Just a quick note that I will be going pretty much straight from PASS Summit 2012 in Seattle (stay tuned for detailed blog post on this) to Columbia, SC and presenting "SSIS 2012: More Than Just a Pretty UI" at the Midlands SQL PASS Chapter meeting on Tuesday, 11/13 at 5:30pm. If you are in the Columbia, SC area on Tuesday, 11/13, please stop by. Looking forward to presenting at another PASS SQL chapter next week!
For more details go to the Midlands SQL PASS Chapter website.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
SQL Saturday #153 and PASS Summit 2012
For those in the Salt Lake City area this weekend, I will be speaking at the SQL Saturday event that will be held on Saturday, October 20 starting at 9am. I am currently scheduled to speak at 2:45pm in Room 206 on SSIS 2012. For those that are new to the SQL community, SQL Saturday's are free events held throughout the world where SQL Server Professionals share their experiences for a day of learning and networking. If you are in the SLC area this Saturday, you should come by! For more information and to register, please go to http://www.utahsqlsaturday.com. See you on Saturday!
I will also be attending PASS Summit 2012 in Seattle coming up on November 5-9. If have the means to go to PASS Summit, I would highly recommend it, it is the biggest SQL Server focused conference in the US and is a great place to meet SQL Server Professionals from all over the world. There are so many things to do and see both at the conference and after the conference. To get all of the details and register, go to http://www.sqlpass.org/summit. If you are from Colorado and traveling to PASS Summit 2012, we will be having our annual dinner at Elliot's Oyster House on Thursday, November 8th at 6:30pm. You will have to cover your own food and drink, but it is a great chance to meet with the SQL Professionals in the Colorado area outside of the conference. If you are interested, please register at http://cosummit2012dinner.eventbrite.com. Hope to see you there!
I will also be attending PASS Summit 2012 in Seattle coming up on November 5-9. If have the means to go to PASS Summit, I would highly recommend it, it is the biggest SQL Server focused conference in the US and is a great place to meet SQL Server Professionals from all over the world. There are so many things to do and see both at the conference and after the conference. To get all of the details and register, go to http://www.sqlpass.org/summit. If you are from Colorado and traveling to PASS Summit 2012, we will be having our annual dinner at Elliot's Oyster House on Thursday, November 8th at 6:30pm. You will have to cover your own food and drink, but it is a great chance to meet with the SQL Professionals in the Colorado area outside of the conference. If you are interested, please register at http://cosummit2012dinner.eventbrite.com. Hope to see you there!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
SQL Saturday #169 Denver Wrap-up
SQL Saturday #169 Denver was held last Saturday (9/22) at the Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church - Community Life Center, after months of planning and worrying about how the event would go, it turned out to be a very successful event! We met our registration cut-off amount of 300 late on Friday night and the final count at the end of day on Saturday was around 220 that actually attended! Really good since we did not hold a SQL Saturday in 2011 (the first for this area was in September 2010) and shows just how much the SQL Server community has grown.
We started the planning of this event in May/June, which is a bit late for an event of this size. We pulled together a great group of volunteers from the area to help us out and that made all the difference. It is great to see so many people that are willing to give up some of their free time to make sure that we had a successful event. Without them this event would not have been as good as it was, so thank you to everyone that volunteered to help!
The number of sponsors that we had was also a huge help to make the event such a success. Big kudos to Confio Software, they are a local Colorado company and they came through big as a Gold sponsor with lots of last minute support in various forms. I also want to send out a big thank you to Quanta Intelligence for sponsoring the Speaker/Volunteer dinner on Friday, everyone had a great time before all of the hard work on Saturday started. Another big thanks to Datavail who came in as a Gold level sponsor and sponsored the After Party on Saturday evening. Without these sponsors and all of the others - DawaBI, Pragmatic Works, Xtivia, PASS, Red Gate, Fusion IO, Quest Software, COZYROC, Qortex, SQL Cruise, Sapien Technlogies, McGraw Hill, Wrox and Pluralsight we could not had this event.
Since this was the first time that I was the lead coordinator on this kind of an event I decided early on that I would not present a session, since I knew that I would already have enough stress for the day. That was a good decision because there were many challenges that needed my attention throughout the day. We have a list of things that we know about now and will keep in mind for the setup of the next event, and for those wondering, yes I'm sure that we will be having another SQL Saturday in the near future. Overall it was a great learning experience I'm looking forward to the next one and being able to enjoy it more and to roam around and soak it all in more.
To get a different perspective on the event, check out the following blog posts that have been posted by others:
We started the planning of this event in May/June, which is a bit late for an event of this size. We pulled together a great group of volunteers from the area to help us out and that made all the difference. It is great to see so many people that are willing to give up some of their free time to make sure that we had a successful event. Without them this event would not have been as good as it was, so thank you to everyone that volunteered to help!
The number of sponsors that we had was also a huge help to make the event such a success. Big kudos to Confio Software, they are a local Colorado company and they came through big as a Gold sponsor with lots of last minute support in various forms. I also want to send out a big thank you to Quanta Intelligence for sponsoring the Speaker/Volunteer dinner on Friday, everyone had a great time before all of the hard work on Saturday started. Another big thanks to Datavail who came in as a Gold level sponsor and sponsored the After Party on Saturday evening. Without these sponsors and all of the others - DawaBI, Pragmatic Works, Xtivia, PASS, Red Gate, Fusion IO, Quest Software, COZYROC, Qortex, SQL Cruise, Sapien Technlogies, McGraw Hill, Wrox and Pluralsight we could not had this event.
Since this was the first time that I was the lead coordinator on this kind of an event I decided early on that I would not present a session, since I knew that I would already have enough stress for the day. That was a good decision because there were many challenges that needed my attention throughout the day. We have a list of things that we know about now and will keep in mind for the setup of the next event, and for those wondering, yes I'm sure that we will be having another SQL Saturday in the near future. Overall it was a great learning experience I'm looking forward to the next one and being able to enjoy it more and to roam around and soak it all in more.
To get a different perspective on the event, check out the following blog posts that have been posted by others:
Thanks again to everyone that was involved in our SQL Saturday and a big thanks to everyone that attended the event!
Friday, August 17, 2012
SQL Server 2012 Database Projects
After I got really confused on why some things were possible in different combinations of SQL Server 2012 and Visual Studio 2010 for SQL Server 2012 Database Projects I thought that I would get what I found out for others too that might be as confused as I was.
For those that might not know Microsoft introduced Database Projects awhile back, but they had some issues where the scripts created didn't always work and the schema comparisons didn't work well either. Being a BI Developer at that time I didn't spend much time looking at it, just heard what the other DB Developers were complaining about. Database Projects were meant to be a way for DB Developers and DBAs to help get the database "source code" into version control and make it easier to create scripts for deployment into multiple environments.
So, with SQL Server 2012 there were some changes made to the Database Projects and from what I have seen using it lately they are some very good improvements. But, the side effect is that there are 2 tools with a very similar name that are slightly different. The 2 tools are SQL Server Data Tools and Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools (wow big difference huh, one with Microsoft in front one without).
SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT)
For those that have installed any version of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 you know that you can install SQL Server Data Tools as part of the database instance install. This is the tool that uses the Visual Studio 2010 Shell and is the replacement for the Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) in previous versions of SQL Server. Since they wanted to add more functionality then just BI development projects the tool needed to be renamed. SSDT still works with all of the BI projects as before.
Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools
This is the web install version that is available for anyone to download and install without any requirements for SQL Server 2012. As with SSDT this is built on the Visual Studio 2010 Shell. The difference with this version is that it only does the Database Project development (including SQL Azure). If you install only this version of SSDT you will NOT be able to do any of BI development unless you also have the SSDT from SQL Server 2012 installed.
Not sure why Microsoft went down this route and I find this very confusing and it gets even worse based on the version of Visual Studio 2010 that you have installed. If you want to do both BI Projects and Database Projects you will need to install the SSDT from the SQL Server 2012 install media AND the Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools from the web link above. But, even with this there are some differences in the projects! The pieces that I found which are missing are only in the Database Projects and are specific to building these projects using the new SQL Server Database Projects.
Below is what the SQL Server Database Project structure looks like when you create it using the web download of SSDT and no version of Visual Studio 2010 installed:
The screenshot below is against the exact same SQL 2012 database, the only difference is that I created this first as a new SQL Server Data-tier Application Project and then converted it to a SQL Server Database Project (you do this by right-clicking on project file in the Solution Explorer and selecting Convert to SQL Server Database Project...) on a machine that had Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate (Premium also works from what I found researching this) and the SSDT web install:
Notice the differences? There are some folders and scripts that are not being created by the "lite" version, like the Scripts folder with the Pre-Deployment/Post-Deployment files along with others. Based on what I have started to script I find the Pre/Post Deployment scripts to be very useful since they are pulled in automatically when you create the deployment scripts. I use the Post-Deployment script to setup SQL Agent jobs or anything else that can be done after the database has been created.
You maybe asking, can I just create that folder structure manually in the "lite" project and have it automatically pull that in? Microsoft has actually included all of the pre/post deployment scripting capabilities in the new SQL Server Data Projects and you can create them anywhere in your project by adding a new script item to your project and selecting the Pre-Deployment Script or Post-Deployment Script types that appear in the Add New Item dialog. While I don't understand why the initial creation of the projects has changed so that these folders/scripts are not automatically included at least they are both capable of doing it you just have to know how to add it.
I have verified that if you create the SQL Server Database Project as a converted SQL Server Data-tier Application Project in Visual Studio Ultimate/Premium and then open it in the "lite" version it does still see all the extra folders and it will script them correctly.
So this is what I have found after playing around for awhile and just about pulling out my hair when I couldn't figure out why one worked differently then the other. I believe that most of these differences comes from how the SQL Server Data-tier Application Projects (DAC) were setup and those differences in that project type are being carried over when it is converted to a SQL Server Database Project. I still find it very confusing that creating the project in one way and converting to the "new" way causes so many of these differences. Microsoft could have addressed this by making sure that the new SQL Server Database Projects for SQL Server 2012 have the exact same structure as the previous version, but it seems that they see each of these "new" project types as a chance to start over and do it differently.
For those that might not know Microsoft introduced Database Projects awhile back, but they had some issues where the scripts created didn't always work and the schema comparisons didn't work well either. Being a BI Developer at that time I didn't spend much time looking at it, just heard what the other DB Developers were complaining about. Database Projects were meant to be a way for DB Developers and DBAs to help get the database "source code" into version control and make it easier to create scripts for deployment into multiple environments.
So, with SQL Server 2012 there were some changes made to the Database Projects and from what I have seen using it lately they are some very good improvements. But, the side effect is that there are 2 tools with a very similar name that are slightly different. The 2 tools are SQL Server Data Tools and Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools (wow big difference huh, one with Microsoft in front one without).
SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT)
For those that have installed any version of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 you know that you can install SQL Server Data Tools as part of the database instance install. This is the tool that uses the Visual Studio 2010 Shell and is the replacement for the Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) in previous versions of SQL Server. Since they wanted to add more functionality then just BI development projects the tool needed to be renamed. SSDT still works with all of the BI projects as before.
Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools
This is the web install version that is available for anyone to download and install without any requirements for SQL Server 2012. As with SSDT this is built on the Visual Studio 2010 Shell. The difference with this version is that it only does the Database Project development (including SQL Azure). If you install only this version of SSDT you will NOT be able to do any of BI development unless you also have the SSDT from SQL Server 2012 installed.
Not sure why Microsoft went down this route and I find this very confusing and it gets even worse based on the version of Visual Studio 2010 that you have installed. If you want to do both BI Projects and Database Projects you will need to install the SSDT from the SQL Server 2012 install media AND the Microsoft SQL Server Data Tools from the web link above. But, even with this there are some differences in the projects! The pieces that I found which are missing are only in the Database Projects and are specific to building these projects using the new SQL Server Database Projects.
Below is what the SQL Server Database Project structure looks like when you create it using the web download of SSDT and no version of Visual Studio 2010 installed:
The screenshot below is against the exact same SQL 2012 database, the only difference is that I created this first as a new SQL Server Data-tier Application Project and then converted it to a SQL Server Database Project (you do this by right-clicking on project file in the Solution Explorer and selecting Convert to SQL Server Database Project...) on a machine that had Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate (Premium also works from what I found researching this) and the SSDT web install:
Notice the differences? There are some folders and scripts that are not being created by the "lite" version, like the Scripts folder with the Pre-Deployment/Post-Deployment files along with others. Based on what I have started to script I find the Pre/Post Deployment scripts to be very useful since they are pulled in automatically when you create the deployment scripts. I use the Post-Deployment script to setup SQL Agent jobs or anything else that can be done after the database has been created.
You maybe asking, can I just create that folder structure manually in the "lite" project and have it automatically pull that in? Microsoft has actually included all of the pre/post deployment scripting capabilities in the new SQL Server Data Projects and you can create them anywhere in your project by adding a new script item to your project and selecting the Pre-Deployment Script or Post-Deployment Script types that appear in the Add New Item dialog. While I don't understand why the initial creation of the projects has changed so that these folders/scripts are not automatically included at least they are both capable of doing it you just have to know how to add it.
I have verified that if you create the SQL Server Database Project as a converted SQL Server Data-tier Application Project in Visual Studio Ultimate/Premium and then open it in the "lite" version it does still see all the extra folders and it will script them correctly.
So this is what I have found after playing around for awhile and just about pulling out my hair when I couldn't figure out why one worked differently then the other. I believe that most of these differences comes from how the SQL Server Data-tier Application Projects (DAC) were setup and those differences in that project type are being carried over when it is converted to a SQL Server Database Project. I still find it very confusing that creating the project in one way and converting to the "new" way causes so many of these differences. Microsoft could have addressed this by making sure that the new SQL Server Database Projects for SQL Server 2012 have the exact same structure as the previous version, but it seems that they see each of these "new" project types as a chance to start over and do it differently.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
SQL Saturday #169 - One Week Left!
Only one week left to submit your sessions for SQL Saturday #169 in Denver on September 22, 2012! If you have a topic to share and you are going to be in the Denver area on September 22nd, please submit your session for this great event by 7/31/2012!
We are still looking for sponsors as well, so please take a look at the sponsorship options that we have available and register here.
If you are going to attend the event, we ask that you register so that we know how many to expect.
Looking forward to putting on a great event in a couple of months!
We are still looking for sponsors as well, so please take a look at the sponsorship options that we have available and register here.
If you are going to attend the event, we ask that you register so that we know how many to expect.
Looking forward to putting on a great event in a couple of months!
Monday, July 2, 2012
SQL Saturday
Wanted to put out a quick post that I have not had the time to put up until now. If you are going to be in the Denver, CO area around September 22, 2012 I would encourage you to register for a day of SQL Server technical training given by many local and national speakers. Yes, that's right we are doing SQL Saturday #169 at the same location as 2010, Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church (10150 E Belleview Ave., Greenwood Village, CO 80111).
We are asking that anyone that registers pay a $10 fee for lunch, this will help us to provide all attendees with a lunch that is not pizza and provide plenty of beverages throughout the event. Please register to attend and we look forward to seeing you there!
If you are a speaker, please submit your session abstracts on our Call for Speakers page. And if you are sponsor, please go to our Sponsors page to help us out!
I would also like to mention that Brian Knight, Founder of Pragmatic Works will be presenting a 2 day SSAS workshop on September 20-21 at the Denver Microsoft office (7595 Technology Way, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80237). If you are interested in attending that event, you can go to the Pragmatic Works registration page linked here. You will need to bring your own computer to that workshop with the SQL bits already installed along with AdventureWorks installed, more details can be found on the link above.
Also, in other SQL Saturday news I will be presenting at SQL Saturday #159 in Kansas City, MO on August 4, 2012. Looking forward to getting some great BBQ in Kansas City and presenting my "SSIS 2012: More Than Just a Pretty UI" session, so come see me if you are going to be at SQL Saturday #159!
I will post more on my presentation at SQL Saturday #159 and our own SQL Saturday #169 over the next few months!
We are asking that anyone that registers pay a $10 fee for lunch, this will help us to provide all attendees with a lunch that is not pizza and provide plenty of beverages throughout the event. Please register to attend and we look forward to seeing you there!
If you are a speaker, please submit your session abstracts on our Call for Speakers page. And if you are sponsor, please go to our Sponsors page to help us out!
I would also like to mention that Brian Knight, Founder of Pragmatic Works will be presenting a 2 day SSAS workshop on September 20-21 at the Denver Microsoft office (7595 Technology Way, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80237). If you are interested in attending that event, you can go to the Pragmatic Works registration page linked here. You will need to bring your own computer to that workshop with the SQL bits already installed along with AdventureWorks installed, more details can be found on the link above.
Also, in other SQL Saturday news I will be presenting at SQL Saturday #159 in Kansas City, MO on August 4, 2012. Looking forward to getting some great BBQ in Kansas City and presenting my "SSIS 2012: More Than Just a Pretty UI" session, so come see me if you are going to be at SQL Saturday #159!
I will post more on my presentation at SQL Saturday #159 and our own SQL Saturday #169 over the next few months!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Wormhole Switch
No, this is not another space post, but based on the title you might think it is. This is actually what I would consider more of a productivity type post.
My computer setup in my home office is probably very similar to others, where I have multiple computers and multiple screens for each. But, my office setup really only allows for one full size keyboard and mouse that can easily fit on my desk for both computers.
In the past the easy solution to this was to get a KVM (Keyboard Video Mouse) switch. KVMs can be very flexible and work in just about all situations. I was able to use one with my wireless Logitech USB Keyboard and Mouse, but the issue is that I had to manually click a button to switch the keyboard and mouse between the 2 computers (I didn't need to use the video in this case since they were hardwired to the individual computers). Not only do you have to manually switch between the computers but the cables are usually pretty bulky and you have to have them setup to both computers. Some of the newer KVMs do have hotkeys you can setup on the keyboard to switch, but for me this was still not good enough.
Recently there have been many software based solutions that use you existing Wi-Fi or any networking connection to do the same thing as long as both computers are on the same network. I tried different versions of this software like Synergy and Microsoft Garage Mouse Without Borders and none of them worked for me because the one computer that I'm using daily is always connected via VPN to the company I'm working for. Once the VPN connection is started all of these software solutions stopped working because the VPN software "locks" down the network connections and prevented that computer from being visible to the other one. I have read that there are ways to work around this, but it requires getting your networking people to open parts of the VPN, which in my case was not going to happen.
So, based on this I knew that I probably needed a physical hardwired solutions similar to the KVM. Not sure where I saw this online, but there was an article or mention of this new USB solution from J5 Create called Wormhole Switch JUC400.
I'm not sure technically how all of this cable works, but the great thing is there is no disc or downloads required. As soon as you plug it into the first computer it auto detects and installs the required drivers/software (I've only tested this on Windows 7 computers so far) and waits for the other computer to be connected. Plug the other end to the 2nd computer and the same will happen there and then both computers should show messages that they are communicating with each other.
At that point you just move the mouse across the screens and the mouse/keyboard should move to the computer the mouse is currently on. You might need to configure on which side the computers are on, but that is very easy by right clicking on the Wormhole Server icon in the Windows System Tray. Since this is a hardwired connection it works even when I have started the VPN connection on either or both computers. It's also nice in that it is a single regular USB cable. The version that I purchased (JUC400) works on Windows, Macs and even the iPad with the USB connection kit (only the keyboard is usable on the iPad). There are 2 other models, one that works with Windows/Android devices (JUC200) and the other that is just the basic Windows only version (JUC100). All of the versions also offer clipboard/file sharing between the connected computers which is a really useful feature.
The warning that I would give is that this is only a keyboard and mouse sharing solution, you cannot switch the monitors with this cable. The other warning that I would give is that if one of the computers goes to sleep or is locked it might be difficult if not impossible to get the keyboard/mouse to switch over to it. For my setup I always use the laptop screen on one computer, so the keyboard/touchpad is accessible on that computer at all times, so I moved the USB receiver for my keyboard/mouse over to the other computer (which I consider to be my main computer), then I can just use the laptop keyboard/touchpad on the other computer when that does happen. Not a major issue for me, but it might cause others some challenges depending on your setup.
For my setup this was the perfect solution, so I wanted to share it with others in case it might help you out as well. The model that I purchased (JUC400) is only $39.99 from Amazon and the other 2 models are even cheaper at $23.35 (JUC200) and $24.99 (JUC100).
My computer setup in my home office is probably very similar to others, where I have multiple computers and multiple screens for each. But, my office setup really only allows for one full size keyboard and mouse that can easily fit on my desk for both computers.
In the past the easy solution to this was to get a KVM (Keyboard Video Mouse) switch. KVMs can be very flexible and work in just about all situations. I was able to use one with my wireless Logitech USB Keyboard and Mouse, but the issue is that I had to manually click a button to switch the keyboard and mouse between the 2 computers (I didn't need to use the video in this case since they were hardwired to the individual computers). Not only do you have to manually switch between the computers but the cables are usually pretty bulky and you have to have them setup to both computers. Some of the newer KVMs do have hotkeys you can setup on the keyboard to switch, but for me this was still not good enough.
Recently there have been many software based solutions that use you existing Wi-Fi or any networking connection to do the same thing as long as both computers are on the same network. I tried different versions of this software like Synergy and Microsoft Garage Mouse Without Borders and none of them worked for me because the one computer that I'm using daily is always connected via VPN to the company I'm working for. Once the VPN connection is started all of these software solutions stopped working because the VPN software "locks" down the network connections and prevented that computer from being visible to the other one. I have read that there are ways to work around this, but it requires getting your networking people to open parts of the VPN, which in my case was not going to happen.
So, based on this I knew that I probably needed a physical hardwired solutions similar to the KVM. Not sure where I saw this online, but there was an article or mention of this new USB solution from J5 Create called Wormhole Switch JUC400.
At that point you just move the mouse across the screens and the mouse/keyboard should move to the computer the mouse is currently on. You might need to configure on which side the computers are on, but that is very easy by right clicking on the Wormhole Server icon in the Windows System Tray. Since this is a hardwired connection it works even when I have started the VPN connection on either or both computers. It's also nice in that it is a single regular USB cable. The version that I purchased (JUC400) works on Windows, Macs and even the iPad with the USB connection kit (only the keyboard is usable on the iPad). There are 2 other models, one that works with Windows/Android devices (JUC200) and the other that is just the basic Windows only version (JUC100). All of the versions also offer clipboard/file sharing between the connected computers which is a really useful feature.
The warning that I would give is that this is only a keyboard and mouse sharing solution, you cannot switch the monitors with this cable. The other warning that I would give is that if one of the computers goes to sleep or is locked it might be difficult if not impossible to get the keyboard/mouse to switch over to it. For my setup I always use the laptop screen on one computer, so the keyboard/touchpad is accessible on that computer at all times, so I moved the USB receiver for my keyboard/mouse over to the other computer (which I consider to be my main computer), then I can just use the laptop keyboard/touchpad on the other computer when that does happen. Not a major issue for me, but it might cause others some challenges depending on your setup.
For my setup this was the perfect solution, so I wanted to share it with others in case it might help you out as well. The model that I purchased (JUC400) is only $39.99 from Amazon and the other 2 models are even cheaper at $23.35 (JUC200) and $24.99 (JUC100).
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Dragon
I wanted to take a break from SQL BI today to post about the success of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket with the Dragon spacecraft. For those that may not be up-to-date on the space program here in the United States, the Space Shuttle fleet was retired last year after more than 30 years of service. This left a huge void in the US capabilities to get supplies and astronauts up to and off of the International Space Station (ISS). NASA has been working with private industry in the US to provide these services so that NASA could focus on longer duration space missions. Many companies in the US have been competing for these contracts and SpaceX was one of the first. SpaceX was co-founded by Elon Musk, who also co-founded PayPal and Tesla Motors.
Fast forward to the last couple of years where SpaceX has had their ups and downs on getting their own rockets to launch. But in late 2010 they were able to successfully launch their Falcon 9 rocket (the number 9 signifies the number of rocket engines) with the Dragon capsule. That launch made them the first private company to launch a spacecraft of their own into orbit and return a capsule back to Earth. The next step was going to be similar with a close approach to the ISS, but not be able to dock. After proving their capabilities in that first launch NASA and SpaceX decided to combine 2 flights and allow them to attempt the docking with ISS on the next launch.
On May 22, 2012 SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 rocket with another Dragon capsule on board. This time the Dragon capsule was loaded with over 1,000 pounds of cargo for the ISS. The Dragon capsule was able to prove that it could perform the required tasks for docking and it was able to be successfully captured by the ISS on May 25, 2012. The crew of the ISS was able to open the capsule and swap out the cargo with items that could be returned to Earth. This is a very important difference then any of the other vehicles that can currently dock with the ISS, as this is the only one currently proven that can return cargo back to Earth. The Dragon capsule lands in the ocean the same way the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules used to. And today the Dragon capsule was released from ISS and safely landed in the Pacific Ocean.
This is a huge step in US space capabilities and I'm sure that it will lead to many other successes in the future for SpaceX and the other private companies that will be providing this capability. I'm sure there will be more setbacks, but I hope that these companies can continue to provide these capabilities and others. Hopefully SpaceX will also be allowed to use these Dragon capsules to take human crews up to the ISS and other space habitats built in the future and maybe even go on from there to the Moon or further.
Congratulations SpaceX and NASA!
Fast forward to the last couple of years where SpaceX has had their ups and downs on getting their own rockets to launch. But in late 2010 they were able to successfully launch their Falcon 9 rocket (the number 9 signifies the number of rocket engines) with the Dragon capsule. That launch made them the first private company to launch a spacecraft of their own into orbit and return a capsule back to Earth. The next step was going to be similar with a close approach to the ISS, but not be able to dock. After proving their capabilities in that first launch NASA and SpaceX decided to combine 2 flights and allow them to attempt the docking with ISS on the next launch.
On May 22, 2012 SpaceX launched another Falcon 9 rocket with another Dragon capsule on board. This time the Dragon capsule was loaded with over 1,000 pounds of cargo for the ISS. The Dragon capsule was able to prove that it could perform the required tasks for docking and it was able to be successfully captured by the ISS on May 25, 2012. The crew of the ISS was able to open the capsule and swap out the cargo with items that could be returned to Earth. This is a very important difference then any of the other vehicles that can currently dock with the ISS, as this is the only one currently proven that can return cargo back to Earth. The Dragon capsule lands in the ocean the same way the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsules used to. And today the Dragon capsule was released from ISS and safely landed in the Pacific Ocean.
This is a huge step in US space capabilities and I'm sure that it will lead to many other successes in the future for SpaceX and the other private companies that will be providing this capability. I'm sure there will be more setbacks, but I hope that these companies can continue to provide these capabilities and others. Hopefully SpaceX will also be allowed to use these Dragon capsules to take human crews up to the ISS and other space habitats built in the future and maybe even go on from there to the Moon or further.
Congratulations SpaceX and NASA!
Monday, May 21, 2012
SSIS 2012 Microsoft Connector for Oracle Upgrade Issues
For anyone that uses SSIS to get data from Oracle data sources you have probably had the pain of working with the components provided by Microsoft in the default installation of SSIS. You may have even downloaded the free Oracle tools for Windows that provide some more options for connecting to Oracle. Both of these choices are ok and may work fine in your environments, but for the best solution Microsoft worked with Attunity to make their connectors available for everyone to use without any additional licensing cost (FREE)! These connectors have been considered the best Oracle connectors that you can use with SSIS for quite awhile now. When SQL Server 2012 was released in April v2.0 of these connectors were also released, along with an updated v1.2 for older versions of SSIS.
Now for the twist in the story, what is the upgrade path if you are currently using Microsoft Connectors v1.1 for Oracle by Attunity (wow, that is a mouth full) and you want to upgrade your SSIS packages to SSIS 2012? Logic would tell you that you should be able to install SSIS 2012 and the Microsoft Connectors v2.0 for Oracle by Attunity and then just run the upgrade wizard in SSDT (SQL Server Data Tools) to get your packages up and running in SSIS 2012 and latest Oracle connector, right? Not so fast, unfortunately if you try this your package will be upgraded to SSIS 2012, but your Oracle components that you created using the older versions of the Attunity connectors will no longer work and you may not be able to edit or even delete them from your package! Below is a screenshot that shows what your component will look like after the upgrade:
You will also see errors, similar to this:
Error loading xxx.dtsx: The component is missing, not registered, not upgradeable, or missing required interfaces. The contact information for this component is "Oracle Source;Microsoft Connector for Oracle by Attunity; Attunity Ltd.; All Rights Reserved; http://www.attunity.com;2".
Error loading xxx.dtsx: The component metadata for "Oracle Source" could not be upgraded to the newer version of the componenet. The PerformUpgrade method failed.
You will not be able to edit the component to try and fix it and depending on how many of these components you are using in each package you may even see this error message when you try to delete the component from your package:
So, if you are unable to edit or even delete these invalid components from you package, what do you do? The only option available to you at this point is to edit the .dtsx file in a text editor so that you can see the XML, but if you go that route and you are not very familiar with XML structure or how the XML for SSIS is setup you might end up making a bigger mess.
Thankfully, after a week or so of fighting this same issue for a client that I'm currently working with we were able to get a solution from Microsoft Support that is very quick and will prevent you from losing any of your query, mapping or metadata! The fix is to use a text editor (I prefer Notepad++) and you can do a search and replace for the following GUID in your packages:
{4CAC6073-BCA7-430E-BD29-68A9F0012C6D}
and replace it with:
{CB67CD40-126C-4280-912D-2A625DFAFB66}
The first GUID should be unique to v1.1 of the connector, so if you have upgraded to v1.2 that GUID may be different.
Once I completed this on all 120+ packages that used the Oracle connector and reloaded the updated versions in SSDT all of the error messages went away and the data flows appeared correctly as shown below:
I am not sure if this will be a continuing issue with these connectors as new versions are released or if this is because of the major changes required going from previous versions of SSIS to SSIS 2012. Either way, I wanted to make sure this information was out there for those are upgrading to avoid some of the problems we had.
Now for the twist in the story, what is the upgrade path if you are currently using Microsoft Connectors v1.1 for Oracle by Attunity (wow, that is a mouth full) and you want to upgrade your SSIS packages to SSIS 2012? Logic would tell you that you should be able to install SSIS 2012 and the Microsoft Connectors v2.0 for Oracle by Attunity and then just run the upgrade wizard in SSDT (SQL Server Data Tools) to get your packages up and running in SSIS 2012 and latest Oracle connector, right? Not so fast, unfortunately if you try this your package will be upgraded to SSIS 2012, but your Oracle components that you created using the older versions of the Attunity connectors will no longer work and you may not be able to edit or even delete them from your package! Below is a screenshot that shows what your component will look like after the upgrade:
Error loading xxx.dtsx: The component is missing, not registered, not upgradeable, or missing required interfaces. The contact information for this component is "Oracle Source;Microsoft Connector for Oracle by Attunity; Attunity Ltd.; All Rights Reserved; http://www.attunity.com;2".
Error loading xxx.dtsx: The component metadata for "Oracle Source" could not be upgraded to the newer version of the componenet. The PerformUpgrade method failed.
You will not be able to edit the component to try and fix it and depending on how many of these components you are using in each package you may even see this error message when you try to delete the component from your package:
So, if you are unable to edit or even delete these invalid components from you package, what do you do? The only option available to you at this point is to edit the .dtsx file in a text editor so that you can see the XML, but if you go that route and you are not very familiar with XML structure or how the XML for SSIS is setup you might end up making a bigger mess.
Thankfully, after a week or so of fighting this same issue for a client that I'm currently working with we were able to get a solution from Microsoft Support that is very quick and will prevent you from losing any of your query, mapping or metadata! The fix is to use a text editor (I prefer Notepad++) and you can do a search and replace for the following GUID in your packages:
{4CAC6073-BCA7-430E-BD29-68A9F0012C6D}
and replace it with:
{CB67CD40-126C-4280-912D-2A625DFAFB66}
The first GUID should be unique to v1.1 of the connector, so if you have upgraded to v1.2 that GUID may be different.
Once I completed this on all 120+ packages that used the Oracle connector and reloaded the updated versions in SSDT all of the error messages went away and the data flows appeared correctly as shown below:
Friday, May 11, 2012
SSIS 2012 Presentations
I'm going to be getting back into presenting again! I used to present on a variety of topics at local User Groups in the past, but took an extended break when I got really busy at work and life. Things are finally settling down again and now I'm really looking forward to getting back into presenting on a more regular basis.
My first presentation will be a 30 minute presentation at this Thursday's Denver SQL Server User Group meeting. This presentation will be a preview of a presentation that I hope to present in many different venues on the new features in SSIS 2012. I came up with what I think is a very clever title for these presentations, "SSIS 2012: More Than Just a Pretty UI". I was looking for a title that was catchy and also captured what a lot of people have already heard about SSIS 2012. This will be a demo only presentation showing as many features as I can, and there probably are enough new features in SSIS alone that I could go for hours. I'll probably change around what I demo each time I present as I find out what items demo better then others. For those that have not presented, this is probably the most dangerous type of presentation to do, where you are doing as many live demos as you can.
I will also be doing the first full length version of this presentation on Saturday 5/19/2012 at Rocky Mountain Tech Trifecta! I'm really happy to be a speaker at this event, I have attended this event and even volunteered to help set it up in the past. This will be my first time presenting at this event, so I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone at this annual free training event that covers Development, SharePoint, Office and SQL Server among many other topics. Make sure you register at http://www.rmtechtrifecta.com/#register and come to my presentation!
Keep your eyes open and I may be presenting in an area near you!
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