There has been a lot of confusion with the release of SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2. Not only has Service Pack 2 been re-released but two subsequent General Distribution Releases (GDR) have also been released. The following blog post from Bob Ward is a must read for anyone that has applied SQL Server 2005 SP2 or is thinking of applying this Service Pack as it explains all of the issues with the release of SP2: SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 (SP2) Re-release and post fixes explained.

One other thing that you should always remember when you apply a SQL Server Service Pack is that Books Online is updated separately to the Service Pack. The February 2007 release of SQL Server Books Online can be downloaded from here.

To find out more on how the release of SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 affects your organisation why not contact Brisbane's Leading SQL Server Consultants, WARDY IT Solutions?

Registration has opened for Tech-Ed Australia and you have until the 21st of May to take advantage of the early bird pricing to save $400 off the standard ticket price. For more details about Tech-Ed 2007 refer to here.

Don't forget to check out SQL Server Aggregator, your one stop shop for all of the best blogs on SQL Server.

Happy Reading

Peter Ward

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WARDY IT Community Dinner

The WARDY IT Community Dinner is a casual event for IT professionals in South East Queensland. It is a fun way to meet new people and find out how other IT professionals are dealing with the challenges that we face every day. The May WARDY IT Community Dinner is on Monday the 21st of May at Sticks restaurant at the Chalk Hotel at Woolloongabba. The dinner is a week later than usual due to MEDC and the APAC SharePoint Conference. Add this event to your Outlook Calendar.

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May QLD SQL Server User Group

Facing database corruption is almost inevitable in every Database Administrators career. At the May QLD SQL Server User Group Paul Randal from Microsoft will help to ensure you are prepared when it happens to you by showing how to limit downtime and data-loss when a corruption occurs. For more details and to register for this free event refer to here.

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Waits and Queues

SQL Server 2005 performance tuning using Waits and Queues is a proven methodology for identifying the best opportunities to improve performance. Microsoft has released a whitepaper that details how this methodology can be used to improve application performance. This whitepaper can be downloaded from here.

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PASS Community Summit

The PASS Community Summit is the world's largest SQL Server event. The 2007 PASS Community Summit is being held from the 18th-21st of September in Denver, Colorado. For more details and to register for this event refer to here.

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sqlcrunch.com

sqlcrunch.com is a site that Rod Colledge has recently launched as a one stop shop for SQL Server resources. sqlcrunch.com researches, categorises and summarises links to the best SQL Server whitepapers, articles, tools and resources available on both Microsoft and community websites such as sql-server-performance.com This great resource can be found here .

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SSIS Guided Tour Video's

One of the biggest changes between SQL Server 2000 and 2005 is the change from Data Transformation Services (DTS) to SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) as SSIS is not simply an upgrade to DTS but an entirely new ETL tool. The following guided tour videos of SSIS provide a great introduction to SSIS. The video's can be found here.

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Data Mining Add-In

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Sample Corrupt Databases

Often there is a need for a sample corrupt SQL Server database in order to familiarize yourself with the kind of responses you'll get from the various tools when a corruption exists so that if an issue ever occurs with your production data you can respond in a timely manner. Paul Randal from the SQL Server Storage Engine Team has made a corrupt database for SQL Server 2000 which can be downloaded from here and a 2005 version which can be downloaded from here.

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AdventureWorksLT

Microsoft has released a new sample database for SQL Server 2005 called AdventureWorksLT. This database is a scaled-down sample database based on Adventure Works Cycles. The sample database can be downloaded from here.

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SQL Server Virtual DBA

Virtual DBA is a remote database administration service designed by WARDY IT Solutions to assist organisations with the management of Microsoft SQL Server. Our Virtual DBA service provides a cost effective solution to meet the day-to-day challenges of availability, performance and administration for Microsoft SQL Server databases. To find out more about the benefits of a Virtual DBA refer to here.

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