WARDY IT Solutions

Queensland ICT Awards

peter@wardyit.com — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:11:38 GMT

For the second year running WARDY IT Solutions has been nominated as a finalist for the ACS Queensland ICT Awards

First SQL Server 2008 R2 Workshops in Australia

peter@wardyit.com — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:01:13 GMT

WARDY IT Solutions is proud to announce that they will be delivering the first SQL Server 2008 R2 workshops in Australia.

The workshops will be conducted as a free ½ day Hot Lap. A Hot Lap is a quick and concise way of finding out what is new in SQL Server 2008 R2 and how these changes will improve database operations, developer efficiency and enable self-service Business Intelligence solutions.

The SQL Server 2008 Hot Laps will be held at the end of January in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney with Canberra and Hobart to be scheduled in February.

Melbourne – 27^th January: 1:00pm – 5:00pm

Brisbane – 28^th January: 8:00am – 12:00pm

Sydney – 29^th January: 8:00am – 12:00pm

The morning events will include a light breakfast and morning tea and the afternoon sessions will include a light lunch and afternoon tea.

For more details and to register for these Free events email contact@wardyit.com.

A relationship is being added or deleted from an AssociationSet ‘x’ EF issue

michael@wardyit.com — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:34:00 GMT

I'm still cutting my teeth on the Entity Framework (EF) and have just worked out why I have been receiving this kind of exception:

A relationship is being added or deleted from an AssociationSet 'FK_Shift_ShiftStatus'. With cardinality constraints, a corresponding 'Safety_Shift' must also be added or deleted.

Here is the code:

shift.Status = context.ShiftStatuses.First(x => x.Id == Status.ShiftStartedId);

EF Model:

Shift * <=> 1 ShiftStatus

Database:

Shift.ShiftStatusId has a Foreign Key Relationship with ShiftStatus.Id

After searching the Internet, I was none the wiser. I thought that maybe there was something theoretical that I was missing. In fact the only mistake I had made was that I didn't load the Shift Status reference before assigning it:

shift.StatusReference.Load();

shift.Status = context.ShiftStatuses.First(x => x.Id == Status.ShiftStartedId);

Canberra SQL Server Breakfast

peter@wardyit.com — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 01:32:50 GMT

WARDY IT Solutions will be hosting a free SQL Server Breakfast event on Thursday the 15^th of October in Canberra. Catering will be served from 8:00am with the one hour presentation starting at 8:30am.

This Breakfast will focus on how to utilise the Business Intelligence features of SQL Server. SQL Server 2008 introduces a number of new Business Intelligence features and in this one hour presentation you will see how you can do 'more with less' by utilising the out of box BI features in SQL Server 2008. You will also see how SQL Server can provide a greater insight into trends that affect the health of a business.

To register your interest in attending this FREE SQL Server Breakfast seminar please email contact@wardyit.com. Feel free to forward this to friends and colleagues who may be interested in attending also.

When: Thursday 15th October from 8:00am (presentation starting at 8:30am)

Where: Microsoft Canberra | Level 2, 44 Sydney Avenue, Barton

Add this event to your Outlook Calendar

Hobart SQL Server Breakfast

peter@wardyit.com — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:10:42 GMT

To celebrate the launch of our new Hobart office, WARDY IT Solutions will be hosting a free SQL Server breakfast in Hobart on Friday the 2nd of October.

In this session you will see how multiple databases can be consolidated to a single SQL Server 2008 server without the need for a magic wand. Traditionally organisations have continued to increase their SQL Server footprint as they have introduced new technologies to manage business processes. Due to the current economic climate it is becoming harder for organizations to minimize the costs associated with maintaining multiple servers throughout the enterprise. Despite the challenges of tightening budgets, SQL Server 2008 provides an opportunity to reduce costs through consolidation. This session will demonstrate how SQL Server 2008 can be used to assist with consolidating applications from multiple servers without sacrificing the goals of performance and availability.

When Wednesday 7th August from 7:30am

Where WARDY IT Solutions - Hobart Office | 175 Collins Street, Hobart

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Data Management Solutions Partner of the Year

peter@wardyit.com — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:55:15 GMT

At a gala awards dinner last night, WARDY IT Solutions was announced as the winner of the Data Management Solutions Partner of the Year. The gala awards evening forms part of the Australian Partner Conference being held at the Gold Coast this week. This award recognises Partners supporting customer mission-critical applications.

The solution described in our nomination was our SQL Server 2008 Consolidation service; a service designed to migrate application databases from multiple physical locations to a single location.

Pimp your Netbook at Tech-Ed

peter@wardyit.com — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:20:43 GMT

All attendees of Tech-Ed on the Gold Coast will receive a free HP Netbook.

Well Brisbane leading consultants – WARDY IT Solutions, Enhance ALM and Portal Synergy have partnered together to provide you the opportunity to Pimp your free Netbook. So make sure you pop by the booth during Tuesday night's Welcome Reception or on Friday for an opportunity to win some great prizes to Pimp your Netbook.

Hobart Office

peter@wardyit.com — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 12:48:54 GMT

WARDY IT Solutions is continuing to expand throughout Australia. From the 14^th of September we will have an office in Hobart to complement our existing offices in Brisbane and Sydney.

The address of our new Hobart office is 175 Collins Street, Hobart.

Keep your eyes peeled as there will be a special breakfast event in Hobart on the Friday the 2^nd of October to celebrate the new location.

SQL Down Under Code Camp

peter@wardyit.com — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 08:31:37 GMT

One again I will be presenting at SQL Down Under Code Camp. SQL Down Under Code Camp is an annual community-driven event for SQL Server professionals. The event is being held over the weekend of the 10^th and 11^th of October in Wagga Wagga. For more details and to register for the event refer to here.

As usual WARDY IT Solutions will be sponsoring an Espresso Coffee van to be onsite from 7:30am to help everyone get their morning 'heart starter'.

SQL Server Consolidation

peter@wardyit.com — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:25:26 GMT

I will be presenting at the QLD SQL Server User Group next week (Thursday, 27^th August) on SQL Server Consolidation.

For more details and to register refer to here.

2009 Microsoft Australian Partner of the Year Award Finalist

peter@wardyit.com — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:47:25 GMT

WARDY IT Solutions has been selected as a finalist for the Australian Partner Conference (APC) Partner of the Year. The category of our solution nomination is Data Management Solutions Partner of the Year.

The solution described in the nomination is the SQL Server 2008 Consolidation which is a service designed to migrate application databases from multiple physical locations to a single location. This aims to identify the optimal way to implement the consolidation process whilst taking into consideration the desired outcome of the individual organization and the requirements of the applications being migrated. Through the consolidation service implementation, organisations can reduce the costs of maintaining multiple servers. More information on this solution can be found in the Microsoft Partner Solution Description which can be found here.

Free SQL Server Breakfast in August

peter@wardyit.com — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:45:15 GMT

The third WARDY IT Solutions SQL Server breakfast for the year is on Thursday the 7th of August. This breakfast is a Free quarterly event hosted by WARDY IT Solutions. Catering will be served from 7:30am with the one hour presentation starting at 8:00am.

The August Breakfast presentation will focus on SQL Server consolidation and will show you how multiple databases can be consolidated to a single SQL Server 2008 server without sacrificing the goals of performance and availability.

As usual there will be a bottle of red wine out of Peter's personal collection up for grabs.

When Wednesday 7th August from 7:30am

Where Microsoft Brisbane | Level 9, Waterfront Place | 1 Eagle Street | Brisbane

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March 09 SQL Server Newsletter

peter@wardyit.com — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 09:08:54 GMT

The March WARDY IT SQL Server newsletter has been sent to everyone on the distribution list.

Not on the list and want to see what is happening in the world of Microsoft SQL Server – the March newsletter is available here. To subscribe so you get the newsletter next month simply send an email to contact@wardyit.com.

May 09 Free SQL Server Breakfast

peter@wardyit.com — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:15:00 GMT

The second WARDY IT Solutions SQL Server breakfast for the year is on Thursday the 7^th of May. This breakfast is a Free quarterly event hosted by WARDY IT Solutions. Catering will be served from 7:30am with the one hour presentation starting at 8:00am.

The May Breakfast will focus on how to utilise the Business Intelligence features of SQL Server 2008 to provide insights into trends that affect the health of an organisation.

When: Wednesday 7th May from 7:30am

Where: Microsoft Brisbane | Level 9, Waterfront Place | 1 Eagle Street | Brisbane

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February 2009 SQL Server Newsletter

peter@wardyit.com — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:53:32 GMT

The February WARDY IT SQL Server newsletter has been sent to everyone on the distribution list.

Not on the list and want to see what is happening in the world of Microsoft SQL Server – the newsletter is available at http://www.wardyit.com/newsletters/feb2009.html. To subscribe so you get the newsletter next month simply send an email to contact@wardyit.com.

Kalen Delaney in Australia in June

peter@wardyit.com — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 10:42:52 GMT

SQL Server expert Kalen Delaney, the author of Inside SQL Server and the new book SQL Server 2008 Internals, is a special guest in Australia this June for WARDY IT Solutions.

Kalen will be presenting a not to be missed one day seminar in Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney.

In Melbourne and Sydney Kalen will be presenting on SQL Server Storage Formats.

In Canberra and Brisbane Kalen will be presenting on SQL Server Internals.

The dates for these seminars are:

June 15: Melbourne – SQL Server Storage Formats

June 17: Canberra – SQL Server Internals

June 19: Brisbane – SQL Server Internals

June 22: Sydney – SQL Server Storage Formats

The cost of these seminars is only $695.00 ex. GST, however up until the 27^th of March each registration will receive a free copy of Kalen's new book SQL Server 2008 Internals. Places on these seminars is strictly limited so don't delay registering as Kalen sold out last time she was in Australia. You can register by emailing contact@wardyit.com or calling 1300 WARDY IT (927 394).

Tech-Ed North America

peter@wardyit.com — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 07:49:18 GMT

Peter Ward will be presenting a Breakout session at Tech-Ed North America in May. Tech-Ed North America is the largest Microsoft conference in the world with over 10,000 attendees. This year there will only be 30 SQL Server sessions and Peter Ward has been accepted to present in one of these sessions. Peter's presentations will be a SQL Server 2008 Security Deep Dive.

Include column headers in the resultset

peter@wardyit.com — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:53:09 GMT

A question that I am often asked when I do a presentation is how I configure SSMS so that when the query is executed the query is displayed in the header of the messages. I find that when presenting it can be easier to talk to the output rather than flicking back to the Query Editor.

Below is an example of the statement being displayed in the header of the messages:

To configure this is SSMS follow the steps below:

Open SSMS
Select Tools | Options
Expand Query Results
Expand SQL Server
Select Results to Text
Check Include the query in the result set

February 09 SQL Server Breakfast

peter@wardyit.com — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:28:00 GMT

The first WARDY IT Solutions SQL Server breakfast for the year kicks off on Wednesday the 11th of February. This breakfast is a Free quarterly event hosted by WARDY IT Solutions. This quarter's breakfast will take place on Wednesday the 11th of February. Catering will be served from 7:30am with the one hour presentation starting at 8:00am.

The February Breakfast will focus on the SQL Server Manageability features that have been introduced in SQL Server 2008.

When: Wednesday 11th February from 7:30am

Where: Microsoft Brisbane | Level 9, Waterfront Place | 1 Eagle Street | Brisbane

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SyncToy 2.0

michael@wardyit.com — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:33:46 GMT

Over the Christmas period I managed to nail one of my TODO's: "organise outlook, documents, music and pictures on the two home computers". This TODO has been around for years and I finally nailed it. Like so many TODO's in my life, many get put off and I never seem to get around to doing them because I have to set aside time to think, investigate, try a few options, decide and then actually do it.

My biggest fear was that I would lose those precious e-mails, documents, music or photos. My second greatest fear was that I was going to spend eternity comparing files and folders to work out which was the most recent. My third fear was that I would be doomed to repeat this process every year or couple of years and I wanted a permanent solution. I also had a couple more fears but I think I'll stop there J

The first solution I thought of was to write my own file and folder sync tool but I quickly got over that urge. So, rather than think about it and come up with a plan I just started doing stuff. After manually syncing for a few hours I started to get lazy. The temptations to "throw in the towel" or to "move files and hope for the best" were growing. So I stopped myself and Googled. That's when I discovered Microsoft SyncToy.

Originally the Laptop was the definitive source and then I copied all the content onto the Desktop. Now, some years later both systems are out of sync. I have my work and Mobile Phone photos on the Desktop and the Digital Camera photos and Katie's (my wife) documents on the Laptop. SyncToy allowed me to set up folder pairs and sync my documents, music and pictures on the two home computers. SyncToy never deletes anything; it just moves them to the Recycle Bin. SyncToy also lets you to preview it's proposed changes before making them. That way you can see exactly what's going to happen. That was fear No.1 sorted.

The beauty of SyncToy is that you just click a button and it takes care of the rest. It can even be scheduled by using the command line version of SyncToy! That was fear No.2 sorted. Using SyncToy has provided me with a way to keep the two shared folders in sync so I never have to manually sync files again! That's fear No.3 sorted.

I'm a programmer and a lot of this work was system admin work. At times I wished I did more system admin units at Uni. Come to think of it I didn't do any! I think that half the battle was working out how the family's digital information was going to be shared, stored and backed up. I've decided that all I need now is a Networked Storage Device (NAS) that plugs into my router. Then I could store all the documents, music, photos and videos in one place to save disk space and use SyncToy to contribute documents, music and photos from our profiles no matter what computer we are using. I'll just put that on my TODO list!

Suggestion: Have a look at the SyncToy white paper.

Humm, all I have to do is put that on the TODO list!

Happy Dreaming!

michael@wardyit.com — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:36:57 GMT

For those who have DreamScene and have never tried it I recommend you do. I just did and it's cool! If like me you didn't know how to set it up then check out http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/51a8bdac-cd66-4ae3-afdf-6c6dcf804b991033.mspx. Now I'm going to have to get a bigger monitor, find or make a video or two, and work out a way to organise Visual Studio so that I can see the desktop once in a while! Maybe I just need a second monitor!

Hermes: A Midrange Alternative

michael@wardyit.com — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:29:00 GMT

One thing that I've learned as a programmer is that nothing is easy. Or to put it another way, there is a lot of hidden work in software development. To explain consider this scenario: a client needs an FTP site checked regularly and content downloaded, validated, transformed and delivered to an internal system. When you break each step down, none of them are "intellectually" difficult to understand. However when you go to design, code, test and push the system into production you can be held up by many hidden gotchas.

When I was learning how to program at University I totally embraced testing, documentation, reuse, patterns and practices. My Holy Grail was Rapid Application Development (RAD). My entire programming career I have attempted to write bug free, well documented, reusable code according to best practice. I have tried to keep up with the new technologies, programming paradigms, manage teams, clients and projects. I now realise that my search for the Holy Grail has taken a heavy toll on me, my employers, their projects and their bank balance. I'm left feeling somewhat dissatisfied because it generally takes me longer than I expected to get "intellectually" simple programs into production.

My dissatisfaction, my search for the Holy Grail and a project at Wardy IT has given birth to Hermes (Greek God of Messaging): a pluggable program that hosts .Net classes called Plugins. I've been developing Hermes on and off for the past five months and am amazed at how simple, elegant and powerful it is. Hermes comes with its own suite of Plugins and the beauty of it is that you can write your own Plugins and load them into Hermes – WOW! So what's so amazing?

Hermes provides a framework for me to work within, removing certain design decisions from me and allowing me to focus on core functionality.
Hermes provides consistent logging and scheduling Interfaces.
Hermes is pluggable. Plugins can be started, stopped and hot swapped or replaced through the Hermes Manager client.
Hermes allows me to expose my programs (as WCF Services) to the enterprise and beyond.
Hermes provides a centralised midrange platform, simplifying maintenance and supporting SOA architecture.
Hermes has built in reports that you can use to analyse, track performance and troubleshoot.
Hermes provides a test harness which makes it easy for programmers to test and debug their Plugins.
Hermes can be hosted in Windows Services, Command Line, Windows and WPF Form applications.
Hermes is built with the latest .Net Framework (3.5).
Hermes Plugins can be written in any .Net Language.

How many times have you reinvented the wheel? How many times have you duplicated code? How many times have you had to duplicate systems because you can't reuse them? How many times have you sat at your desk, massaging your head weighing up the design considerations? How many programs have you written that don't log? How hard does that make it to debug/troubleshoot? How many times have you thought that your systems are too hard to manage? How many times have you thought that I'm the only one who knows this stuff? How much better could you systems be if you had good performance statistics?

If you are like me the score card isn't that great but you gave it your best shot. Well imagine if you could go RAD, go SOA, take control. Would you reinvent the wheel? I doubt it! Let's use the FTP scenario above to demonstrate the benefits of using Hermes. Hermes ships with an FTP Watcher which can be scheduled to download files. When the FTP Watcher Plugin detects a new file it downloads it and submits a job to the Scheduler which distributes the job to the appropriate FTP Processing Plugin. Since the file format, validation, transformation and delivery is unique to your business, you write the core logic in the FTP Processing Plugin. You test it in the Test Harness and when satisfied load it into Hermes. With the flick of a switch you activate the FTP Watcher and Processor Plugins and you now have a system running 24x7 processing all FTP deliveries. Any errors can be monitored in real time by MOM or SCOM or sent to an e-mail address or mobile. All the jobs can be viewed in Hermes Manager and rescheduled if needed. It's all too easy! Didn't I just say nothing is easy?

Jeff Wharton Renewed as an MVP

peter@wardyit.com — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 11:58:19 GMT

Jeff Wharton has been re-awarded for the second year running as a Microsoft MVP Windows Server System - SQL Server. The award is recognition for Jeff's technical excellence and commitmnet to the Microsoft SQL Server community.

WARDY IT Solutions is the only company in Australia that employs two SQL Server MVP's

December 08 SQL Server Newsletter

peter@wardyit.com — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 03:36:39 GMT

The December SQL Server newsletter has beee sent to everyone on the Distribution list. Not on the list and want to see what is happening in the world of Microsoft SQL Server – the newsletter is available at http://www.wardyit.com/newsletters/dec2008.html.

Previous Versions of a File/Folder under Vista

michael@wardyit.com — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Did you know that when enabled, select versions of Microsoft Vista store previous copies of your files and folders? This means that you can get them back if you need them.

To view the previous versions of a folder open Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder, right click on the folder and select Properties. Then select the Previous Versions tab e.g. Link.

To view previous versions of a File just right click on the file and select "Restore previous versions".

Check this video out for an indepth treatment of Previous Versions Link