Welcome to the April newsletter from Australia's leading SQL Server Specialists

Since announcing that WARDY IT Solutions was one of the four finalists for the Australian Computer Society Queensland ICT Awards (for Service Delivery and Training) we have had a great deal of interest in our Virtual DBA solution. Virtual DBA is a cost effective solution to meet the day-to-day challenges of availability, performance and administration of Microsoft SQL Server. To celebrate this success we are offering anyone that establishes a new Virtual DBA account in May a 10% discount for the first 12 months.

One of the road blocks for many organisations deploying SQL Server 2008 was the release of Service Pack 1. Well, on the 7th of April, SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 was released. This service pack is available for download from here. To help with the implementation of SQL Server 2008, WARDY IT Solutions has designed an Upgrade Advisory service to help ensure that the upgrade to SQL Server 2008 is painless. To find out more about what the release of SQL Server 2008 means for your organisation, why not contact Brisbane's leading SQL Server consultants and trainers, WARDY IT Solutions.

Happy Reading

Peter Ward

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VSTS 2008 Database Edition GDR R2

A QFE (Quick Fix Engineering) release for the Visual Studio Team System 2008 Database Edition GDR release is now available. For more detail on what was fixed in the QFE rollup refer to here otherwise the release can be downloaded from here.

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Tech SummerFest Hobart

There is still time to see some of Australia’s leading trainers in Hobart at the end of May. The SQL Server training on offer includes the much anticipated course: Microsoft SQL Server System Administration Essentials. Also on offer is SharePoint and Visual Studio Team System training.

Readers of the WARDY IT Solutions newsletter can use the Voucher Code TSFH10 to receive a 10% discount on all training booked online here before 5:00pm on Wednesday 6th May. For more details on the courses on offer refer to here.

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Locked Pages in Memory Privilege

Microsoft has recently announced that it will be providing a method for customers using SQL Server 2005 and 2008 Standard Edition to use the ‘Locked Pages in Memory’ privilege to allow the server to use the AWE APIs. For more details on this announcement refer to here.

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Common Criteria Certification

SQL Server 2008 has completed an IT security evaluation at the Basic Assurance Level (EAL1+) and has been certified by BSI (Bundesamt fur Sicherheit in der Informationtechnik), the certifying agency of the German government. This certification is a third party verification of the extensive security of SQL Server 2008. For more details on SQL Server security refer to here.

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Free SQL Server Breakfast

In order to further assist organisations leverage their investment in SQL Server, WARDY IT Solutions will be holding another free Breakfast event on Thursday the 7th of May. Make sure you don't miss the May event that will demonstrate how to utilise the Business Intelligence features in SQL Server. To register for this free Breakfast event email contact@wardyit.com.

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SQL Server Blocked Process Monitor

SQL Server Blocked Process Monitor makes monitoring, tracking and troubleshooting blocking inside SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 easy. Using this tool you no longer need to manually enable and run a trace to capture the blocked process report. For more details and to download this tool refer to here.

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SQL Server Security Issues and Solutions

Anyone who's been around the IT industry knows that security is a hot topic. After all, a company's data is one of the most precious assets it has and protecting that data is critical. To find out more on how to manage common SQL Server security issues refer to here.

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Free e-Book - The Art of XSD

The Art of XSD, is available as a free download from Red Gate. This book focuses on the core functionality of XML Schema collections, which is key to validating your XML data in SQL Server. To download this free e-book refer to here.

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Assessment & Migration Tools

Microsoft has launched a new SQL Server 2008 Migration Solution Center. This site provides prescriptive guidance and a clear process for executing successful migrations from other Database Management Systems or upsizing your existing databases to SQL Server. For more details refer to here.

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Kalen Delaney in Australia

SQL Server expert Kalen Delaney, the author of Inside SQL Server and the new Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Internals, is a special guest in Australia for WARDY IT Solutions. Kalen will be presenting two 'must see' one-day seminars in Australia; in Canberra on August 17 and Brisbane on August 19; SQL Server Storage Formats in Melbourne on August 15 and Sydney on August 22.

Places on these seminars are strictly limited so don't delay registering as Kalen sold out last time she was in Australia. You can register by emailing contact@wardyit.com or calling 1300 WARDY IT (927 394).

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