The last several times I’ve spoken at user groups, I’ve asked for a show of hands to find out when people plan to put their first SQL Server 2008 instance in production. I ask because it helps me write better presentations - there’s no sense in me talking about something you don’t plan to use, or to give you a getting-started-101 presentation on something you’ve been using for months.

The results have been surprisingly low - usually less than 10-20% plan to do it in the next 30-60 days. I’m curious to see if my readership has the same plans, so with no further ado, my first poll is below.  (This may not work for readers with RSS readers.)

 Loading ...

Q:  I just finished installing SQL server 2005. I can not find the “tablediff.exe” tool anyware on the system. Do I need to download it from MS site or is it on one of the installer CD? What does it do? Please let me know, thanks.

Bryan Oliver says:  TableDiff.exe is a table comparison tool that comes with the sql server.

It’s installed on the server in the:

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\COM\TableDiff.exe”if your SQL Server is installed in the program files on c: drive.

Example use:

This compares 2 tables in the same database on the same server and creates a new table called DiffsTable that holds the differences:

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\COM\tablediff.exe” -sourceserver MyServer1
-sourcedatabase MyDatabase1
-sourcetable MyTable1
-destinationserver MyServer1
-destinationdatabase MyDatabase1
-destinationtable MyTable2
-et DiffsTable

This compares 2 tables in the same database on the same server and creates a new table called DiffsTable that holds the differences and

creates a T-SQL script file at d:\MyTable1_MyTable2_diff.sql

that holds the UPDATE/INSERT/DELETE statements to synchronize the 2 tables:

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\90\COM\tablediff.exe” -sourceserver MyServer1
-sourcedatabase MyDatabase1
-sourcetable MyTable1
-destinationserver MyServer1
-destinationdatabase MyDatabase1
-destinationtable MyTable2
-et DiffsTable
-f d:\MyTable1_MyTable2_diff.sql

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms162843.aspx

Technorati Tags:
SQL Server 2005, tablediff.exe, table differences
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | reddit |

Q:  How do I change a SQL port number?

Iain Kick says:  OK, I pulled this straight out of Microsoft books online, so let me make sure I’m giving full disclosure that - I’m promoting their expertise on this one
Here is what BOL says about changing port numbers:

How to: Configure a Server to Listen on a Specific TCP Port (SQL Server Configuration Manager)

If enabled, the default instance of the Microsoft SQL Server Database Engine listens on TCP port 1433. Named instances of the SQL Server Database Engine and SQL Server Mobile are configured for dynamic ports, which means they select an available port when the SQL Server service is started. When connecting to a named instance through a firewall, configure the Database Engine to listen on a specific port, so that the appropriate port can be opened in the firewall.

To assign a TCP/IP port number to the SQL Server Database Engine
In SQL Server Configuration Manager, in the console pane, expand SQL Server 2005 Network Configuration, expand Protocols for , and then double-click TCP/IP.

In the TCP/IP Properties dialog box, on the IP Addresses tab, several IP addresses appear, in the format IP1, IP2, up to IPAll. One of these are for the IP address of the loopback adapter, 127.0.0.1. Additional IP addresses appear for each IP Address on the computer. Right-click each address, and then click Properties to identify the IP address that you wish to configure.

If the TCP Dynamic Ports dialog box contains 0, indicating the Database Engine is listening on dynamic ports, delete the 0.

In the IPn Properties area box, in the TCP Port box, type the port number you wish this IP address to listen on, and then click OK.

In the console pane, click SQL Server 2005 Services.

In the details pane, right-click SQL Server () and then click restart, to stop and restart SQL Server.

After you have configured SQL Server to listen on a specific port there are three ways to connect to a specific port with a client application:

Run the SQL Server Browser service on the server to connect to the Database Engine instance by name.

Create an alias on the client, specifying the port number.

Program the client to connect using a custom connection string.

Technorati Tags:
SQL Server, Microsoft Books Online, ports, configuration manager, database engine listeners
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | reddit |

Q:  An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server. When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not allow remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 - Could not open a connection to SQL Server) (Microsoft SQL Server, Error: 53)

Iain Kick says:  By default SQL Server 2005 does not allow remote connections. Enable these using the Surface Area Configuration tool.

Technorati Tags:
SQL Server 2005, remote database connections, error handling, Surface Area Configuration
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | reddit |

Q:  What are the things we should adhere while migrating from SQL server 2000 to SQL server 2005? Please list the procedure for the migration process.

James Delve says:  There are good resources available on the web that cover this topic.  Microsoft offers an option for you on their SQL Server solutions page.  Also, you can download the SQL Server Upgrade Adviser here.  
Decide on which upgrade method below to use and migrate an existing SQL Server 2000 database to SQL Server 2005:

Upgrade through Backup/Restore
Upgrade through Attach/Detach
Upgrade using Copy Database Wizard
Upgrade through an in-place install/upgrade

Technorati Tags:
SQL Server Upgrade Advisor, SQL Server, upgrade, backup/restore, database wizard
Add to: | Technorati | Digg | del.icio.us | Yahoo | reddit |