The November issue of the SQL Server Standard magazine is being mailed out as you read this and it is now available as a PDF download for those subscribers in their Virtual Briefcase. This month we look at SQL Server and the various ways that you can push the limits with high availability and scalability. The editorial below is available for those that want to see what's inside. The magazine should be available shortly on the PASS site as well as the MCP Special Offers page.
If you aren't a subscriber, PASS member, or MCP, you can purchase the PDF of this single issue for $3.99 in our store.
We hope you enjoy it and please feel free to send us some feedback on what you think (webmaster@sqlservercentral.com).
In This Issue
- Editorial : Business Intelligence
- Mining the Flow
- Synchronous and Asynchronous Components in SSIS
- Configurations in SQL Server Integration Services 2005
- Migrating to Integration Services
- Using SQL Server Integration Service to go Beyond ETL
- Web Services Task and XML Data Source
Editorial : Business Intelligence
The more time I spend in business situations and with business leaders, the more I start to wonder if that isn’t some oxymoron like it seems to be in the armed forces ?
We’ve almost completed one full year of topical issues and I think it’s been a success for both us and you subscribers. This month we were looking to tackle the BI parts of SQL Server since I am constantly hearing how “BI is catching on” and “getting big”. I’m not sure and I can’t be certain if that’s true, but I do know one thing. I had a hard time getting BI/Analysis Services articles and a glut of Integration Services ones.
I do know that the data movement business, whether for assembling some type of warehouse, or exporting data for reports or partners, is definitely getting big. My research and observations on the web have been that Integration Services might be the feature most looked forward to in SQL Server 2005. Especially now that Database Mirroring has been delayed!
This month we’ve got quite a variety of articles on various aspects of Integration Services. Longtime DTS and now IS gurus Darren Green and Allan Mitchell bring us a look at Configurations, pre package executions, similar to what the Dynamic Properties task did in SQL 2000. We’ve also got a look at a few different tasks. One looks at the XML and Web Services tasks and one synchronous and asynchronous tasks.
From Microsoft, we’ve got two interesting articles, one practical and one more pie-in-the-sky. First a look at migrating DTS packages, which will be crucial for many people. As with any fundamental change across versions, some things will not migrate at all, so this is a must read before you move. The second article looks at data mining, the one true BI article that we have in this issue.
Lastly, PASS brings us a look back at the recently completed PASS Summit. This is THE SQL Server event of each year and if you have never been, read about it and make plans for the 2006 Summit in Seattle in November. If you were there, this should bring back some find memories.
Steve Jones