Increasing the DB Size in SQl Server 2005

Hi again, I am going to write a small post on one of the common issues related with databases. I am talking about SQL Server 2005 databases. This is of course not a bug and is only related to tweaking server and application's performance.
By default during the time of database creation a default size of the database is associated. But this db size is not sufficient to hold the data long enough onto it. As you see things working good at the business end, you will experience data growth in your databases. By default, all db's are set with an auto growth property which avoids any data loss or application failure.

But this is not enough!!

In my personal experience, the db size growed enough and continued growing on extra 1MB automatically after reaching maximum default size. It affected my application's performance badly and made my portal slower than anything! During my investigation I checked the Db size and increased it to some good level manually.

This is what I actually did:

1. Opened the SQL management studio 2005
2. Right Clicked the database name - ex. Mx_Content_DB
3. Selected Properties.
4. On the Files menu I increased the initial size of the database
by 1GB and set the auto growth to increase by 10%.

After the database server restart, things stared looking fine and performance level increased considerably.

Please note that when you are using multiple db's in your application, you may have to do the same with other Db's also if
the same issue happens with them.

Tomorrow I will update the same post with the some screenshots which will help you further on your database management activities.

Make your sharepoint data loss proof - Backup Strategies

Sharepoint portal is Microsoft's business class portal framework which is also a lucative option as an intranet portal because it supports and is build around the Microsoft Office suite.

Sharepoint is a well Mircorsoft's portal development framework or package for portal development. All the entities of a sharepoint site like lists, documents, pages, links, themes and site information including their data almost everything is stored in a SQL Server 2005.

For managing content and having a solid plan to make your valueable data loss proof, it is important that you follow 3 way backup strategy.

1. SQL Server 2005 DB Level backups.
2. Sharepoint site backups from the Shgarepoint Central Admin.
3. Code level backups. (if you are using your custom user-controls
for highly customized experience in the Sharepoint)

Though there is popular tool called Aveo's to backup the deep level sharepoint entities like list columns, versions, document library and list or list items.

Again, I would like to empahises that the DB level backups should be based on the follwoing approach.
a) Weekly Full backups.
b) Differential backups alternate days.
c) Daily transaction log backups.

Sharepoint Server level backups can be planned as below:
a) Farm Level backups.
b) Site collection level backups.
c) Web application level backups
d) Site level backups

Code Level backups include backing up the Virtual Directories before each time you want to deploy the latest changes in the Server.

I am sure when you carry out this bakcup strategy you will be in a better state to secure your data and recover easily and effectively during the backups.

Google offers support OpenID

There are so many websites, portals and other web application which ask for you username and password in order to access their products/services. It is really difficult for any person (getting more diffcult) to remember so many login information. I have personally lost few login credentials for some websites quite a few times. If you also face such challenge to remember and recall the correct login id for your favourite websites then OpenId is for your rescue.

OpenID is simple notion for opend source id using which you can register once and use the same user id at a number of websites. Currently some of most populat brands in the www support OpenId.

Google has just announced that it will also support OpenId 2.0 based credentials to access most of it's webistes and webapplications. With Microsoft, Yahoo and many other key players already nodding and giving clearance to users with OpenId to access their websites is great move towards user freidnliess and provide a better managability to the user records and saving of enough user database and maintenenace related activites for that without compromising on the crucial data related to each user based on which the specific features to users are provided.

You can also register your id for free with OpenID and be the part of the current trend of create once use for a lifetime user logins.

Google RSS news - A reality coming soon!!

Google now promises to add RSS links to it's search results. This is a great news for the people who find it difficult searching relevent information everyday on related topics. Now, you have the power of RSS with the Google Search to get your track on the latest news on products, compaines, persons, places and many more...

Google has recently confirmed this news to organizations who authorize in search engine news. 'Search Engine Watch' is one such organization who claimed to have got this news directly from Google. They have also informed that Google is the only major search engine who is bringing this new feature. I hope after Google all the major search engines will also include the same if they don't lag befind in providing latest info.

Google decision to bring the RSS links for search brings confirmation to us that the Google's promise to make it's products and services more user freindly is very true. As you are aware that RSS technology brings the most updated information about any given topic from the authority sites, now the the search results in Google will be more updated and lastest in the content also.

So all the best for future Googling and enjoy your Sunday !!

SaaS - Do you know?

There are so many researches going on the labs for developing a model which will bring business and technology together like never before. That would close the limitations related to technology, cost and operations within the orhnizations. Out of the various software models that have come up one such model is SaaS.

SaaS - Software as a Service.

SaaS is all about developing a software (probably web based) and using it's certain features to provide it's services to others. It is using software as a service. For example Amazon is known for it's strong software model and business success. It is proven by the success and of Amazon itself. Now any other guy with an idea of creating a similar shopping site he may have to create a software and a suitable model from the scratch. Alternatively, he can also use the proven and successful Amazon's model as a core to develop his shopping site. Amazon has provied it's API for developers and business organizations who want to build a similar thing. They can use Amzon's API and build there own site leveragining on the Amazon's stantard core.

SaaS is basically using a software which is provided by it's host to clients to use this, without having to install this software in their machines. So now, the clients pay the software provider for the service that they receive for using the software. It can be in the form of a licensce for using the software for a given period of time. One simple example is the Mail service provided by Google. For organizations, ranging from startups to big size they can use the mail service provided by Gmail for their office use. They will be using the Gmail mail servers for all the emailing needs within the organizations. For this, these organisations save the cost of hardware and software setup, power, security and human resource required to maintain the same. Instead, now they can recevie all these services directly from Gmail. Plus they enjoy the world class performance, usability, popularity, security and hassle free business solution.

SaaS holds a great promise for the way business is going to change or evolve in the coming days with technology playing the forerunner as the key to success of the organization and their business together.

Google Book Search Intergration Feature - API

Hey Guys!!
I am back after a small stint. To let you know as the first hand info quite few interesting things happened in my life both personally and professionally. I have changed place, my job, my company and there's change in my work profile too. Apart from these good chnages it's also sad that I am away from my very near and dear friends of Hyderbad but now the good thing is that I won't give you any chance to complain about my posts in this blog. This is because I have bought a new laptop today and I am writing this post from my new laptop.

Enough of scribbling and let's get into what I have say in my current post!!

This is about the new Google API for books.
As you might have guessed that this API lets you display books on topic of your preference. This is exactly what you can do using Google Book Search API. Now, I think this would be very useful for people who want to buy new books or review a book before actually buying it. I think this is great tool provided by people at Google. As far as portals or education based websites are concerned people are really going to benifit from it.

Google Book search can be integrated to a webiste using an API which offers higher customization. As an option for those who are not coding guys can take the copy-paste kind of javascript free to use code offered by Google to integrate in your web page where you want to put this book search and preview display feature.

The URI for the same is: code.google.com/apis/books/

Check it out, generate your code .. put it in your webiste ...and get going!!

Web OS - Building an OS above the existing Internet Layer

Of course everyone who uses computers knows what importance does an operating system holds in making a computer a usable piece of engineering. Without an OS a computer would be very difficult to be used for any task by a common man.

The Operating system provides a layer above the internal hardware of your computer and you. It acts as an interface between you and computer machine so that your commands can be easily understood by your computer. The OS provides a platform to run various application on your computer which otherwise would have been impossible in your computer to run. The other way of considering the same scenario is that if you don't have a standard operating system in your computer then the application that you are using right now in your computer need to have the system software capabilities. This would require all the applications to be almost an operating system in order to run in your computer.

Just imagine, how difficult it would have been for the people to develop applications then? Each application needs to have a layer of codes written that would interact with the hardware of your PC. If you have got an Operating system explicitly to interact with the hardware of your computer then developers don't need to build these human machine interfacing feature in their application. SO now, a lot of time, energy and resources are saved when you have an OS sitting on top of your computer hardware to have all other applications site over itself.

Now you only concentrate on developing the core functionality of your application and not on the OS capabilities to make it run on any PC. If you can understand this concept you can understand the Web OS - Web Operating System concept also. Actually, the Web OS is a platform to run some similar kind of application on the browser. If you try to understand this concept with a developer's perspective you will know what I mean.

If you want to develop a new shopping site you can use the framework of tried , tested and already industry standard application like Amazon. You can use the framework of Amazon shopping site to have a website build over it which would have a solid architecture and you would not need to focus on the developing your shopping site from the scratch. So now, a layer above the www sits, where people who want to build Shopping site can have the API's and framework of Amazon to develop their custom sites. Same thing can be done for search engines using Google's APIs, portals using Drupal's framework, social networking sites using facebook framework and likewise the whole new application would use the industry standard application's framework or APIs to have their business supported by a solid technical architecture imposed by such proven and industry standard application saving the new business's valuable time, energy and money.