Yukon - Quick Rant

Overall, I have very positive things to say about the most recent moves by Microsoft with SQL Server 2005. However, after installing the Express version, I was having trouble locating the Books Online. It appears my trouble comes from the fact that they aren't included in the SQL Server Express install. I could be wrong, but I was unable to locate the appropriate .chm file. At any rate, here is a link to the books online, additional help, and sample files. I know the link is clearly displayed on the Yukon Express download page, but I was sure they would include the books online in the installation files (also since it actually says it installs the books online).

Setting up SQL Server 2005 "Yukon" and Visual Studio 2005 "Whidbey"

I'm sure this is academic for some, but I'll run through how I setup these two beta applications and got them talking.

I should probably start off with some background on setup. I have a Windows Server 2003 (referred to as "the server" below) system running MS SQL Server 2005 Express (essentially Beta 2) and MS Visual SourceSafe 6.0d. Another system on the LAN running Windows XP with Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 (referred to as "the LAN system" below). And finally, I have another Windows XP system running Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1, but the system is located outside the firewall with VPN access (referred to as "the remote system" below). I won't go into the specifics of what VPN solution, but that may play an important part on the remote access to the SQL Server for different people in different environments.

One other noteworthy thing about environment is that these systems are set apart from the domain (Windows 2003 server setup as a standalone system).

After installing Yukon and Visual SourceSafe on the server and VS 2005 on the LAN and remote systems, we were able to open the VSS project by selecting File - Source Control - MS Visual SourceSafe and then entering the properties of the SourceSafe database. Once the connection was setup, we could then choose File - Open - Project/Solution, then select MS Visual SourceSafe, the database we already attached to, and finally select a solution. In only mention this since MS moved the Visual SourceSafe call for opening a VSS project from Visual Studio.

This is the point at which the LAN system and remote system split paths. For the LAN system, we had some difficulty adding a connection to the server. When attempts where made, we kept getting the error: No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it. As it ends up, we forgot to install the Visual Studio Remote Debugger. One thing that also needs to happen is to happen is to enable TCP traffic for SQL Server and start the SQL Browser service. To enable TCP traffic, open the SQL Computer Manager, drill into Server Network Configuration - Protocols for . Once you click on the Protocols, you should see SM (shared memory), NP (named pipes), TCP, and VIA (Virtual Interface Architecture). Right-click TCP and select Enable. Once TCP is enabled, open up the Services window, locate SQL Browser and double-click it, then select a Startup Type of Automatic, and (finally) click start. Once that was up and going, the LAN system worked like a champ.

I had trouble with the remote system, but found out that it was a performance issue. As I was trying to connect, I also had a fairly large file I was copying to another destination. I continually received the following error: Unknown ProviderError Locating Server/Instance Specified. Once the file completed the upload, I was able to connect without any problems. If anyone is getting the error above, I suggest looking at bandwidth (although I'm sure that isn't the only way to receive that generic error).

MS Windows 2003 Server Reboot Logging

Not that I've had extensive experience with Windows 2003 Server, I noticed the logging function to specify a reason for a reboot. Let me just say that the ability to say what category a reboot falls in and a description for details is a definite plus. Don't get me wrong, best practices say to log what changes you make to a server and when you make them, but this simplifies some of the process (especially if you have many people doing the work).

At any rate, I'm curious how fully functional the logging is. For example, if I run windows update to apply a security patch, does the prommpt for reboot automatically log this data? If so, VERY cool function. If not, you could still use it by saying no at the prompt then rebooting through normal means. Not as cool, but still useful.

MS Virtual PC 2004 First Impressions

Well, I must say that my first impressions of MS Virtual PC 2004 are mixed. My basis for comparison is an old version of VMWare Workstation and it has been some time since I last ran it. In short, my memory of VMWare is weak at best and a direct comparison will not take place.

The first notible thing for my experience is that I was able to reuse and activate the same Windows XP Pro key that my system is using as the base OS. I was a little surprise, but then I've never taken the time to fully understand the activation rules from MS. After setup and updating the OS, I installed the Virtual Machine Additions for Virtual PC. This loaded an ISO image to the Virtual PC's CD ROM. I know that loading an ISO as an available disk is nothing new, I was happy to see this functionality.Terminal Server seemes to be the closest comparison to the experience of Virtual PC after instaling the VM Additions. Since I consume Terminal Services quite a bit, I felt comfortable with the relation.

Once I had all of the environment setup, I wanted to test the extreme case of copying it to another system (actually, I went from a laptop to a desktop). Since I had allocated 6 GB for the Virtual PC window and I'm limited to 100 megabits, the copy took some time to create. However, to my surprise, the copy was successful and the other installation of Virtual PC was able to open and work in the copied environment. In opening the existing instance, the only thing I had to do was make sure my memory was configured the same (and I might have even been able to change that).

Overall, I think this is a pretty desent solution for my testing purposes. At times the system is pretty slow, but I don't have any basis for comparison and I am quite positive I could tweek my base OS to better accomodate the virtual environment (allow for more memory to focus on background services, etc.).

How much can you learn at once?

Well, I guess when a person jumps off a diving board, they had better make sure it's into the deep end. This week's initiative is to install MS Virtual PC 2004 (which is very simple), .NET Framework 2.0 Beta 1, MS SQL Server 2005 Express, and MS Visual Studio Beta 1 on my laptop. I should probably sum up my experience with all the products mentioned: 0. Granted I use VS 2003, .NET Framework 1.1, and SQL Server 2000, I understand the newer versions to be significant updates. Over the next few days, I will post my findings and comment on likes and dislikes.

If anyone has any specific examples of things to check out with these products, please comment here.