I wanted to something different for SQL Relay last week as this is a community driven event and I didn’t want to cover areas that the other experts on the Relay team would cover. This left some gaps and I have had several follow up questions via twitter and e-mail which I want to cover in this post.
Columnstore
I covered several uses of the in memory column based technology in my session 2 of which are in SQL Server 2008 R2 (PowerPivcot for Excel and PowerPivot for SharePoint) and two are new for SQL Server 2012: Tabular Analysis Services and Columnstore indexes. Columnstore indexes are part of the database engine rather than part of Analysis services and are created much in the same way as for other indexes:
CREATE NONCLUSTERED COLUMNSTORE INDEX [IX_CS_FactProductInventory] ON dbo.FactProductInventory ( ProductKey, DateKey, UnitCost, UnitsIn, UnitsOut, UnitsBalance )
CREATE NONCLUSTERED COLUMNSTORE INDEX [IX_CS_FactProductInventory]
ON dbo.FactProductInventory
(
ProductKey, DateKey, UnitCost, UnitsIn, UnitsOut, UnitsBalance
)
They can speed up a query by 10-100x compared to a normal index however you can’t update a table with a Columsntore index on you have to disable it and then re-index after you have made your changes. There a good guide on its usage on the SQL Server wiki.
Security
I would like to have covered of contained database security which as the name suggests means that the login credentials of users get stored in a given database rather than in master and for SQL Server authentication this means that the password is in there as well. As well as making the database more portable a user who just has their credentials in that database can’t change to another database and have little or no permissions outside that database. Therefore when you connect to a contained database you need to specify the database as well as the server/instance (for example in management studio) I can see there being huge advantages of this approach for developers wishing to make applications cloud ready and ISV’s can make deployments of their applications more easily.
I also got asked about crypto enhancements in SQL Server and these are:
LocalDB
I have to admit to glossing over this as I am not primarily a developer and I rarely play with SQL Server Express. LocalDB is an installation option in SQL Express and allows for a cutdown version of SQL Server to run against a local database. Note LocalDB doesn’t support Filestream and cannot be a merge replication subscriber and for more on this refer to LocalDB in MSDN
Power View
I have now checked and there is currently no drill down capability in Power View. If htis is important to you r business you can register your interest in this feature oadn/or clusteringn Connect (Microsoft portal for feedback on products)
SQL Server Guest Clustering/Always On
No matter how good your virtualisation stack is if you want to make SQL Server highly available you need some form of solution whereby a virtual machine can hand off the running of a SQL server database instance to another virtual machine for planned and unplanned downtime. Correct me if I am wrong but Vmware DRS simply doesn’t do this (neither does Hyper-V so I am not trying to criticise Vmware per se). Your choices were mirroring before the launch of SQL Server 2012 and now that’s out you have Always On. This should work well on Vmware as well as Hyper-V as there is no dependency on shared storage and hence iscsi support in your VMs.
So hopefully that helps clear up a few things I had to skate over in the interest of time, do ping me if I have missed your query off and look forward to chatting with you all agin at SQL Bits or some other community event soon.
We have had range of content that is just waiting to be delved into when you have a spare moment. If you’re into cloud content then this week is the week for you!
Pop over to the insights video as it is perfect for you. Also it’s worth looking at out Cloud Ninja post as well which provides the details of our certification program. We’ve also provided a set of details around cloud based labs and evaluation software.
As an added bonus anyone with children or friends and family in full time education will be interested in our DreamSpark article. If you would like to get this news direct to your inbox why not sign up to our newsletter, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
Steve Plank sat down with Jim Chapman, CEO of Retail Manager Solutions, who talks about their move from on-premises software to the cloud and then tells us how Windows Azure has changed their business. Sales cycle times have been dramatically reduced, customers save money and there is less work to do to get a solution up and running for one of their customers.
To find out more about Windows Azure and to take a free trial of the platform just pop over to the website: http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/
Every couple of weeks we bring out the book of the fortnight in our TechNet Flash Newsletter. What you may not have noticed is that in with that we usually offer the book of the month at a significant discount. So it’s worth signing up to the newsletter to get these discounts as well as the server and tools news direct to your inbox.
This fortnight we’re sticking with our cloud theme and the book of the fortnight is Working with Microsoft Office 365.
Take control of your small business communication and increase your productivity-with Microsoft Office 365 cloud services. Through extensive walkthroughs, easy-to-follow procedures, and real-world tips, you’ll learn how to implement Office 365 for professionals and small businesses-without having to be an IT expert. You’ll also gain valuable knowledge on configuring, deploying, and maintaining Office 365 no matter which plan you choose.
Discover how to:
Sign up to this month’s TechNet Flash Newsletter to gain access to our 40% discount offer! You can get the print version of this book with free UK P & P for £18.59 (Regular Price: £30.99) and you can also get the E-book version at a discount too!
Microsoft support the student community through a programme called DreamSpark. Anyone who is a student can access the programme and it’s aim is simple, give every student the ability to access developer and designer tools for free to create amazing things. If you know someone who you think would benefit from these free tools then point them at this article, share the love and inspire a future technologist!
DreamSpark is all about giving students Microsoft professional-level developer and designer tools at no charge so that they can follow their dreams. Those dreams could create the next big breakthrough in technology or help someone get a head start their career!
It’s your dream and we want to help you to follow it.
DreamSpark gives every student the chance to develop world class software, web applications, cool and creative designs as well as amazing games. Microsoft believes that students can do amazing things if they only have the right tools. Microsoft was started when many of the founders were still students so we know that anything is possible.
To make this happen, we are aligning with universities, associations, and other communities around the world to make sure that DreamSpark reaches everyone as fast as possible. That’s where you come in.
Your challenge should you choose to accept it is to inform as many students that you know about this programme so that you can help them to get a head start on a career, do better in class, or even show the world new things that technology can do….all with DreamSpark.
Visit http://www.dreamspark.com to find out more and drop ukstu@microsoft.com an email if you have any questions, suggestions or ideas!
The next wave of SQL Server investments will offer organizations the agility to quickly create and scale solutions that solve challenges and fuel new business opportunity from server to private or public cloud linked together with common tools for optimized productivity and cutting-edge developer technologies—build once, deploy and manage wherever.
Learn how SQL Server can help you achieve consolidation, standardisation, elasticity, greater uptime, self-service provisioning and usage metering
Download the Solution Guide for Private Cloud Poster
Learn how to easily synchronize SQL Azure databases between SQL Azure and On-Premises SQL Server Databases using SQL Azure DataSync
Find out more about the SQL Server Hybrid Solutions here: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/solutions-technologies/hybrid-It.aspx
Ian Woodgate is Managing Director of PointBeyond Limited, the UK’s leading SharePoint Business Application specialists. Ian has a background in financial services and and IT. He has worked with SharePoint since its first release as a developer and subsequently as a solution architect. Ian regularly speaks at events around the country, focusing on the subject of delivering business applications using SharePoint, and recently wrote PointBeyond’s white paper ‘Delivering Maximum Business Value With A SharePoint Based Application Strategy’. He also runs the SharePoint UK user group meetings in Southampton. You can contact Ian at info@pointbeyond.com or follow him on twitter @IanWoodgate.
This is the first of a series of articles in which we discuss how you can use InfoPath 2010 to quickly create and deploy business applications in the cloud with SharePoint Online, part of the Microsoft Office 365 platform. We’ll show how to publish a simple InfoPath form to SharePoint Online, and future articles will build upon this example.
For those not familiar, InfoPath is a Microsoft application that allows users to easily create and publish forms for collecting structured information. The InfoPath application ships with Microsoft Office Professional 2010, and is also available for separate purchase.
InfoPath solutions can be created by both developers and IT professionals, as well as tech-savvy business users such as analysts and information workers. Users can take advantage of the powerful combination of InfoPath and SharePoint 2010 to quickly create complete browser based applications without the need for custom code.
InfoPath ships with templates for common business forms such as Absence Request, Change Order, and Status Report. You can extend the sample forms or create new forms from a blank canvas.
InfoPath allows you to add business rules to validate data being entered (e.g. data must be a number) or to allow data entry on certain conditions (e.g. only an approver can view the approvals section). Rules are added using menus and configuration, so no coding is required, though InfoPath does support custom coding to enable more advanced customisations. Information that is collected when forms are filled out is saved as XML.
You can add your own custom branding and formatting so that your forms reflect your overall corporate style. And you can interact with data located on premise or in the cloud by creating connections to SQL Server, Access, web services, or SharePoint lists.
When forms are published to SharePoint, InfoPath Forms Services, a component of SharePoint 2010, renders them as HTML web forms, so end users do not require any extra software in order to access forms and submit data. Browsers supported by InfoPath Forms Services includes Internet Explorer 7 and upwards, as well as other modern browsers such as Google Chrome and Apple Safari.
It’s no secret that with InfoPath and SharePoint, you can quickly create and deploy business applications without the need for custom code and long, costly development cycles. Perhaps less known is that you can get the same benefits with Office 365 and SharePoint Online. You do need Office 365 plan E3 or E4, or SharePoint Online (Plan 2) if you want your forms to be browser enabled though, since only these plans include InfoPath Forms Services.
InfoPath forms provide more than enough power for creating data-focused applications such as absence reporting, expense approvals, and IT help desk requests. You wouldn’t want to use InfoPath and SharePoint to replace your current ERP system, but the combination is more than acceptable for a wide range of basic applications that are on most organisations’ development backlogs.
Let’s have a quick look at how to create, publish, fill, and submit a simple InfoPath form. In this demo, we’ll use a basic purchase order request form with a simple approval process. For the purposes of this article we have kept the form self-contained and it is therefore very simple. There are many ways in which it could be extended, some of which will be mentioned later.
The form used in this demo can be downloaded from here, along with instructions on the changes that are needed for deployment to your environment or SharePoint online site.
Using the InfoPath Office client we have placed controls on the form to enable the capture of the following information:
The form allows the application of sophisticated rule-based validation and formatting options. These can all be seen on the downloadable form. For example, the Request Approval section is configured to only be displayed when the form has been submitted for approval and is only shown to the specified approver.
The form is shown open in InfoPath below. The data structure and the rules applied to the ‘Submit for Approval’ button can be seen:
Before attempting to publish the form go to site settings in SharePoint and ensure you have the ‘SharePoint Server Enterprise Site Collection features’ feature activated under Site collection features. Also be sure to make the changes in the instructions that accompany the download.
Once the form is ready you can publish directly from InfoPath to your Office 365 SharePoint site. This will create a new form library in your chosen site. From the File menu in InfoPath, select the Publish tab. Click on ‘Publish form to a SharePoint Library’:
In the publishing wizard, enter the URL to your Office 365 SharePoint site and click ‘Next’:
Enter your Office365 credentials:
In the next screen ensure the ‘Enable this form to be filled out by using a browser’ checkbox is selected and select the Form Library radio button, then click ‘Next’:
In the next screen, choose to ‘Create a new form library’ to host your form or update the form if you have an existing Form Library:
Enter a suitable name and description and click ‘Next’:
Click ‘Next’ on the following screen leaving values as default:
Click ‘Publish’ on the summary screen:
The form is now available at the SharePoint Online address specified. InfoPath Forms Services will render the form as HTML, so that users can fill it in from their browser. When viewing the Form Library, clicking on the ‘Add document’ link will open the form in the browser. A user can now fill this in and submit it:
Once submitted the approver can open and review the form in a read-only view and approve/reject as appropriate:
If a form has been submitted and a non-approver attempts to open the form, the rules result in the following view being displayed:
This example demonstrates the power that InfoPath and SharePoint Online provide to quickly create form-based business applications in the cloud. This example, while quite basic, could easily be extended to accommodate more real-world scenarios. For example, you could:
We hope that this simple example demonstrates how you to quickly build and publish powerful business applications on the SharePoint Online platform using InfoPath and without needing custom code.
In a future article, we will present more advanced features such as additional workflow capabilities and integration with web services and SQL Azure data.
Become a ‘Cloud Ninja’ and help lead your IT organisation to the cloud, by obtaining Microsoft’s new flagship certification, the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE). These certifications recognise those IT professionals who have broad and deep skill sets across whole Microsoft solutions. The Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) is the certification for aspiring IT professionals and is also the prerequisite certification necessary to earn an MCSE, while the Microsoft Certified Solutions Master (MCSM) is the ultimate destination for the most experienced MCSEs.
Securing these essential technical skills will allow you to grow your career and make yourself indispensable as the industry shifts to the cloud. For more information about how Microsoft Certifications have been reinvented for the cloud, watch this video.
Are you ready to test your skills against our experts? Here’s your chance! Get your 2 for 1 certification exam offer now. It’s only open until the 30th June so what are you waiting for!
So that we can better understand and ensure that we make trial software easy to find and simple to access we thought it would be good to find out where and how you access our trial software.
We’ve posted a single question poll on our Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/questions/350160245050218/
Please help us to support you and your download desires!
Last week we posted even more events for May and even some for June! We also brought you content around deployment and planning as well as data management.
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