There and Back Again : SQL Server 2005

Connect SQL Server 2005 SSMS to SQL Server 2008

hdierking — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:11:39 GMT

Not sure whether you've had to connect your SQL Server 2005 Management Studio to an instance of SQL Server 2008 yet, but I needed to do this today and got bitten by the fact that it doesn't work until you install the latest cumulative update to SQL Server 2005 SP2.

You can download the update here.

Another Impedence Mismatch to Bridge

hdierking — Thu, 17 May 2007 20:03:56 GMT

I've been studying the SQL BI tools for the past couple months primarily because I had never done a whole lot with OLAP when I was a developer, but also because I want to obtain my TS certification in BI. Anyways, as I've been studying the tools and thinking quite a bit about BI in general, I kept having one reocurring thought - the process for loading the warehouse from disparate systems across the enterprise using a standard ETL methodlogy seems really antithetical to the tenants of SOA. More specifically, while SOA emphasizes encapsulation and strong context boundaries (at the service interface), ETL typically yields a multitude of point to point integrations - many times database to database integrations. Essentially, I had resolved myself to accepting the different approaches simply as a necessary evil for enterprise system architectures - until I read this article by Arnon Rotem-Gal-Oz. You should definitely check it out, but at a high level, Arnond describes a solution pattern where systems in the enterprise push data into the ether, and BI processes then perform scrubbing and loading of that data from a central point, without the invasive techniques typical of ETL processes. One of the techniques that he calls out which was most interesting to me is the use of RSS as the enabling technology for pushing data. Anyways, if I paraphrase any more, I'll do the article an injustice. Check it out.

SQL Server BI Exams are Live!

hdierking — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 23:11:33 GMT

Just saw the message that both the Technology Specialist and Professional exams covering the SQL Server BI tools are now live! You can register for these exams with either Prometric or VUE. Also, you can find the preparation guides for them here.

Good Luck!