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[Features]

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Protect UDM with Dimension Data Security, Part 2
Two approaches let you use MDX expressions to easily secure UDM data: storing security policies in a factless fact table and leveraging SSAS stored procedures to integrate UDM with an external security service.
 — Teo Lachev


Sharpen Your Skills: Routines and Clauses
SQL Server often features several ways to do the same or similar tasks. To select the best technique for the job, you need to understand the differences.
 — Pinalkumar Dave

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[Editorial]

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A Fresh Approach to SQL Server
We've redesigned SQL Server Magazine to sharpen our focus on content you want, such as business intelligence and SQL Server fundamentals, and to make it easier for you to read, interact with the community, and find related content on the Web.
 — Karen Forster

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[Reader to Reader]

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Row-Concatenation Solutions Aren't All Equal
A reader's tests reveal that although various row-concatenation solutions produce the same results, the time it takes to get those results can vary significantly.
 — Readers

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[Inside SQL Server]

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Making the Most of Automatic Statistics Updating
Tune performance by using UPDATE STATISTICS and trace flags to improve the quality of index statistics by ensuring they’re regularly updated.
 — Kalen Delaney

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[Solutions by Design]

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Data Warehousing: Dimension Basics
As you plan and create your data warehouse, you'll need to decide the level of detail you want—how finely grained you want your dimensions to be—and you'll need to flatten hierarchies to make data more accessible for users.
 — Michelle A. Poolet

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[T-SQL Black Belt]

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Grouping Sets, Part 1
In this early look at SQL Server 2008, you'll learn about the new version's implementation of grouping sets, which are useful for analyzing aggregated data.
 — Itzik Ben-Gan

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[New Products]

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New Products
Check out new and improved SQL Server–related products.
 — Jeff James

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[Tool Time with Kevin Kline]

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SQL Nexus
SQL Nexus is a powerful front-end visualization tool for detecting, analyzing, and troubleshooting problems on SQL Server 2005.
 — Kevin Kline

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[Review]

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SoftTree Technologies SQL Assistant 2.5
Want to optimize your SQL coding sessions? SoftTree Technologies offers some helpful coding features with SQL Assistant 2.5.
 — John Green

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[Buyer's Guide]

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Database Design Tools
The prerequisite for an efficient, high-performance database is a database design. Using one of these nine design tools will make you more productive and the resulting database more efficient.
 — Karen Bemowski

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[PTO for the Rest of Us]

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Getting to Know Wait Stats
SQL Server's built-in DMV functionality offers all kinds of management potential. This month, we show you how to monitor wait stats on your SQL Server instance.
 — Andrew J. Kelly

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[Sqlmag.com Community Dialog]

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Too Soon for SQL Server 2008? Readers Say "Yes!"
Readers talk back to SQL Server Magazine authors, saying they're not ready for another upgrade so soon after the release SQL Server 2005.
 — Anne Grubb

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[Eye on BI]

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4 Darn Good Reasons for Not Building Cubes on Transactional Systems
Don't build that cube! OLTP–based cubes are usually poorly designed for BI and contain dirty data. Still not convinced? There's more.
 — Douglas McDowell

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[Mike's Quick Picks]

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Connecting SQL Server to the IBM System i
Connect your SQL Server system to the IBM System i and transfer data in a variety of ways, from BCP to linker servers and more, taking advantage of this relational database system that's widely used in ERP, manufacturing, and distribution.
 — Michael Otey