SQL Server Articles

An extended stored procedure (xp) is a dynamic link library that runs directly in the address space of SQL Server and is programmed using the SQL Server Open Data Services API. You can run extended stored procedures from the Query Analyzer, for example, just as you would normal stored procedures. Extended stored procedures are used [...]

Databases are the heart and soul of many enterprise applications, and it is very essential to pay special attention to database programming. I’ve seen in many occasions where database programming is overlooked, thinking that it’s something easy that be done by anyone. This is wrong.For a better performing database you need a real DBA and [...]

In this article, I want to tell you about undocumented system tables shipped with SQL Server 7.0. These tables are used by some system stored procedures and stored in the master database (only the sysfiles1 system table is stored in each database). syscursorcolumnsContains the list of server cursor’s columns. This table is stored in the [...]

In this article, I want to tell you about some useful undocumented DBCC commands, and how you can use these commands in SQL Server 6.5 for administering and monitoring.DBCC is an abbreviation for Database Console Command. DBCC commands are generally used to check the physical and logical consistency of a database, although they are also [...]

The worst is now over. If you have successfully gotten this far, most likely the Windows 2000 Cluster Service is ready to be used. But since I trust a computer installation only as far as I can throw it (which is not very far), it is a good idea to test the Cluster Service installation [...]

This portion of the article shows you, step-by-step, how to install the Windows 2000 Cluster Service. Not every potential option will be discussed, only the most common. This section has been divided into two web pages to make it easier to load into your web browser and read. There are many graphics, and it make [...]

Setting up the appropriate user accounts and establishing the necessary security is one of the easiest steps when creating a cluster. It is also one of the easiest to forget. What I like to do in this step is not only set up the domain service account for the cluster service, but also to set [...]

Once the hardware is properly selected and assembled, the next step is to install Windows 2000. For the most part, installing Windows 2000 on servers that will be clustered is the same as any Windows 2000 installation. The focus of this section of the the article focus on what is slightly different between installing Windows [...]

Selecting the correct hardware, and preparing it correctly, is half the battle when clustering Windows 2000. As a rule of thumb, if you have done a good job with the hardware, you should not have any difficulty installing Windows 2000 Cluster Services. In fact, it should be a non-event. But if you don’t have the [...]

SQL Server clustering is not an easy task. It requires a good knowledge of Windows 2000, SQL Server 7.0 or SQL Server 2000, and time. Lots of it. The purpose of this article is to get you started along your way to SQL Server clustering. As a precursor to this step, you must first install [...]