April, 2003  

  In This Issue

All articles have been reprinted with the written consent of their respective authors.

Free Oracle Utilities

Create Many Tables, Constraints, and Data
By Daniel Norwood, Quest Software

This function allows users to create 4,000 tables, 32,000 foreign key constraints, and 16 million rows of data for testing purposes.

Click Here for the script.
 

Oracle Administration

Killing the Oracle DBMS_JOB
James F. Koopmann, www.dbdoctor.net 

Take control of Oracle's queue with a step by step approach to getting rid of those pesky DBMS_JOBs.

Let's face it, Oracle's job scheduling facility is a wonderful tool for scheduling Oracle related jobs without having to maintain a cron job on Unix or an AT job in windows. It is also very robust and reliable. It is that very reliability and robustness that gives many of us our problems.

If you have any form of jobs running on your system, you will at one time or another come across the issue of a run-away job that just doesn't seem to want to end. Or maybe you will try and shutdown the database only to find out that it is waiting to complete a job. I would like to offer some help in the management of those job queues when they just don't seem to want to end or go away.

Click Here for the article.
 
 

DB2

Protecting DB2 Data
By Ulf Mattssoni, Protegrity

Your company's data is one of its most precious resources, and it's facing threats from all sides. Do you know how to protect it?

Companies are spending millions to secure their information, but the incidence of network intrusions that result in compromised data is on the rise. What are they doing wrong?

If current security efforts are failing, what's needed? I'll list the elements of a sound security solution in this article.

Click Here for the article.  
  

Microsoft SQL Server

SQL Server Upgrade Recommendations and Best Practices
Part 1 – Upgrade Overview and Project Planning
By Jeremy Kadlec, Edgewood Solutions

As the DBA in your organization, you are central to the success of the SQL Server environment. In the case of a system upgrade, you need to act as a ‘driver’ for an upgrade project to ensure success based on your technical expertise and role in the organization. Over this multi-part series, these articles will outline proven and recommended best practices for the upgrade process. This process is detailed from both technical and logistical perspectives which are both critical to the success of the project.

Click Here for the paper.  
 

Project Management Tips & Techniques
What Should be in Place Before a Project Starts?
Tom Mochal, www.tenstep.com 
Each month, Tom Mochal presents a set of project management tips and techniques for handling various aspects of planning and managing a project. Tom has over 23 years of IT experience. He has developed a comprehensive, scalable project management process called TenStep (www.TenStep.com). He has also developed PMOStep (www.PMOStep.com), which is focused on building, implementing and supporting project management methodology through a Project Management Office. Tom also has a comprehensive application support methodology called SupportStep (www.SupportStep.com).

Before the main work on a project begins, a number of items need to be in place. For smaller projects, many of these conditions are met informally or implicitly. However, the larger a project gets, the more important it is that these criteria be met formally and explicitly.

Click Here for tips and techniques on What Should be in Place Before a Project Starts?.
 

News & Events
2003 TOAD User Groups
Quest Software is proud to present the 2003 TOAD User Groups, where TOAD users of all levels can get an exclusive look at all that TOAD has to offer. For the second year in a row, we are bringing free, full-day local user groups to a city near you to help you get more out of TOAD and exchange ideas with the real experts — users like you! 

Click Here for details and registration information.


Free Seminars 

Free e-Seminars
For detailed information on these free e-Seminars, please visit our News and Events page.

Tips of the Month
Oracle DBA Tip of the Month:  Dynamic Memory Allocation in Oracle9i
PL/SQL Tip of the Month:  Deferred Database Constraints & Forms
DB2 Tip of the Month:  View Materialization Versus View Merged
SQL Server Tip of the Month: Connecting to SQL Server from a Non-Microsoft Machine
Puzzle

Interactive Crossword Puzzle: "Do You Know Your Fours?"
 

 
1 Down - Oracle, for Example
Test your knowledge with the Pipeline Newsletter's Monthly Crossword Puzzle. 

Click Here to Play!

Regular Features

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Our mission at Quest Software - RevealNet Labs is to anticipate the daily responsibilities and challenges faced by database professionals.  Our products help thousands of people solve problems and implement solutions every day.  This newsletter is designed to help facilitate the sharing of information among database professionals.  

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