You should always backup the master database periodically....

You have recently received an application when your...

Getting Ready to Replicate

We've asked Andy to put together some articles that tackle replication from a beginner perspective, a tutorial type approach PLUS comments on what you should or should not do. This week he covers the steps needed to set up a server for replication. More images than usual so the page may take a little longer to load, but we think worthwhile so that you can see every step along the way. Let us know what you think.

Since you've released your application to production, you've...

Debugging MSDTC Issues

For the most part the DTC (Distributed Transaction Coordinator) just works. What happens when it doesn't? Chris had to resolve an issue with it recently and documented some of the steps he used.

You have recently upgraded a SQL Server 6.5...

Review of SQL Compare v3

Regular columnist Robert Marda had some extra time so we got him to take a look at the latest upgrade to SQL Compare - for those of you aren't familiar with it, it is a tool that will let you compare two databases to see the differences, then optionally sync one to the other.

When you first open Enterprise Manager in SQL...

Sending Alerts Via a Custom SMTP procedure

SQL Mail comes with SQL, but you have to load Outlook to use it. The alternative is to send email directly via SMTP. Combine that idea with alerts and you've got a new article!

Alert! Alert! Backup and Restore Baby!

Are you using alerts to help you keep track of things? Are you using as many alerts as you should be? Jeremy has a great list of alerts that he considers so important they are on his 'best practice' list. Definitely worth reading.