May 2011 – Page 2 – SQLXpertise

SQL Azure Query Tool – Red Gate Query Anywhere

Red Gate Query Anywhere is a web based tool to Query a SQL Azure database from anywhere. Its available for free in

http://www.queryanywhere.com/

Step 1: Please provide your Server name, Database, Username and Password and click Connect

Step 2: Once connected, you will be able to the Objects available in your database

Step 3: To Query the tables or view, you can directly start writing queries in Query pane and click “Execute”

Step 4: You can also create Stored Procedures

Step 5: To view the definition of Existing Stored Procedure or any other object, click on the Object name and expand and then click “ScriptAsCreate”

Conclusion: Red Gate Query Anywhere is nice and lightweight tool to query SQL Azure database, but still needs lot of improvement, such as

1. Showing the progress of executing queries

2. Object Name are displayed as Blank some times, which is eventually fixed after refreshing the UI

3. Option to login without providing database name and then pick a database and query

Friends, Play with this nice tool and post your feedback and comments !!!

In the next post we will review the other similar tools available

Project Houston – Microsoft SQL Azure Database Manager – http://windows.azure.com

myLittleAdmin for SQL Azure (Currently in Beta, Pricing not announced) – http://mylittleadmin4sqlazure.cloudapp.net/

Hannsens SQL Azure Manager (Free) – http://hanssens.org/tools/sqlazuremanager/

Tech.Ed 2011 Session Videos available online

Tech.Ed 2011 Session Videos available online for all sessions are available online from

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/NorthAmerica/2011

And also from

http://northamerica.msteched.com/contentcatalog?ck=no

Channel 9 has the advantage of downloading the videos as MP4 or WMV.

If you are planning to download multiple videos, the following Silverlight tool will be helpful

http://dayngo.com/channel9/Download/15928

Thanks Yuriy Lyeshchenko for putting together this wonderful download tool !!!

SQL Server “Denali” CTP1 Expired…

Today when I started using SQL Server “Denali” CTP1 Management Studio, I wasn’t able to connect to the SQL Server, When I checked the SQL Server Service it wasn’t running.

I opened Event Viewer and checked the System Logs

This error message wasn’t much helpful in identifying the issue, so I opened

C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Log folder and opened ERRORLOG file in NotePad++ to find out the error caused in the startup and found this error information

2011-05-23 20:50:54.33 Server      Microsoft SQL Server "Denali" (CTP1) – 11.0.1103.9 (X64)
    Sep 24 2010 21:52:29
    Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation
    Enterprise Evaluation Edition (64-bit) on Windows NT 6.1 <X64> (Build 7601: Service Pack 1) (Hypervisor)

2011-05-23 20:50:54.33 Server      (c) Microsoft Corporation.
2011-05-23 20:50:54.33 Server      All rights reserved.
2011-05-23 20:50:54.33 Server      Server process ID is 1360.
2011-05-23 20:50:54.33 Server      System Manufacturer: ‘VMware, Inc.’, System Model: ‘VMware Virtual Platform’.
2011-05-23 20:50:54.33 Server      Authentication mode is MIXED.
2011-05-23 20:50:54.33 Server      Logging SQL Server messages in file ‘C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Log\ERRORLOG’.
2011-05-23 20:50:54.33 Server      Registry startup parameters:
     -d C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA\master.mdf
     -e C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Log\ERRORLOG
     -l C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\DATA\mastlog.ldf
2011-05-23 20:50:54.69 Server      Error: 17051, Severity: 16, State: 1. (Params:). The error is printed in terse mode because there was error during formatting. Tracing, ETW, notifications etc are skipped.

I searched for this Error but couldn’t find anything useful to fix the issue

Then I went back to look for older ErrorLog from last week and found this

2011-05-12 22:31:20.77 Server The evaluation period for your edition of SQL Server expires in 5 day(s).

I then checked “Application Logs” under Event Viewer and found this

Now I understood why the SQL Server service is not starting, but still couldn’t understand why this information is not logged in Today’ ErrorLog

I think it will be better to have separate Event Log for SQL Server so that we can easily view SQL Server related events.

Please post your feedback and comments !!!

How to access SQL Azure from anywhere or How to disable SQL Azure Firewall ?

After reading my previous post regarding SQL Azure firewall configuration, one of my friend asked Whether there is an easy way to provide access any IP Address, so that he don’t have to worry about not able to connect using 3G wireless card to connect to SQL Azure

Yes, there is an easy way to do that…

Login to SQL Azure Management Portal and select the subscription and the SQL Azure server for which you want to provide access and then click on “Firewall Rules”

Click “Add”

Click “Ok” to save the Firewall rule

Now you should be able to access this SQL Azure server from anywhere in the world.

Note: Please be aware that by adding the above rule, the SQL Azure firewall is pretty much disabled effectively. Obviously this is not a recommended practice.

Tech.Ed North America 2011–Marvelous Event’ Trip Report

Tech.Ed started on May 16th, 2011 and over on May 19, 2011 and overall experience was really interesting, awesome. I was expecting lot of sessions on SQL Server “Denali” and SQL Azure and my expectations were met.

Day-Long Bus service from Hotels to Conference center, Vendor Expo, Numerous sessions, Hands on labs, Totally Excellent !!!

I am putting up this post to share my experiences and the sessions I attended in Tech.Ed 2011, Most of the sessions are available online at Channel 9 for viewing at no cost and also available for download (MP4, WMV, High Quality WMV)

To easily download the videos which you want, you can use this nice Silverlight tool available in http://dayngo.com/channel9/Download/15928 (Thanks to Yuriy Lyeshchenko for putting together this nice useful tool)

Day 1:

Tech-Ed kicked off with great opening Key note session by Robert Wahbe and Jason Zander – View Online

Foundational Session – The Microsoft Web Platform – View Online

Microsoft SQL Server Code-Named "Denali" Always On Series,Part 1: Introducing the Next Generation High Availability Solution – View Online

Building Scalable Database Solutions Using Microsoft SQL Azure Database Federations – View Online

Introducing Microsoft SQL Server Developer Tools,Code-Named "Juneau": An Introduction to Doing Database Development in a Modern Way – View Online

Services Made Easy with WCF 4,Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and Windows Server AppFabric – View Online

I got the wonderful chance to meet Eric Hanson in person and had lunch with him and discussed about Column Store Indexes, OPTION RECOMPILE and other performance tuning suggestions for data warehouse related topics.

The Vendor Reception in the evening was awesome, able to meet the Microsoft SQL Server and SQL Azure team members in person and discuss with them.

Day 2:

ColumnStore Indexes Unveiled – View Online

The Future of Parallel Programming in the Microsoft .NET Framework – View Online

What’s New in Manageability for Microsoft SQL Server Code-Named "Denali" – View Online

Windows Azure AppFabric Service Bus: New Capabilities – View Online

Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.5 for Developers – View Online

After the last session, I went to Hand On Lab center and attended the SQL Server “Denali” – Juneau lab

Day 3:

HTML5 and CSS3 Techniques You Can Use Today – View Online

NuGet: Microsoft .NET Package Management for the Enterprise – View Online

Demystifying Debugging with Microsoft Visual Studio Ultimate and IntelliTrace – View Online

Extending Microsoft Visual Studio LightSwitch Applications – View Online

Apart from the above break out session, I attended a Interactive Session “What to Use and When”, the session is about what business intelligence tool to use and when to use (PowerPivot, PowerPoint, Report Builder, BIDS, SharePoint, PerformancePoint, Excel and Excel Services)

I also attended the Tech.Ed 2011 Focus Group Panel discussion to give feedback about Tech.Ed 2011 conducted by Mind Wave Research group on behalf of Microsoft

Day 4:

Using Microsoft SQL Azure with On-Premises Data: Migration and Synchronization Strategies and Practices – View Online

Microsoft Visual Studio IDE Futures – View Online

Busy Microsoft .NET Developer’s Guide to the Microsoft Cloud – View Online

After I attended a wonderful Interactive Session “Ask Scott Hanselman”, unfortunately this session is not available online.

In the evening, We had a wonderful Closing Party at Atlanta Aquarium and World of Coco Cola

Whole TechEd Experience is unforgettable…Count down already started for Tech.Ed 2012 in Orlando, FL (June 11 – 14, 2012)

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