It occurs to me that this topic is probably more relevant to folks who read blogs at Technet. So, I'm packing up this blog and moving it to http://blogs.technet.com/b/sqlserveroperations/ . Thanks for reading my blog over the years, and if you like many...

The first exciting news I have in the operations and manageability space is that there is now a management pack for monitoring SQL Azure based databases available as a public customer technology preview (CTP)! You can find the bits on the download center...

For many years this blog has been about the great SQL Server samples which the SQL Server teams has brought to you. Today marks a change in the direction of this blog. For my readers interested in samples, thanks for hanging in there over the years and...

Community sample database and sample code installers for SQL Server 2008R2 RTM are now available. You can find the database installer at http://msftdbprodsamples.codeplex.com/ and can find all community samples at http://sqlserversamples.codeplex.com...

It is a delight to announce the availability of the AdventureWorks Community Sample Databases for SQL Azure. You can download the scripts and data files from CodePlex . To install the databases on your SQL Azure server just follow the directions on the...

Based on the success of the new sample databases installer we created for SQL Server 2008R2, we've created a new samples refresh (SR4) for SQL Server 2008 on CodePlex at http://msftdbprodsamples.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=37109...

It is a delight to announce that SQL Server 2008R2 November CTP3 code samples are now posted to CodePlex at http://sqlserversamples.codeplex.com/ . The wiki pages have been updated to reflect the availability of the new sample code installers. These installers...

The AdventureWorks sample databases for SQL Server 2008R2 have been updated and are available at http://msftdbprodsamples.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=24854 . This version includes both the AdventureWorks 2008R2 schema and data...

The AdventureWorks 2008R2 November CTP sample databases are now live on CodePlex at http://msftdbprodsamples.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=24854 ! This is a beta quality release. We’re still addressing some relatively minor issues...

SQL Server 2008 (Katmai) October 2009 Samples Refresh 3 is now available. SQL Server 2008 (Katmai) Product Samples Refresh 3 is now live at http://sqlserversamples.codeplex.com/ . There are numerous bug fixes and a new sample, RSPermissions which demonstrates...

Doug Holland (a C# MVP) has opened two work items in Connect. The first one is about being able to share settings between VS and SSMS for those of us who do both DBA and developer work. You shouldn't have to specify font, color, or tab settings twice...

The times they are a changin' When I first started working on code to share with the SQL Community that code shipped in the box with very little community participation. Over the years my job has changed and so has the processes we use to create open...

The new sample database installers which shipped at the end of October 2008 greatly simplify the installation process for the sample databases. For one thing, there are only three installers to choose from instead of tens of installers. Just pick the...

Have you ever tried using high availability technology like SQL Server database mirroring and been surprised when your ADO.NET client didn't seemlessly switch from the principal to the failover partner but instead reported an exception? The Fault Retry...

We've completed an October refresh of the SQL Server 2008 samples ( http://CodePlex.com/SqlServerSamples ). We've heard from you that the install experience for the databases was too complex and error prone. In this refresh we're providing a much simpler...

We're currently creating plans around SQL community and samples for the next 12 months. As we build these plans we want to make sure we're addressing the issues that matter to you. If you have any feedback on your experiences with our community programs...

SQL Server 2008 samples are now available at http://codeplex.com/SqlServerSamples . That's our portal page to many different product and community projects on CodePlex with samples for SQL Server. On the releases tab of the portal page you'll find installers...

Great news! SQL Server 2008 is now available for download for MSDN subscribers from http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/downloads/default.aspx . We're putting the finishing touches on the samples and should have updated installers available...

Have you ever wanted an RSS feed that displayed changes to a database? SQLRSS ( http://codeplex.com/SQLRSS ) may be just the ticket for you. This application uses the SQL Server 2008 feature called Change Data Tracking to gather changes made to the database...

SQL Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 (RC0) has shipped! You can get RC0 from http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/trial-software.aspx . After you've installed SQL Server 2008, try out the latest batch of samples and sample databases at http:/...

There is a community sample contest just kicking off now. Contribute the sources for a tool or sample you think would benefit the SQL Server community and you could win a home server! The rules are at http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlheroes/pages/sql-heroes-2008...

There is a new AdventureWorks family of sample databases available for SQL Server 2008 February CTP at https://www.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ProjectName=MSFTDBProdSamples . The AdventureWorks 2008 family of databases demonstrates some...

SQL Server 2008 February CTP is now live on http://www.microsoft.com/sql/2008/default.mspx . With this wonderful, feature packed CTP we also have some great companion samples and sample databases which you can find at our portal page: http://CodePlex...

Have you ever had problems installing CLR samples or the Storefront sample because you get an error like the one below? Msg 15208, Level 16, State 1, Line 1 The certificate, asymmetric key, or private key file does not exist or has invalid format...

SQL Server 2008 November CTP is here: http://connect.microsoft.com/sqlserver . A lot of cool features come online with this release. Maybe the most exciting for developers and DBAs alike with be the return of intellisense to SSMS! Other exciting features...