Introduction to SQL Server 2008 Report Builder 2.0

Problem
I have heard that there is a new version of Report Builder in SQL Server 2008.  Can you provide some details and examples?  What is new with Report Builder 2.0?  How does the new interface look?  What is the learning curve with this tool?

Solution

SQL Server 2008 includes a brand new version of the Report Builder which was first introduced in SQL Server 2005.  The key new features in Report Builder 2.0 are:

• A completely new user interface that conforms to the Office 2007 look and feel
• A local client install rather than a click-once application that you download and install from Report manager
• Supports running reports locally or on the server
• A Report Model is not required; you can create your own queries using a query designer, import queries from existing reports, or manually type in your queries
• A Tablix report type which is a combination of the matrix and table reports

In this tip we will review installing Report Builder 2.0, the new user interface, developing a sample report, and deploying the report to a SQL Server 2008 report server.  I'll cover the new Tablix report in a future tip.

Importing and exporting bulk data with SQL Server's bcp utility

The Bulk Copy Program (bcp) utility in Microsoft SQL Server enables database administrators to import bulk data into a table or export it from a table into a file. It also supports several options that define how data will be exported, where it will be imported and which data will be loaded.

This tip discusses several examples of bcp commands to bulk-copy data in and out of SQL Server tables. The examples have been tested on SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008, and for all examples I used the AdventureWorks sample database.

Perils of adding fields to database tables

Adding a field to a database table is sometimes not as simple as it may seem. If certain situations are not considered when adding fields, you may find yourself looking at some long nights fixing database code. Today, database consultant Tim Chapman looks at two such scenarios, and how you can plan for their occurrence.

New Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide: Microsoft SQL Server 2008

The Infrastructure Planning and Design team has released a new guide, Microsoft SQL Server 2008. When used in conjunction with product documentation, this guide will help companies confidently plan the implementation of a SQL Server 2008 infrastructure. Fundamental tasks are addressed to help identify which SQL Server roles will be needed as well as to determine the infrastructure's components, server placement, and the fault-tolerance configuration to meet necessary requirements.

http://blogs.technet.com/technet_flash_feed/archive/2009/02/25/new-infrastructure-planning-and-design-guide-microsoft-sql-server-2008.aspx

iSCSI configuration in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2

iSCSIcli in Hyper-V Server 2008

In Hyper-V Server 2008 and Server Core Installations of Windows Server 2008 to connect to SAN storage you would use the iscsicli.exe tool. This is the command line equivalent of the iSCSI client configuration tool. This command line tool requires you to utilize your asterisk button a lot. (to accept default values)

iSCSIcpl in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2

To make this crucial step in your cluster setup progress a bit easier, Microsoft has included the graphical version of the iSCSI client configuration tool in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and Server Core installations of Windows Server 2008 R2. You no longer have to workiscsicli.exe magic to connect to your SAN; you can click your way through now! Of course, for die hard command line freaks and scripters of all sorts the iscsicli.exe command is still available!

http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/sanderberkouwer/archive/2009/02/26/iscsi-configuration-in-hyper-v-server-2008-r2.aspx

Virtual Machine Disk Options

A review of the virtual machine disk options that are available on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.

In order to make virtual machine storage portable while also delivering performance, Microsoft developed the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) Image Format Specification which includes details of how to read and modify data contained in a VHD file. Microsoft provides the VHD file format specification to third-party developers under a royalty-free license, and many vendors, including Citrix, have adopted and use the format for their virtualization products. If you are interested in obtaining more details on the VHD file format, you can download the specification file from the Microsoft website.

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V uses the VHD format to encapsulate virtual machine data (operating system, application, and data files) into one or more files that are equivalent to physical drives associated with a traditional server. Therefore, if you browse the virtual machine folders on a Hyper-V server, a virtual hard disk is simply stored as a file with a .vhd extension on an attached physical disk. Virtual machines connect to a virtual hard disk through a virtualized IDE or SCSI adapter, and Hyper-V provides the mapping between the virtual hard disk and the .vhd file on the physical disk. A VHD can be stored on any IDE, SCSI, iSCSI, SAN, or NAS storage system supported by the Windows Server 2008 operating system.

You can use the Hyper-V Manager MMC or the WMI API to create new virtual hard disks. A virtual machine running on Hyper-V can support a maximum of 260 virtual hard disks through a combination of 4 IDE and 256 SCSI-connected VHDs. The bus type (IDE or SCSI) used to attach a VHD to a virtual machine imposes a size limitation on virtual hard disks. Specifically, IDE-attached VHDs cannot exceed 127 GB, while SCSI-attached VHDs cannot exceed 2 TB.

http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/microsoft-hyper-v-articles/installation-and-deployment/virtual-machine-disk-options.html

HYPER-V CERTIFICATE EXPIRATION AND RESOLUTION

For those of you who’ve enabled the Hyper-V role in WS08. It has been determined that a certificate error can occur resulting in the inability to start or connect to virtual machines running on Windows Server 2008 or Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008.  The Hyper-V virtualization host and the existing virtual machines will continue to operate without disruption.  A hotfix designed to prevent/resolve this error has been created and is available for download starting today.  The following is a brief description of the issue as well as a link to the KB Article that provides the resolution.  Even if you are not currently experiencing this issue, we recommend you download and install this update.

 

THIS APPLIES TO THE FOLLOWING:

• Windows Server 2008, Standard (Hyper-V role enabled)
  
• Windows Server 2008, Enterprise (Hyper-V role enabled)
  
• Windows Server 2008, Datacenter (Hyper-V role enabled)
  
• Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008
  

 

SYMPTOMS AND RESOLUTION:

• You may be unable to start or connect to virtual machines running on Windows Server 2008 or Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008. This occurs when connecting using vmconnect. Connections made using remote desktop won't be affected.  
  
• KB Article 967902 has been created that details the symptoms and resolution.  This KB article provides a direct link to download the quickfix to resolve this error.
  

http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/archive/2009/03/02/Hyper_2D00_V-certificate-expiration-and-resolution.aspx