SQL Server newsletter for the month of November 2001
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Welcome to the second issue of this monthly SQL Server newsletter brought to you by http://vyaskn.tripod.com and thank you for subscribing. This newsletter will familiarize you with all the new and updated content at http://vyaskn.tripod.com. It will also provide you with tips and links to valuable SQL Server related information that is worth a read. 

For our new subscribers, we have created a newsletter archive, containing the previous issues of this newsletter. Visit: https://vyaskn.tripod.com/sql_server_newsletter.htm

If you are interested in receiving information on a particular aspect of Microsoft SQL Server, feel free to mail us at vyaskn@hotmail.com . We hope you will find this information useful.

Information in this newsletter is divided into the following sections:

 

What's new at vyaskn.tripod.com? <top>

Added new questions to the Administration FAQ:
https://vyaskn.tripod.com/administration_faq.htm

Added new questions to the programming FAQ:
https://vyaskn.tripod.com/programming_faq.htm

Added new resources to the SQL Server resources page:
https://vyaskn.tripod.com/sqlserverres.htm

A stored procedure version of the Propercase function is now available for our SQL Server 7.0 users:
https://vyaskn.tripod.com/code.htm

Site traffic statistics were updated:
https://vyaskn.tripod.com/traffic.htm

Added new abbreviations to the Usenet lingo page, that explains the abbreviations used by newsgroup users:
https://vyaskn.tripod.com/usenetlingo.htm

The following new articles were published:

Microsoft internal code names for SQL Server and related products
https://vyaskn.tripod.com/internal_code_names.htm

What's new from Microsoft? <top>

Microsoft is accepting applications for SQL Server 2000 SP2 beta testing. Apply now if you are interested:
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/evaluation/sp2beta.asp

New Platform Record on TPC-C Non-Clustered Benchmark Test 
Windows Datacenter Server Limited Edition and SQL Server 2000 Advance over UNIX 
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/datacenter/evaluation/news/fromms/dcletpcc.asp

Everything you wanted to know about the new cascading features of SQL Server 2000:
Implementing Referential Integrity and Cascading Actions
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnsql2k/html/sql_refintegrity.asp?frame=true

Support WebCast: Introducing New Features in Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Transactional Replication 
http://support.microsoft.com/servicedesks/Webcasts/WC111601/wcblurb111601.asp

Having problems with orphaned users? Not able to login after restoring a database into a new domain or new server? Check out the following articles:
PRB: User Logon and/or Permission Errors After Restoring Dump
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q168/0/01.ASP
PRB: "Troubleshooting Orphaned Users" Topic in Books Online is Incomplete
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q274/1/88.ASP

Not sure which version of MDAC you are running? Check out the following articles for different versions of the ODBC Driver Manager and the SQL Server driver:
INF: List of Version Numbers of ODBC Driver Manager and SQL Server
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q171/2/21.ASP
INFO: Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) Release History
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q231/9/43.ASP

Here are some online troubleshooting wizards to help troubleshoot connectivity, distributed queries, DTS, SQL Mail, Performance, Replication, Setup and more:
SQL Server Troubleshooters
http://support.microsoft.com/support/sql/tshooter.asp

Got questions and doubts on SQL Server setup? Check out this FAQ on SQL Server setup.
INF: Frequently Asked Questions - SQL Setup
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q195/7/59.ASP

INF: DTS Package Development, Deployment and Performance
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q242/3/91.ASP

Looking for Do's and Don'ts on SQL Server clustering? Check out this article:
INF: Clustered SQL Server Do's, Don'ts and Basic Warnings
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q254/3/21.ASP

Having trouble configuring SQL Mail? Check out this article that covers all the basic configuration and common problems:
INF: How to Configure SQL Mail
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q263/5/56.ASP

Here is a collection of articles that helps you understand log, datafile architecture and troubleshoot problems with huge transaction logs and shrinking:

INF: How to Shrink the SQL Server 7.0 Transaction Log
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q256/6/50.asp

INF: Shrinking the Transaction Log in SQL Server 2000 with DBCC SHRINKFILE
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q272/3/18.ASP

INF: Causes of SQL Transaction Log Filling Up 
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q110/1/39.ASP

INFO: Reasons Why SQL Transaction Log Is Not Being Truncated 
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q62/8/66.ASP

PRB: Running Out of Log Space When Running Large Bulk Loads
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q66/0/57.ASP

PRB: Transaction Log Partially Truncated
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q80/6/29.ASP

Also check out the following topics in SQL Server Books Online:
Transaction Log Architecture
Truncating the Transaction Log

Following articles help you understand the Microsoft product life cycle, how support works during different phases of the product life cycle:
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/discontinue.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/lifecycle.asp

Useful information from other SQL Server based websites <top>

The term RAID sounds Greek and Latin to you? :) Check out this basic tutorial on RAID that discusses characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of different RAID levels:
http://www.acnc.com/04_01_00.html

Looking for a way to send alerts and messages to cell phones/mobile phones using SMS? Check out the new extended stored procedure xp_sendsms at:
http://www.web2sms.f2s.com/

SQL Server Outperforms Java with Oracle:
http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/compare/petshop.aspx

What's new in SQL Server 2000 profiler?
http://www.sqlmag.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=20126

Tips <top>

1) Did you know, generating a 'CREATE TABLE' script is as simple as 'Copy' and 'Paste'?

In Enterprise Manager, right click on any table, select 'Copy' from the popup menu. Now, open Notepad, Word document or Query Analyzer and press Ctrl + V, to paste the create object script. You could generate scripts for multiple tables, by multi-selecting tables in Enterprise Manager using Shift + Click (or Ctrl + Click). This technique even allows you to generate scripts for system tables, which otherwise is not allowed in Enterprise Manager. Same technique can be used to generate scripts for views, stored procedures, user defined data types etc.

2) Having trouble manually adjusting the width of columns, in Enterprise Manager's tables view or 'return all rows' view?

Here is a keyboard shortcut. First make sure your Numlock is on. Press the plus (+) key on your numeric keypad, while holding the Ctrl key down, to automatically adjust the column widths to fit the width of the displayed data.


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