This easy to follow guide to setting up replication on SQL Server 2005 will have you up and running in no time at all. Whether you need to install it from scratch or fix the Microsoft SQL Server error 21028, then this guide is for you. Just grab your installation CD and get started.

As a DBA your most important duty is to protect the data in your databases. If you've ever considered skipping a backup job or maybe thinking you'd take the off-site backup home on another night, then this article will make sure you never think twice again. Norb Technologies' very own SQL Server DBA tells how he had a very lucky escape when disaster recently struck and has never been so glad to have made that backup!

What better time is there than the extended Christmas and New Year holiday for putting your SQL Servers through a work-out? Use our list of top ten tips to have your servers back in peak performance for the new year. A little advance planning now can make all the difference, so grab a pen and paper and a mince pie and let's get started.

On a crisp Saturday morning in October, a group of dedicated MVPs held a free SQL Server Conference at Microsoft's Thames Valley Campus in Reading (UK). With highly qualified and experienced guest speakers, the 300 delegates were treated to a variety of sessions on SQL Server 2005 and some insights into the features coming in SQL Server 2008. Read about our trip to this SQLBits day out to see what you missed!

Is your company giving too much money to Microsoft? SQL Server licenses aren't exactly cheap, but you're paying for a top database engine. The question you need to ask as a DBA is whether your SQL Server licenses are costing you more than they should. This article explores the way you can save money.

If you're conscious about the carbon footprint your office and server room are leaving on this planet and want to do more to help prevent climate change, then these ten easy steps will set you on the green road to becoming an ecological DBA.

When you lose your internet connection, or can't access your SQL Server, what do you do? As a database or software specialist the chances are you may not have much network knowledge. This simple five step plan gives you some basic network skills to troubleshoot the problem and help you and your network engineer work together.

Depending on the size of your organization, you may or may not be beer buddies with your in-house DBA. You may be a developer working for a company with a whole team of DBAs. This article explores what you as a developer need to know to befriend your DBA.

So many of us develop on it, query against it and administer it, yet it's not often we actually get to install it. This guide will take you from start to finish of how to install SQL Server 2005, which options to choose, which to ignore and the best time to take a coffee break.

If you run the query select @@version in Query Analyzer or Management Studio, it will bring back the version of your SQL Server as a load of digits. If you want to translate those digits into something more meaningful, use this handy look-up guide.

Make sure you are up to date with this essential guide to new, undocumented and retired DBCC commands in SQL Server 2005. Microsoft has removed some commands, so use this reference to check your applications don't depend on them before upgrading to 2005.

Your business critical web application uses a SQL Server back-end and you've been assigned the task of finding a new web host. This detailed but easy to use step-by-step guide will take you from start to finish in choosing the right host, reducing risk and increasing up-time.

Is your web host up to the job? Use the tips in this guide to put your web host to the test to ensure you are getting the service your web site visitors demand. Is your web server fast enough, is it secure and what contingency do you have if you want to change hosts?