Ben-Gan

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[New Products]

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New Products, July 2005
Check out new and improved SQL Server–related products.
 — Dawn Cyr

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[SELECT TOP(X)]

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High Availability Options
Michael Otey discusses SQL Server's high availability options and shows you which types of failures each solution handles best.
 — Michael Otey

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[Preparing for SQL Server 2005]

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Beyond SQLXML
For Microsoft's SQL Server development team, enabling Web services for SQL Server 2005 was important enough to warrant native support for the feature. Learn how you can use Web services support to improve interoperability and application connectivity.
 — Matt Nunn

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[Ask Microsoft]

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Configuring Log-File Backup
Microsoft's Patrick Conlan gives tips for making sure you correctly back up your transaction log.
 — Microsoft's SQL Server Development Team


Loading Text Into Analysis Services
Microsoft's Thierry D'hers describes the steps for getting a string to show up in analysis cubes.
 — Microsoft's SQL Server Development Team


Rebuilding an Index on a Heap Table
Microsoft's Patrick Conlan explains 3 methods for rebuilding a heap table index.
 — Microsoft's SQL Server Development Team

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[Hands On]

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Proactive Alerting Prevents Downtime
A reader highlights his favorite product: SQLCentric.
 — Dawn Cyr