Master of None

Blown away with this product for compression of SQL Server backups (http://www.hyperbac.com/products/sqlserver/).  I’m testing a eval copy on some development servers now and really impressed with the results.  There is a hit on the CPU , but it reduces the time to backup , the size of the backup and you can even restore from the backup files without extracting them first.

Basically, it creates a service that uses native WIN Api which monitors io system for the creation of certain file types. The monitoring can be configured for specific types and paths. When a monitored extension is used in a native SQl server T-SQL backup command that is to write a file to one of the monitored file extensions. it steps in to broker the I/O Stream to disk. It does not alter you system or user databases or add sql objects. It’s down in the file I/O level.   Pretty awesome. 

The licensing model is by physical or virtual server and not by CPU, etc. Sent an inquiry to the support department and got a response back promptly.  Wish that would happen with the folks we already paid for teh product and support.  UPDATE — They Even Followed up a few days later.

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Below are two differnt organizations that are requesting donations to assist with the Spring storms and International events. I thought now would be a good time to help make these available:

American Red Cross Release:
http://www.redcross.org/pressrelease/0,1077,0_314_7844,00.html

UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) Disaster Response Page:
http://new.gbgm-umc.org/Umcor/work/emergencies/

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Check out : EarthRace

latest news from http://www.EarthRace.Net

Sagunto, Spain, 27 June 2008, 13.24 GMT: Earthrace, the world’s fastest eco-boat, has smashed the world speed record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe, knocking almost 14 days off the previous record.

The boat crossed the finish line in Sagunto at 13.42 GMT on Friday 27 June,  having taken 60 days 23 hours and 49 minunutes to travel around 24,000 nautical miles fuelled by biodiesel to demonstrate the efficiency of, and draw global attention to, the potential for alternative fuel sources.

“This fantastic team of people and our astonishing boat have broken the record by a massive margin, said Pete Bethune, New Zealand skipper and owner of Earthrace,  “I finally feel that all the sacrifices made, especially by my wife and daughters, have been worth it.  I don’t even  know how to begin to thank all the individuals and companies that have supported us along the way, some of them since the very beginning over five years ago.  Without them, none of this would have been possible”.

 

The goal of Earthrace is to set a new world record for a powerboat to circumnavigate the globe, running 100% renewable biodiesel fuel, and with a net zero carbon footprint.  The amazing Earthrace boat will make the attempt starting from Sagunto in Spain. Earthrace is also undertaking a two year promotional tour, visiting 100 great cities around the globe. The crew meet local people, talk about their experiences, and most of all connect with people about the need to get renewable fuels into our energy mix and to inspire them to do something themselves to minimise their impact on the environment.

Excellent Blogs:  Blogs

Support them: Buy a Nautical Mile

[UPDATE] – SQLServerCentral.com has a great article( from 2002) on the use of Temp Tables. You may find the information useful.

I have gotten a ton of hits some links that I created years ago on T-SQL Cursors. Sometimes they are the the best course of action , but may times they are not the most efficient. This posting has some a possible alternative.

Creating Tables with Identity Columns
I like to create tables and temp tables with identity columns. You can then do row by row process the data using the id column. In another post, I will show you how to create and some uses for Table-Valued functions to provide similar utility found with using cursors. Oh, don’t forget our friend the Case Statement, either.

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I have attended the DevLink conferences for the past two years. I have been blown away with the conference sessions. It is well organized. There are only 300 or so slots left for registration and at $50.00 before July 4th 2008 and $75 after until cut off August 1, 2008. You really should not miss this conference.

Speakers Page :              Here
Agenda:                         Here
Get You Pass/Register:  Here
@Twitter:                       Here

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Grant it that I don’t have my finger on the pulse of society, but how did I miss this one! The second  X-Files movie  is set to open internationally on July 25, 2008.  What rock have I been under!

Movie site : http://xfiles.com/

Trailer: http://media.movies.ign.com/media/379/379767/vids_1.html

LAMEO -> ME!

 Popsi has a neat article on Tony Stark’s Lab.

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We were creating a extract at work from T-SQL and new that the we would need to export data with leading zeros. The data was not stored in the database with those leading zero values. The solution, create a simple scalar function to dynamically add the zeros that could accept two parameters ( text , and total length).

The Function is rather simple takes the total length value passed by the user and then subtracts the Length of the the text value.

What would make this better?

• Would have a default value for total length
• Error checking to make sure the text supplied is not longer than the total length

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