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[Focus]

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A DBA’s-Eye View of System Center 2007
Microsoft System Center 2007 products offer many new SQL Server management features, such as more detailed alerting, configuration management, and SQL Server–specific data protection.
 — John Savill

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[Features]

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A Bulk Approach to Business Age Calculation
Use a single SELECT command to calculate the business age between two dates in a database.
 — Marina Davydova

Protect UDM with Dimension Data Security
SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services offers a robust role-based security model for restricting access to Unified Dimensional Model objects and data.
 — Teo Lachev

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[Editorial]

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Wait Before You Consolidate
Server consolidation is a popular trend, but this solution might not be right for your organization. Find out how SQL Server systems aren't always best-suited for consolidation.
 — Michael Otey

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[Reader to Reader]

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A Clever Way to Connect to a Hidden Named Instance
If you're having trouble connecting to a hidden SQL Server named instance, try adapting the connection string. Here's how.
 — Readers

Have SQL Server Email You Error Messages Generated by Job Failures
When a SQL Server job fails, SQL Server Agent sends a notification but it doesn't include the error message generated by that job failure. Here's how you can have the error message emailed to you.
 — Readers

Queries Dragging? Try Defragging
If your queries against a table or database are running slow, the indexes in that table might be fragmented. The cspDefragIndexes stored procedure can quickly and easily take care of the problem.
 — Readers

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[Inside SQL Server]

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Help for Query Hints
SQL Server 2005 plan guides let you instruct the optimizer about when to use a particular hint, to boost a query's performance—but you should use them sparingly.
 — Kalen Delaney

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[Solutions by Design]

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Discover the Star Schema
The star schema is the standard for supporting multidimensional cubes and supporting BI analysis across the organization.
 — Michelle A. Poolet

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[T-SQL Black Belt]

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Identifying Sections
Need to identify sections of consecutive rows that share the same value? We demonstrate two techniques to solve the problem—one based on a subquery, and the other based on row numbers.
 — Itzik Ben-Gan

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[New Products]

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New Products
Check out new and improved SQL Server–related products.
 — Blake Eno

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[SELECT TOP(X)]

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System Center Data Protection Manager 2007
You can back up SQL Server databases with the latest version of Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager—DPM 2007—but there are also other good reasons to try DPM 2007, including CDP and 64-bit support.
 — Michael Otey

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[Tool Time with Kevin Kline]

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ClearTrace
Overwhelmed by all the data from those server-side traces or SQL Server Profiler sessions? This free graphical summary tool can help you make sense of it all and improve your system performance.
 — Kevin Kline

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[Review]

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HP StorageWorks D2D120
This SMB-oriented storage device can help make your small busniess's backup strategy worry-free.
 — Michael Otey


Must-Have XML Tools
XML tool suites from Altova and DataDirect Technologies are both excellent for XML editing and XML Web services support.
 — William Sheldon

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[Market Watch]

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The Move to Multicore
Multicore processors improve your systems by bringing better database performance and scalability without big changes in price and power requirements.
 — Michael Otey