After completing the process of installing and configuring Microsoft SQL Server, any database administrator is entitled to sit back and take a well-deserved break. However, it's important to remember that the database administration process does not end when your database is humming along at a comfortable pace answering user requests. You considered a multitude of issues during the database design process -- performance, access controls, replication strategies, normalization and indexing to name a few. Have you taken the time to develop a contingency plan to cover unforeseen catastrophes that might threaten your database in the future?


Read the full article: SQL Server Disaster Recovery

In a recent forum message, Gerald wrote:



"I am working with an existing database that has a field defined as 'data type" = binary(8). The field in existing records is populated with "". Not sure exactly how or where this is utilized, but I need to add additional records to this table but I am unable to enter anything but "NULL" into this field.



Following is the error I get when I try to modify the field:



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Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio Express

---------------------------

Invalid value for cell (row 4, column 5).



The changed value in this cell was not recognized as valid.

.Net Framework Data Type: Byte[]

Error Message: You cannot use the Result pane to set this Field data to values other than NULL.



Can you help Gerald? Interested in solutions to the same problem? Visit the About Databases forum and join the discussion.

There are at least eight different versions of the Microsoft Office suite, making it difficult to choose the correct one for your needs. If you choose a version that's not sufficient to meet your needs, you'll wind up feeling frustrated. On the other hand, if you overshoot and buy too full-featured a package, you'll waste money.



How should you choose? Here's a simple guide to making your decision. First, if you're reading this blog, you're likely a Microsoft Access user. This makes it easy to eliminate half of the choices off the bat. The following four editions of Microsoft Office do NOT include Access:

• Microsoft Office Basic 2007


• Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007


• Microsoft Office Standard 2007


• Microsoft Office Small Business 2007

That leaves us with four remaining options. We can again quickly eliminate half of these options. These two versions of Office are only available if your company has purchased them through a volume license agreement:

• Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007


• Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007

So, we now have two choice remaining on the table. The first is Microsoft Office Professional 2007, which has a retail price of $499.95 and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher and Access. This is probably the best version for most users who need Access. Your second choice is to shell out $679.95 and upgrade to Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007. This version includes the same software as Professional but adds InfoPath, Groove, OneNote, enterprise content management, electronic forms and advanced information rights management.

Looking to optimize the performance of your SQL Server database? If your database contains very large tables, you may benefit from partitioning those tables onto separate filegroups. This technology, introduced in SQL Server 2005, allows you to spread data onto different physical disks, leveraging the concurrent performance of those disks to optimize query performance.


Read the full article: Partitioning a SQL Server Database Table