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Windows Clustering [WSFC]

2013-01-29T11:07:46Z

One of the videos on Windows Server Failover Clustering. View Video Format: wmv Duration: --:--...(read more)

Migrating a SQL Cluster across Domains

2013-01-27T14:33:14Z

In my recent visit to New Delhi, one of my good friend told me that he is planning for a SQL Cluster Migration from one domain to another . I was really concerned to hear that. In my previous engagements, we had similar requests and it’s very clear that “We don’t support WSFC migration from one domain to another”. Let’s see some key facts here: Important: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/269196 Microsoft does not support moving an already installed and configured Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server...(read more)

SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn

2012-12-07T05:34:15Z

Extracts from my last SQL AlwaysOn Delivery......(read more)

MOF v4.0 Foundation Course

2012-11-30T07:20:00Z

Here is one of the recent assignments on which I was working last month. http://blogs.technet.com/b/ptsblog/archive/2012/10/02/microsoft-operations-framework-mof-4-0-fundamentals.aspx...(read more)

Merge Replication–Web Synchronization with FTP Snapshot

2011-08-06T18:52:30Z

This week I spent a good number of hours to review and assist a Web Synchronization lab setup for a Customer. We tried to look for all possible resources but unfortunately there is almost no Step-by-Step guide available on Web Sync. Thus, thought of making it available on the Web for rest of the world. Pre-requisites for Web Sync (IIS) Install the Internet Information Services 6.0 (IIS 6.0) management compatibility components (all). Install ISAPI Extensions and CGI FTP Server Components ( In case...(read more)

Web Application on Merge Publisher?

2011-07-30T22:10:05Z

Problem Statement: Referring back to two my previous posts on Merge Replication with SQL Server, there are few concerns as well with Merge Pub on few specific scenarios such as: - Merge Pub always wins so writing directly on the publisher is not recommended for proper conflict resolution practices - Data issue could fail entire merge topology in case data is written directly on the publisher than the subscribers - Excessive locking could be an issue at the publisher end in case we have more subscribers...(read more)

Few more Merge Replication Scenarios & Questions….

2011-07-30T21:33:35Z

Centralized DB with Merge Replication : Problem Description - In this scenario Customer wanted to setup a centralized DB with two location offices. They wanted to make sure that location specific data stays either in the particular location or on central server but it should not traverse across other locations. They had location identified in the table. Customer had done some research on centralized replication topics on external sites but that made him more confused as he did not have any prior...(read more)

A Merge Replication Scenario..

2011-07-28T23:53:50Z

One of my recent engagements on Merge Replication, I faced a scenario as below diagram: Scenario Details: Single copy of database at the publisher end which is working as the Publisher DB Database is the backend of Custom ERP application. Database size is very small (4-5 GB) They have written custom SP which can write in backend apart from the FE application. Subscribers have Push subscription and running with SQL Express (On Demand /Custom Logic) More than 100+ subscribers. Users can write text...(read more)

SQL–Partition SPLIT takes forever to create new empty partition

2011-05-16T19:22:41Z

This is one of those recent crazy cases where I was working. Issue Description Customer had a table of 1.5 TB in size with multiple partition (yearly partitioning strategy). Even though Microsoft always recommends that the last partition should be empty, they could not follow the strategy and added data in the last partition and it was more than 100GB at the time of call. When they further tried using SPLIT function to create a new empty Partition so that they can move the 2011 data to a new...(read more)

SQL Create Login Failure (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 15401)

2011-05-16T16:54:34Z

One of our folks was setting up his lab using Virtual Machines and he finished almost everything including setting up DC, Windows Cluster etc. but when he was trying to create an account in SQL Server, he was getting bellow error: After almost a day’s investment, he came back asking what’s next and how to resolve it. He had already followed http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324321 but still no luck as none of the scenarios mentioned in KB was matching. We did further analysis and found few loopholes...(read more)

Reporting Services 2005 on Windows 2008

2011-02-01T21:03:57Z

With new architectural changes in SQL Server 2008, it’s much easy to use and configure SSRS 2008 on Windows Server 2008 (No need of IIS). But problem comes when people try to install SQL 2005 Reporting Service on top of Windows Server 2008 and particularly x86 on x64 Platform. There are lots of such issues reported but none of them provide exact answer I had to work on two similar engagements in the recent past so thought of sharing my experience with all of you. Possible Scenarios: Sceanrio1: You...(read more)

SQL Blogs Directory

2010-10-25T19:49:01Z

http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlcat/ http://blogs.msdn.com/adonet/ http://blogs.msdn.com/astoriateam/ http://blogs.msdn.com/slavao/ http://blogs.msdn.com/euanga/default.aspx http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlrem/ http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlexpress/ http://blogs.msdn.com/xmlteam/default.aspx http://blogs.msdn.com/remusrusanu/ http://blogs.msdn.com/rogerwolterblog/default.aspx http://blogs.msdn.com/buckwoody http://blogs.msdn.com/bobmeyers/default.aspx http://blogs.msdn.com/sqltips/default.aspx http://blogs.msdn.com...(read more)

Key Management Services–Confusion???

2010-08-22T21:52:00Z

One of the common scenario which is coming in to my way very frequently is KMS (Key Management Services). This is very simple concept of deploying Activation server within your premise and activate your all latest products which supports Volume Activation 2.0 ( Windows Vista , Windows Server 2008 , Windows 7 , Windows Server 2008 R2 and Office 2010 ). Remember that Volume Activation 2.0 was introduced with Windows Vista to avoid piracy issues. As per Volume Activation 2.0, now you need to activate...(read more)

SQL Performance Analysis – CPU Bottleneck (Part 1)

2010-06-14T22:20:37Z

SQL Server Performance Monitoring and Troubleshooting is one of the Hot Topic for our Partners/Customers. There were so many workshops we organized/delivered around this topic in last few years but still demand has not reduced. So now let’s scribble something about this on the blog in the form of FAQ: Q: How should I start with CPU usage? A: Start with Task Manager for %CPU Usage or Windows Performance Monitor for % Processor Time. CPU usage at around ~85% is a true indication of CPU bottleneck...(read more)

MySQL to MS SQL Server 2008 R2 Migration Experience with SSMA

2010-06-13T20:07:56Z

It is almost 7 years when I last used MySQL. In these 7 years MySQL has changed a lot and I also became a true MS SQL user/administrator. I realized this when I started setting up MySQL on my lab. Must say our SQL Server system is the best in usability front. I am sharing my learning's in this page. Installing/Setting up MySQL: I started with hunting for an installer in MySQL page. I got a free edition in MySQL called MySQL Community Server. There were multiple options in the download section but...(read more)

Simplifying SQL Server Joins (Query and Internals)

2010-02-28T20:36:18Z

I love to explain things in much simpler way but SQL Joins are one of those concepts which are not so simple to explain and I really spend a lot of time in scribbling on White Board for this. But finally I found an article from Jeff Atwood where he did an incredible job by simply using Venn Diagrams to explain the whole concept. I will take few extract from his article but rest you can read from his blog. INNER JOIN: SELECT * FROM TableA INNER JOIN TableB ON TableA . name = TableB . name OUTER...(read more)

Install Windows 7 from USB Stick (No more burning on DVD Media)

2009-05-15T16:49:35Z

Windows 7 RC has come out and most of you must be looking at possibilities of installing and playing with the new gen Windows OS as I was till yesterday! A big pain in this entire process is first download the image from the site and then burn it on a DVD. Fortunately Windows 7 removed one of those pains and allowed us to install directly from a USB Stick. A very nice article is already published on the same which you might have already seen ( TechNet Magazine ). I tested the same and it’s really...(read more)

Support Becomes Easier

2009-05-13T21:08:42Z

We made the troubleshooting support access much easier for our Partners and we are constantly updating our Partners about the same. If you don’t have the details yet, please follow the below steps: Go to https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx Sign in with your .net credentials. Select the Product for which you are setting up the case. Select the option “ Submit Online ” Accept the agreement. Complete the Product selection/confirmation wizard. Select the option which says that “ Professional...(read more)

Free unlimited installation and compatibility support for Windows Vista SP1

2008-07-08T18:01:20Z

Free unlimited installation and compatibility support is available for Windows Vista, but only for Service Pack 1 (SP1). This support for SP1 is valid until March 18, 2009. Chat and e-mail support is available only in the United States and Canada. Some issues may require more advanced support for which there is a charge. For all other Windows Vista issues, visit the Help and Support site at http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?Gprid=11732 , and then choose your product. Start Email Support...(read more)

Microsoft made Hotfix available online

2008-07-08T17:51:32Z

Do you spend lot of time waiting in the Microsoft Phone Support Queue just to request a Hotfix? Forget those old days...yes now you can view and download the Hotfix package directly from Microsoft website and you need not to call Microsoft Support for these. Lets see how: 1) Go to http://support.microsoft.com/ and search for the KB with appropriate KB number. 2) Look into the top most part of the KB details page: 3) Click on View and Request hotfix downloads . 4) Approve the Agreement...(read more)

Where is Vista SP1 MUI Packs?

2008-07-08T17:37:27Z

Ok…till now I got tons of responses for my previous blog post on Vista RTM MUI . I know everyone is looking for Vista SP1 MUI but where are they? So to address all those asks...here is what we have for you: 1) If you are installing Windows Vista SP1 All Language Pak on a Vista RTM box where there is a MUI pack already installed, you need not to look for SP1 MUI pack as the above patch will upgrade all installed MUI to SP1. 2) If you are planning to buy a Slipstreamed Windows Vista SP1 media...(read more)

BitLocker!!#$?! What all downloads are available...

2008-05-04T21:53:25Z

BitLocker Drive Preparation Tool: Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption is a feature that encrypts one or more volumes (drives) attached to your computer and that can use a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to verify the integrity of early startup components. Because BitLocker encrypts the entire volume of data, it requires the computer to be configured with an active partition, used for startup, which is separate from the operating system volume. This is called a “split-load configuration.”...(read more)

This is again good to have!! All updates included in Windows Vista SP1

2008-02-28T00:25:54Z

KBArticle Title Issue Type Component Link 843289 Proxy server settings are not set correctly in Internet Explorer after you download a proxy script that uses chunk encoding Hotfix Desktop Technologies http://support.microsoft.com/kb/843289 870853 Office 2003 and 2007 Office documents open read-only in Internet Explorer Hotfix Base Technologies http://support.microsoft.com/kb/870853 884534 FIX: Internet Explorer may stop responding when you set the "display" style for the DIV HTML element...(read more)

Hoolala...One Step Download for MUI Packs of Windows Vista

2008-02-28T00:08:16Z

Vista Ultimate x86 MUI Language Packs Vista Ultimate x64 MUI Language Packs Danish language pack German language pack English language pack Spanish language pack Finnish language pack French language pack Italian language pack Japanese language pack Korean language pack Norwegian language pack Dutch language pack Portuguese (Brazil) language pack Russian language pack Swedish language pack Chinese (simplified) language pack Chinese (Hong Kong S.A.R.) language pack Arabic language pack Bulgarian language...(read more)

Shipping a High Quality Vista Service Pack 1

2008-02-07T01:09:43Z

Wow...I really like this and I think most of you are also aware of this by now. But still wanted to share as at-least I was waiting for it from long time :) I was using Windows Vista SP1 from last 3 weeks but February 4th I saw this link somewhere in www.microsoft.com Windows Vista SP1 released to manufacturing Windows Vista SP1 will start being available to the public in March, starting with Microsoft Volume Licensing customers. This is just awesome.....just adding a snapshot of it...you can go...(read more)