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[Focus]

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Reporting Services: It's De-lightful
Read all about the new SQL Server 2000 tool that has customers singing Microsoft's praises. Reporting Services, slated for release to manufacturing by the end of the year, handles the complete reporting life cycle.
 — Brian Larson , et al.

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[Features]

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Queueing Up
If you need to maintain multiple database servers at multiple sites and synchronize all the data, SQL Server has a solution to make your job easier--SQL Server’s Transactional Replication with Queued Updates can help.
 — Sameer Dandage


Server-Side Paging with SQL Server
Paging is necessary in most Web applications, but accessing a large number of records can create a bottleneck that cripples your system. This server-side paging technique that lets you access millions of records and still avoid performance problems.
 — Andrew Rosca

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[SQL Server Savvy]

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Accessing Named Instances
Named instances didn't exist when Microsoft released SQL Server 7.0, the company added them in SQL Server 2000. You can work around this problem by adding an alias for the SQL Server 2000 named instance using the Client Network Utility.
 — Brian Moran


Dangers of Enabling Cross-Database Chaining
Cross-database chaining is a new configuration option in SP3 that you can enable for individual databases by using the sp_dboption command. Cross-database ownership chaining opens up several serious security holes and should be avoided.
 — Brian Moran


Estimating Query Costs
Query cost estimates are just what the name says--estimates. The estimated cost information is a great way to get a feel for how expensive a query is, but you can't map the estimated cost to a useful prediction for exact response time.
 — Brian Moran


Evaluating Enterprise Edition's Performance Value
Enterprise Edition won't run faster than Standard Edition unles your hardware supports more than 2GB of memory and four processors, but there are three minor exceptions.
 — Brian Moran


SP3 vs. SP3a
Microsoft released SP3a shortly after SP3, and the company lists three differences between the two service packs.
 — Brian Moran


Timeout for Queries
The timeout is hard-coded to 30 seconds for queries running from the Graphical Query Designer, and you can't override the default timeout value, but you can copy the query into Query Analyzer and control the timeout setting in the Options menu.
 — Brian Moran

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[Editorial]

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The Threat from Below
Ironically, although Microsoft and SQL Server got their start at the low end of the market, that’s exactly where they’re now the most vulnerable.
 — Michael Otey

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[Reader to Reader]

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Investment Banking on Performance
SQL Server Magazine Innovator Award grand-prize winner Altan Arslan shares his winning solution, which creates significant performance improvements for an international investment bank.
 — Readers

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[SQL Seven]

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Better SQL Server Security
The Internet and the emergence of new protocols have driven computing to new levels. The threat from viruses and network intruders has never been higher. Here are seven steps to setting up better security for your SQL Server systems.
 — Michael Otey

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[Inside SQL Server]

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Finding the Best Fit
Joins can be a big part of query optimization, but which join type is right for each query? Find out how the optimizer chooses.
 — Kalen Delaney

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[T-SQL Black Belt]

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Set-Operation Alternatives
T-SQL doesn't support certain ANSI SQL set options. But that doesn't mean you can't achieve the same effect with T-SQL. Find out how.
 — Itzik Ben-Gan

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[Exploring XML]

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Yukon’s XML Data Type
Roll out the red carpet! Yukon's on its way, bringing great news for XML users: an xml data type that brings better functionality than any earlier SQL Server release.
 — Rich Rollman

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[Letters]

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Letters, December 2003
Readers write about the blurring of lines between DBA and OS administrator duties and some features they'd like to see Microsoft add to SQL Server.
 — Various Authors

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[New Products]

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New Products, December 2003
Check out the latest SQL Server-related new and improved products.
 — Carolyn Mader