SQL Server Magazine UPDATE, August 26, 2004--XP SP2

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1. SQL Server Perspectives

2. News and Views

3. Announcements

4. Resources

5. Events Central

6. New and Improved

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1. SQL Server Perspectives

XP SP2 and SQL Server
by Brian Moran, [email protected]

In June, I wrote about the effects that Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) has on SQL Server (see "Windows XP SP2 Defaults Break SQL Server Connections" at http://www.winnetmag.com/article/articleID/42854/42854.html ). Now that XP SP2 is dribbling out through Windows Update and other sources, I want to revisit the topic. XP SP2 has some great new features, such as the easy-to-use Windows Firewall that comes turned on by default. Considering the security problems that have plagued the Windows community over the past few years, putting strong firewall protection into users' hands is essential. However, blindly installing XP SP2 on a machine that's running SQL Server will cause you a lot of grief. That wonderful new firewall will cause SQL Server to stop working if you do a simple, default installation of SP2. You need to know what knobs to tweak to ensure SQL Server will continue to work. Few production server applications are running on XP right now, but countless SQL Server instances are running on developer boxes on top of XP. And don't forget about the instances of Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE) that are running on XP.

There's a rumor floating around the newsgroups that Microsoft recommends not installing XP SP2 on machines that are running SQL Server. That information isn't true, but you do need to understand the steps necessary to keep SQL Server working after you install SP2. I can't describe all the steps necessary to maximize the security capabilities of Windows Firewall while enabling users to access SQL Server across the Internet, but the following resources will get you up and running in no time. The most complete Microsoft article about XP SP2 and SQL Server that I'm aware of is "FAQ: How Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) Affects SQL Server and MSDE," available at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/techinfo/administration/2000/security/winxpsp2faq.asp . In addition, the following Microsoft articles include tips to avoid XP SP2 gotchas:

Do you like debugging stored procedures from Visual Studio.NET? Too bad: "BUG: SQL debugging does not work in Visual Studio .NET after you install Windows XP Service Pack 2," at http://support.microsoft.com/?id=839280 , describes another XP SP2 problem. But your security administrators will be thrilled by "A message stating that an instance of SQL Server is vulnerable to virus attacks is logged in the application event log when you install SQL Server 2000 or MSDE 2000 on a computer that is running Windows XP Service Pack 2," http://support.microsoft.com/?id=841375 . And the following articles cover best practices for implementing XP SP2 with SQL Server and important troubleshooting information:

Finally, watch and learn from the "MSDN Webcast: SQL Server and Windows XP SP2 - Level 300," available at http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/eventdetail.aspx?eventid=1032253410&culture=en-us . Bring your popcorn, kick off your shoes, and settle in for 90 minutes as Richard Waymire presents this Microsoft Webcast. The Webcast, a must-see for any SQL Server professional, presents a wealth of interesting security information. With any luck, you'll be finished with all that learning just in time for SP3!

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2. News and Views

Take the SQL Server Magazine Salary Survey, and Enter to Win $100!
Are you satisfied with your job, facing particular challenges, compensated on par with colleagues in similar positions? SQL Server Magazine is conducting a salary survey to find out what makes you happy as a SQL Server professional. When you complete the survey, you'll be entered in a drawing for one of five $100 American Express gift certificates. Then, look for the survey results in our December issue, and see how you compare with your peers. To take the survey, go to
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Microsoft Fixes Email That Reporting Services Generates
Have you received a zero-byte file attachment in an email that SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services generated? The attachment contains reports that Reporting Services generates. However, because the reports are incorrectly formatted, IBM Lotus Domino servers can't load the attachment, and the reports appear as a zero-byte file attachment. To work around this problem, configure the subscription and delivery of reports to either send a hyperlink to the reports in the email instead of the attached report or send the report as a Web archive. A Web archive is a Web file format that appears embedded in the body of the email as MIME HTML (MHTML). For more details about the hotfix, read the Microsoft article "FIX: You may receive a zero-byte attachment in e-mail when e-mail subscriptions are sent to Lotus Domino e-mail servers by SQL Server 2000 Reporting Services" at
    http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=872774

Results of Previous Instant Poll: IBM DB2
The voting has closed in SQL Server Magazine's Instant Poll for the question, "Will you migrate to IBM DB2 UDB 8.2 if the product is the first database platform to offer Microsoft .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR) support?" Here are the results (+/- 1 percent) from the 217 votes:

New Instant Poll: Windows XP SP2
The next Instant Poll question is "Does your company intend to implement Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)?" Go to the SQL Server Magazine Web site and vote for 1) yes, we've already deployed it, 2) yes, as soon as we test it, 3) yes, but we're not sure when, 4) no, or 5) we're not currently running Windows XP.
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3. Announcements

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4. Resources

What's New in SQL Server Magazine: 2004 Readers' Choice Awards
In May, we asked you, our readers, to vote for your favorite SQL Server products. We built a ballot based on more than 150 product nominations from software, hardware, and service providers. And if the ballot didn't include your pick for a particular category, we asked you to write in your choice. In the end, you named winning products in 55 categories. Read these articles to see which products you selected as best in class:

Hot Thread: Object-Oriented Modeling
NETFoo's company is looking into implementing a high-profile trade-routing and commission-management project. One of the suggested database models is an object-oriented (OO) physical model using SuperType, SuperType Association, and SubType. However, an initial assessment from the database perspective showed little benefit over a relational model. The OO model's main advantage is flexibility from an application-development perspective, letting users map front-end business entities to database entities. NETFoo wants to know what the advantages and disadvantages are to OO data modeling. NETFoo also wants to know if it's a good idea to enforce OO physical modeling in a relational database management system (RDBMS) when SQL Server 2005 will provide an object-oriented service, ObjectSpace. Offer your advice and see what other people have said on SQL Server Magazine's Development forum at
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Tip: Finding Login Counts and Creation Dates
by Microsoft's SQL Server Development Team, [email protected]

Q. How can I find out how many logins are in a SQL Server database and when they were created?

A. Here are several queries that return information about logins on your SQL Server. To find the count of logins on your SQL Server, you can execute the following query:

 SELECT COUNT(*)      FROM master..syslogins   GO

You can execute the next query to get a list of logins on your server as well as the creation date of each login:

 SELECT name, createdate      FROM master..syslogins   GO

Similarly, you can execute the following queries in a database to find the count of users for that database, a list of the user names, and the dates the users were created:

USE    GO   SELECT COUNT(*)      FROM sysusers   SELECT name, createdate      FROM sysusers   GO

These queries should give you the login and user information you need.

5. Events Central

For a complete guide to Web and live events, see
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6. New and Improved
by Dawn Cyr, [email protected]

Give Users Realtime Remote Access to Databases
SYWARE announced mEnable 2.0, software that lets users remotely access enterprise data in Sometimes Connected or Always Connected mode. The software provides interactive, realtime connections to any ODBC-enabled database residing on a corporate server, including SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Sybase, and Oracle databases. Developers can create data-driven applications that wirelessly connect Windows, Windows CE, and Windows Mobile Pocket PC devices with corporate servers in one of two ways. In Sometimes Connected mode, when the network is available, users read from and write to the enterprise server. When the connection is lost, users work locally and synchronize with the database when the connection is restored. In Always Connected mode, users have continuous, realtime access to server data, enabling interaction with large, complex databases that are beyond the capability of a handheld device. The product runs on a LAN, WAN, or Internet connection and uses the TCP/IP protocol. MEnable is available in three editions, and you need one runtime license for each wireless device the product runs on. Pricing starts at $499 for 10 runtime licenses plus a free mEnable software development kit (SDK). The cost for 100 mEnable runtime licenses plus the SDK is $1999. For other pricing or information, contact SYWARE at 617-497-1300 or by email through the SYWARE Web site.
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View Database Performance Metrics Over the Internet
Embarcadero announced Embarcadero Performance Center 1.9, software for managing data and database infrastructures. A server-based solution, Performance Center 1.9 lets DBAs monitor the health of databases from any computer that has Internet access, eliminating the need to install monitoring software on desktops. DBAs can use any standard Web browser to view the performance metrics of all the databases they're monitoring. In addition, the new Web client is fully integrated into Embarcadero DBArtisan, so Embarcadero customers can view performance problems from the familiar console of their database-administration tool. The product also provides OS support and analysis for UNIX and Linux systems without requiring the use of agents. Thus, DBAs can protect their SQL Server 2000 and 7.0, Oracle, and Sybase database systems by identifying problems on the database server machines. For pricing and other information, contact Embarcadero at 415-834-3131 or [email protected].
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