June 30, 2009 has been marked in my calendar. It was on top of my to-do list this year. The item is now marked with a “check”. I just passed my first-ever attempt at a Microsoft certification – MCTS: SQL Server 2005 Implementation and Maintenance.
Although I have some actual experiences on the database (core maintenace & reporting services), I was not confident going for the exam. The main reason was SQL Server is a big thing. There is so much to learn. I know I had to focus on the essentials. But I did not know what was the scope of the “essentials”. Yes, I have bought and studied the Microsoft Press Self-Paced Training Kit on 70-431 and spent substantial times studying on Microsoft SQL Server site, SQL Server Pedia, SQL Authority, BOL, etc; but, in the end, I had to rely on my real world experiences on SQL Server.
I don’t believe I could have ever passed the exam without the experiences I have with SQL Server. I now know why IT people take pride on their having passed these certifications. It’s a fruit of a personal effort. One reason is that the preparation for the exam compels one to sit down and study. My preparation for this one necessitated me to dig into the SQL Server features. I stepped out of the normal bounds of my task list. Now I am ready to take full responsibilities and serious commitments (I now have a humble proof of my skills)!
Now that I am certified, I feel a deeper sense of wanting to learn more!
(More posts on MS Certification to come!)
Are you asking the following questions:
Do I need to protect against multiple disk failures and\or physical corruption?
Is higher availability more important that a slight hit on write performance?
Will I have more than 10 or so databases?
Do you want the least amount of administrative overhead?
If you are, Jason Massie (Blog | Twitter) has the answers.
Link: http://blog.statisticsio.com/archive/2009/06/clustering-vs-mirroring/
What is a table? What is an index? What is the difference between Clustered and Non-Clustered Indexes? What’s new with SQL Server 2008 Index?
Do these questions bog you? Then this article from Brad McGehee is right for you!
Link: http://www.simple-talk.com/sql/database-administration/brads-sure-guide-to-indexes/
Last September MS Press offered a free ebook, “Introducing SQL Server 2008″.
Once again, the same book is being offered free! Grab your copy now.
Here’s where you can download the ebook: http://csna01.libredigital.com/?urss1q2we6
You have to register to download the whole ebook.
And also Microsoft is offering a free online training on Reporting Services 2008. Take advantage of this opprtunity! Here’s where to get info: https://www.microsoftelearning.com/eLearning/courseDetail.aspx?courseId=89922&tab=overview
Happy learning!
In few months a new version of Windows, Windows 7, will be released. Nonetheless Microsoft has not given up on Vista yet. On May 26, Microsoft has released a second service pack for the *unpopular Vista*.
I guess Vista SP2 does not intend to woo prospective consumers but to mitigate the burden of current Vista users. Vista SP2 “supports new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards”. If you still prefer Windows and is not currently using Vista, do not rush to get Vista SP2. Wait for the Windows 7.
Windows Vista SP2 Description:
Service Pack 2, the latest service pack for both Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista, supports new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards, includes all of the updates that have been delivered since SP1, and simplifies deployment, for consumers, developers, and IT professionals.
Download DVD ISO here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9f073285-b6ef-4297-85ce-f4463d06d6cb&displaylang=en
For Support and other information for Vista SP2: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=948465
SQL Server 2008 offers an impressive array of capabilities for developers that build upon key innovations introduced in SQL Server 2005. The SQL Server 2008 Developer Training Kit will help you understand how to build web applications which deeply exploit the rich data types, programming models and new development paradigms in SQL Server 2008.
Here’s the Link:http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=e9c68e1b-1e0e-4299-b498-6ab3ca72a6d7
Thanks to Jeremiah Peschka’s Weekly Link List!
NOTE: This is stolen from ServerFault.com. I have copied it here for a convenient source for those who might encounter the same error.
PROBLEM:
You have an instance of SQL Server running on a Windows Server 2008. But when you connect to the engine via SSMS, you get this error:
Unable to cast COM object of type ‘System.__ComObject’ to interface type ‘Microsoft.VisualStudio.OLE.Interop.IServiceProvider’. This operation failed because the QueryInterface call on the COM component for the interface with IID ‘{6D5140C1-7436-11CE-8034-00AA006009FA}’ failed due to the following error: No such interface supported (Exception from HRESULT: 0×80004002 (E_NOINTERFACE)). (Microsoft.VisualStudio.OLE.Interop)
SOLUTION:
unregister actxprxy.dll then reregister it
run regsvr32.exe –r c:\windows\system32\actxprxy.dll
run regsvr32.exe c:\windows\system32\actxprxy.dll
run these in a command prompt as administrator
REFERENCE:
http://serverfault.com/questions/10941/sql-server-management-studio-connection-fails-to-com-errors
