---

[Focus]

---

Microsoft IT’s Experience with Reporting Services 2005
An informal chat with some Microsoft executives (namely, Ron Markezich, Stuart Scott, and Frank Schneider) for an inside look at deploying and using Reporting Services 2005.
 — Karen Forster

---

[Features]

---

LINQ to the Future
The beta release of Microsoft’s new LINQ technology gives you a glimpse at the future of development. Michael Otey takes a look at how the technology works with SQL Server and shows you what you can expect.
 — Michael Otey


Winning the Fragmentation Battle
Table and database-file fragmentation are performance-killers that require ongoing vigilance to keep them in check. Learn about one DBA's creative methods for troubleshooting and fixing these problems.
 — Morris Lewis

---

[Lab Reports]

---

AVICode Intercept Studio 2.3
Michael Otey reviews AVIcode's Intercept Studio 2.3, an application monitoring tool.
 — Michael Otey

---

[SQL Server Savvy]

---

Troubleshooting Performance Problems
Find out how to troubleshoot performance problems between two servers when everything seems the same but performance differs.
 — Brian Moran

---

[Inside SQL Server]

---

RLV with a View
New Dynamic Management Views in SQL Server 2005 provide insight into the effects of row-level versioning.
 — Kalen Delaney

---

[Solutions by Design]

---

Designing for Performance: Lookup Tables
Michelle Poolet explores recent proposals promoting all-in-one lookup tables and how that design stacks up to the more traditional approach of using multiple tables.
 — Michelle A. Poolet

---

[T-SQL Black Belt]

---

Correctly Calculating Datetime Differences
SQL Server’s DATEDIFF() function doesn’t make it easy to correctly calculate differences between two datetime values. See how to work around this challenging problem and how to encapsulate the logic in a handy function.
 — Itzik Ben-Gan

---

[New Products]

---

New Products, February 2006
Check out new and improved SQL Server–related products.
 — Blake Eno

---

[SELECT TOP(X)]

---

Visual Studio 2005 IDE Tips
Try these productivity tips for the Visual Studio 2005 IDE and save precious development time.
 — Michael Otey

---

[Ask Microsoft]

---

Automatic Truncation of Long Parameter Values
Microsoft's Richard Waymire explains a truncating feature in SQL Server 2000.
 — Microsoft's SQL Server Development Team

Finding an Individual Log File
Microsoft's Gert Drapers provides statements for finding an individual database log file.
 — Microsoft's SQL Server Development Team

Using SQL-DMO to Check Code Syntax
Microsoft's Gert Drapers and Patrick Conlan provide a couple of ways you can use SQL-DMO to check code syntax.
 — Microsoft's SQL Server Development Team

---

[From the Casebook of B.I. Powers, Consulting Detective ...]

---

The Case of the Historical Conundrum
Mysterious security-log entries put B.I. Powers on the trail of a time traveler. Can Reporting Services’ history snapshots save the culprit from performing unnecessary work?
 — Brian Larson

---

[Vendor Briefs]

---

Vendor Briefs, February 2006
Our editors share insights from their conversations with Embarcadero, AMD, Norb Technologies, and NEC Solutions.
 — Editors