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Since my team started work on Project Houston hardly a day goes by I’m not in some discussion about the Cloud. It also hits me when I go through my RSS feeds each day: cloud this and cloud that. There is obviously a significant new trend here, it may even qualify as a wave; as in the Client/Server Wave...

I follow the Database Trends and Applications magazine because it is pretty platform independent, with a section for Oracle, SQL Server and DB/2. I found it interesting that when I turned there yesterday and today, among the top stories are "Cloud" - front and center. It's easy to see why. When we think...

As Mary Jo Foley recently reported migrating to SQL Azure just got a little easier with the latest version of the SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA), released on August 12. Included in the update are the typical cast of source databases: Oracle, Sybase, and Access. But there are two new things. First...

I know, SQL Server 2008 R2 was released some time back, but with so much content out there I thought I might simplify it a bit. I've written a complete overview that you can read through in about 10 minutes, and there's a great new whitepaper on one of the main features, PowerPivot. Thought I'd share...

At this point there should be no question that Microsoft is fully embracing the cloud. Windows Azure and SQL Azure launched earlier this year and have been receiving positive feedback. I’ve been happily using SQL Azure for several months. One of the great aspects of SQL Azure is the integration with...

Most of us have some help we can provide back to the community. Even if you're new, you can write down some of the things you've learned. And there are several easy ways to to that - you can certainly jump in on the forums ( http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/sqlserver/ ) and answer...

The SQL Server Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) came out for SQL Server 2008 R2 recently , and I’ve been asked what the difference is between the BPA and Policy Based Management (PBM) that was introduced in SQL Server 2008. While it’s true both of these tools can do similar things, each has...

Today I'm here in Washington DC, demo-ing in Bob Muglia's keynote at our Worldwide Partner Conference. This time, I'm showing something quite new - not just a new product, but a new concept in data - Microsoft's premium information marketplace codenamed "Dallas." "Dallas" may be better known as a...

I’ve been using SQL Azure for several months now both for messing around (kicking the tires if you will) and for hosting a real database. I have a database with research data running in SQL Azure and I use Excel to connect to the database. I even share this out with others on my team. It works great...

One of the great things about using SQL Server is the amount of resources you can find for it. One of those resources is the Developer's Training Kit - and there's a new version of it that you can download and learn from . This kit is full of videos, demonstrations, labs and sample code that you can...

In the middle of May, just about 6 weeks ago, the SQL Server BI team launched PowerPivot. This weekend, we have we passed an important milestone: 100,000 downloads of the Excel add-in. For a BI application, this really is a huge number. I guess it truly underscores something we have said all along: that...

You've probably seen some press lately about how pervasive Microsoft is in lots of areas ( here , here and here ). We've also seen SQL Server show up in more and more enterprises - you can read lots of case studies here . There are lots of reasons that you're seeing SQL Server numbers grow - we're less...

I monitor a number of different database discussion forums and you can always find a healthy debate on the best database platform. The problem with this question is the answer is always, it depends. It depends on the business and technical requirements today and over the next few years. We just published...

Ann All recently posted an interesting article at IT Business Edge: Microsoft’s Schizophrenic Approach to Business Intelligence . I’m not too insulted: I tend to agree with Janet Long that, “Part of being sane, is being a little bit crazy.” Ann’s argument is straightforward...

I like it when *other* people review Microsoft software. I still volunteer as a DBA, so I still use multiple versions of our own products (and comptetitors, by the way) in the "real world". That's how I normally present, that's how I teach at the University of Washington, and how I work with my Microsoft...

I first met Sean McCown when I worked on the team developing SQL Server Integration Services. Sean was simultaneously one of our most active supporters and one of our most trenchant critics. He can very – what’s the word? – very forthright . You know, blunt, outspoken and generally...

Well, I've almost recovered from TechEd this year. I had a fantastic time - learning, teaching and most of all, interacting. I'm really glad that Microsoft stuck with New Orleans - they've had a tough go of it since Katrina, but the city didn't show a trace. It was clean, positive and vibrant. Lil' Buck...

I hope you’re able to join me next week at TechEd 2010 U.S. In New Orleans, Louisiana. I love taking this time each year to learn in an environment where I’m “out of my element”. What I mean by that is I have not only SQL Server knowledge all around me, but also knowledge for...

I've mentioned elsewhere that you should be thinking about a "data roadmap". A way of thinking about how you intend to leverage all of that data you're collecting. And in that post I mentioned that Microsoft has a "roadmap" for SQL Server. We think about how to evolve the product all the time...

As announced a few weeks ago on the SQL Azure blog , SQL Azure now supports Data-tier Applications which are introduced with Visual Studio 2010 and SQL Server 2008 R2. Here’s a quick tour of the feature. Here’s what I did: Launch Visual Studio 2010 and create a new Data-tier Application project Import...

Just after a new release of SQL Server, I often get e-mails and calls from folks with this question: “Can I upgrade from Customer Technical Preview (CTP) x or Beta #x or Release Candidate (RC) to the “Released to Manufacturing” (RTM) version?” Unfortunately, no. Right up until the last minute, things...

This past week we released SQL Server 2008 R2 to manufacturing. This is a huge accomplishment for the team and our customers are anxious to get their hands on it. I came across one blog post that expressed disappointment that the only thing they could download was the evaluation edition – they couldn...

It's here! The latest version of SQL Server is out, and it's a big release. This is an exciting time for us - this release is an "R2" - a first for SQL Server. No, it isn't a service pack, and no, we didn't change the product so much that it affects anything that you've already installed in SQL Server...

I originally posted this on my blog but I think this audience might find it interesting. Yesterday I was having a conversation with the User Experience Program Manager on my team regarding two icons where one is supposed to represent an override of the other. It’s a deceptively simple problem. First...

Ross Mistry, a noted author on many Microsoft topics, has his latest book out, and it's on SQL Server 2008 R2. We're able to make that available to you for free in electronic form - just go here to pick up your copy: http://blogs.msdn.com/microsoft_press/archive/2010/04/14/free-ebook-introducing-microsoft...