In Can the Transaction Log Tell Us What Happened?, I talked about whether Microsoft should take responsibility for providing SQL Server users with a tool for reading the actual contents of the transaction log. I admitted that such a tool might be nice, but it really wasn’t something that I felt was a requirement from a database vendor. You need to take responsibility for monitoring what your system is doing, and if you want to know every command that’s sent you can set up a trace. In fact, with the log, you have no way of finding out who is reading your data because the log records only changes. For very sensitive data, you might want to know every time someone reads it, and for that you’re completely on your own.

Lately, I’ve heard people commenting (or perhaps complaining?) that not only do they want Microsoft to tell them what they’ve done when something unexpected happens, but also to warn them before it happens! The particular behavior that has come up several times recently in discussions with colleagues and clients is called auto_truncate. Most people are aware that SQL Server will automatically truncate the transaction log every time a checkpoint occurs if a database is in the SIMPLE recovery model. But it turns out that there are other situations in which the log will automatically be truncated. If SQL Server can’t back up the log, it won’t bother keeping the log records available, and it will truncate the log at every checkpoint. This behavior occurs if you've truncated the log without backing it up, using the BACKUP LOG WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY command. It also happens if you’ve never made a full database backup, or if you haven’t made a full backup since running the BACKUP LOG WITH TRUNCATE_ONLY command. So even though your database properties indicate your database is in the FULL recovery model, the log can’t be backed up.

What are your plans for the SQL Server Kilimanjaro release?

Go to the SQL Server Magazine home page (www.sqlmag.com) and submit your vote for:

• We can’t wait to implement it in our organization
• We like to keep current and will adopt it soon after it's out
• We're just not ready for another release of SQL Server
• We’ll probably get there, but it's not part of our current plans
• I’ve never even heard of Kilimanjaro

Up in the Air over Cloud Computing
Do you want to run SQL Server and other mission-critical applications from the cloud?
www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/100580/sql_server_100580.html


Handling Arrays
One way to use arrays as input for stored procedures is to employ dynamic SQL.
www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/100453/sql_server_100453.html

These videos discuss what's new in SQL Server 2008, how to upgrade to SQL Server 2008, and how to secure data in SQL Server 2008.
www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/101017/101017.html

JNetDirect has announced the release of the latest version of its database management and code deployment application, Combine 4.0.
www.sqlmag.com/article/articleid/100966/sql_server_blog_100966.html

Best Practices for Deploying Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007
Download this must-read white paper for IT managers! In Hyper-V, a key feature of Windows Server 2008, Microsoft has provided customers an excellent virtualization tool that can be used to consolidate the number of physical servers required for a full deployment of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.

HP engineers have tested various Hyper-V configurations with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to determine the viability of Hyper-V based solutions and have compiled a list of Hyper-V best practices with Office SharePoint Server 2007.
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Dramatically Accelerate Microsoft SharePoint
To be productive, employees, telecommuters, business partners, customers, and remote office workers must all have unimpeded access to their critical applications, such as Microsoft SharePoint. Obstacles to efficient application delivery include "chatty" TCP protocols, poorly written applications, tightened security requirements for web servers and apps, and more. Download this white paper to learn how to speed application delivery, optimize performance, and protect your servers from application-layer attacks.


Delivering Reliable and Effective Web-Based Applications
Web-based services have become critical components of organizations' line-of-business applications, and they need to be highly available to prevent workflow disruption. To achieve that high availability, you need to understand the operation of applications and be able to monitor the components that make up your Web application infrastructure. Because failing to maintain acceptable service levels can have a company-wide impact, IT must have access to the tools and techniques it needs to live up to its promises for delivering reliable, effective Web-based services.
Register for this on-demand event now!



FEATURED WHITE PAPER

Managing SQL Server Sprawl
Managing a few SQL Server databases is easy. But when a few instances become many, and those grow at the rate of 40, 50, or 100 per year, IT has a problem--one that cries out for effective consolidation. Sprawl can result in inefficient use of hardware, software, and administrative resources. Hardware and maintenance costs are magnified by such inefficiency, and poor utilization rapidly increases energy consumption. Server sprawl can also rob SQL Server users of resource availability and business productivity.
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