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[Focus]

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SQL Server 2008 Business Intelligence Enhancements
Business Intelligence (BI) enhancements to SQL Server 2008 Integration Services (SSIS), Analysis Services (SSAS) and Reporting Services (SSRS) improve performance and make reporting easier.
 — Derek Comingore

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[Features]

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Creating Dimensions in SSAS Part 1
Learn how to build proper dimensions, add useful hierarchies that support user’s navigational needs, then perform the important step of adding attribute relationships to make your users' data analysis fast and easy.
 — Craig Utley


Hack Your Database Before the Hackers Do
Fortify the security of your SQL Server environment by using an assortment of tools for locating servers, identifying security best practices, cracking passwords, and finding vulnerabilities.
 — Don Kiely


In Search of Duplicate Indexes on Your Tables
Heed this advice about how to identify duplicate or redundant indexes on the tables in your databases.
 — Andrew J. Kelly


T-SQL 101, Lesson 3
SELECT queries aren't just for retrieving data. You can also summarize that data by incorporating COUNT, MIN, MAX, AVG, and SUM functions into SELECT queries.
 — Bill McEvoy

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[Editorial]

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What If You Had a Benchmark and Nobody Came?
Michael looks at some of SQL Server 2008's benchmark scores and discusses why the TPC-E benchmark currently isn't useful for comparing database platforms.
 — Michael Otey

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[Reader to Reader]

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Take the Drudgery Out of Making Sure Your Databases Are Being Backed Up Properly
Ensuring that databases are being backed up properly is an important but time-consuming task, especially for DBAs who manage multiple servers and databases. The sp_ShowBackups stored procedure makes this task quick and easy.
 — Bill McEvoy

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[Solutions by Design]

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Data Warehousing: Junk Dimensions
Find out how you can keep your data warehouse design simple by placing miscellaneous attributes into junk dimensions.
 — Michelle A. Poolet

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[T-SQL Black Belt]

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Temporal Histograms
Handling distribution of events over time is tricky. Break the problem into steps. If handling all of a task’s requirements at once is too complicated, relax some requirements, solve a simpler form of the problem, then reintroduce the complexity layers.
 — Itzik Ben-Gan

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[New Products]

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New Products
Check out new and improved SQL Server-related products from LogRhythm, Embarcadero, Vertica, and Markus Gruber.
 — Editors

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[SELECT TOP(X)]

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SQL Server 2005 Client Network Libraries
Client network libraries are vital in SQL Server, enabling the communications link between client applications and the SQL Server system. This list will help you get acquainted with SQL Server 2005’s client network libraries.
 — Michael Otey

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[Tool Time with Kevin Kline]

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SSMS Tools Pack: 6 Tools That Help You Do More with SSMS
The SSMS Tools Pack provides features, such as a query logging tool, that enhance SQL Server Management Studio’s functionality.
 — Kevin Kline

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[Review]

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SQL Server Change Management Tools
These solutions help protect your SQL Server environment from unwanted modification by registering changes to data, server configurations, and schemas. Find out which one you can use to roll back changes or to migrate databases to a different platform.
 — John Green