Megan,

There are lots of idiosyncracies when linking from 2000 to 2005 and back. We have been through some struggles with this in the past and have had some luck...

I would recommend contacting microsoft, as they have definitive upgrade paths laid out for each jump you can make. I know this can be a frustrating time on hold, but...

Jay,

The area of the traditional operational DBA is becoming more narrow. We all need to continue to grow and adapt to the new concepts and ideas being put forth...

Lara, We have just finished piloting the Symantec/Veritas prodcut called I3. IT is not too expensive for jsut one server and does a great job for the things you are...

It depends on your environment and how long it will take to run. If you can run a full DBCC every night on all your DB's then go for it....