Use 32-bits Excel Source with 64-bits SSIS

The following is still work in progress and more of a braindump than anything else, but I've put it here, because someone might already find some use for it

Straight out of the box, you cannot use the Excel Datasource in SSIS on a 64-bits Windows platform , because the Excel Datasource uses a 32-bits OLEDB library. Microsoft has not released a 64-bits version of this library.

0) Use MADE 2010
There is 64 bits version for Office 2010, so for Excel 2010. It is called "Microsoft Access Database Engine  2010 Redistributable" of which there is a 32- and 64-bits version. We're interested in the 64-bits version, but this package can only be installed after removing all 32 bits Office applications!

a) Install MADE 2010 while NOT removing 32 bits Office applications:

AccessDatabaseEngine_x64.exe /passive

Notes:

• THE SYSTEM WILL AUTOMATICALLY REBOOT, SO SAVE WORK BEFOREHAND!
• Start Excel once to go through the configuration process. Start it a second time. It the configuration process starts again, then disable it by renaming this file to "setup_disabled.exe":
  c:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared\OFFICE14\Office Setup Controller\setup.exe
• run the repair option for the Microsoft Access database engine 2010 program inside "add/remove programs" 

b) If that doesn't work, then also install the Data Connectivity Components:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/confirmation.aspx?id=23734

1) Trick Windows to use 32-bits ODBC data sources
Try adding the SysWow64 folder to the beginning of your path:

Path=%systemroot%\SysWow64;...old values here...

When done via the command prompt via the SET-command, it will be undone when that window is closed.

2) Run SSIS in 32-bits mode
Use the 32-bit DTEXEC.EXE to execute the package containing the Excel Datasource. It is located in "Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Sql Server\90\Dts\Binn" (or for SSIS 2008: "Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Sql Server\10\Dts\Binn")

You can schedule this using "task scheduler" or SQL Agent.

3) Compile package as 32-bits
Package configuration properties -> Debugging -> Debugging Options -> Run64BtRuntime -> set to False.

4) Even dirtier trick: convert Excel spreadsheet to CSV beforehand
This can be done in several ways, with minimal coding required:

• If Excel is installed, then create a VBS script that uses CreateObject("Excel.Application") to create an Excel object. Then open the XLS file and save it as a CSV using this object.
• ... or a perl script using the "Spreadsheet::ParseExcel" module
• ... or a powershell script using "comobject Excel.Application"
• Install OpenOffice and program a small macro in it's OpenOffice basic language. Then create a VBS or DOS script that opens OpenOffice and calls the macro with parameters, one being the source XLS, and one being the target CSV.
• Without installing anything on the server running SSIS: write a small C# application that utilizes the Excel OLEDB data provider built into Windows to read data from the Excel sheet. Then write the results to a CSV file.
• ... or write a small C# application that utilizes the opensource Excel Data Reader library to read data from the Excel sheet. Then write the results to a CSV file. This library appears to be buggy however.
• Freeware commandline tool: XLS2CSV by Zoom Technology. Parses only the first sheet. The column separator and text quotes are configurable throught an ini file
• Freeware commandline tool: XLS2CSV by Tom Crow. Parses all sheets to separate CSV files

ODBC/DSN configuration can be found here:

• 32 bits ODBC connections: %windir%\syswow64\odbcad32.exe
• 64 bits ODBC connections: %windir%\system32\odbcad32.exe

Notes:

• ADO also uses the OLEDB library.
• The OLEDB library is a piece of code that gets loaded and compiled into the calling application at runtime.
• If you use the MADE 2010 Redistributable package, then be aware of a small bug when connecting to Office 2010. You have to use "MICROSOFT.ACE.OLEDB.12.0" as the driver name in stead of the specified "MICROSOFT.ACE.OLEDB.14.0".
• Although previous Office versions need to be de-installed before installing MADE 2010, they can be reinstalled afterwards.

Increase maximum volume of the iPad

If you find that the maximum volume on the iPad is not loud enough, then you can fix that with the following adjustment:

• Start Cydia
• If you haven't installed OpenSSH, then search for it and install the app, restart the iPad
• Install WinSCP on your Windows environment and make a connection to the iPad. The iPad IP adress can be found on the iPad in Settings -> Wi-Fi. Click on the blue arrow on your current wifi connection. By default the username is "root" and the password "alpine".
• Download and install iPodRobot for Windows
• Open a connection to the iPad via WinSCP
• Copy the following file to your Windows environment: System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Celestial.framework/RegionalVolumeLimits.plist
• Just in case anything goes wrong: make a copy of this file on your Windows environment
• Start iPodRobot and load RegionalVolumeLimits.plist
• Find and replace 0.xx000000000000004 with 1, where x=79 or 84, or some other number under 100
• Save the file and copy it back to the iPad using WinSCP
• Reboot the iPad.

The volume will be much louder, so tune it down before starting any music or video on the iPad.

Note:

• The iPad needs to be jailbroken, i.e. needs to have Cydia installed
• The Cydia/Winterboard apps Volume Boost X3 and Volume Boost 4.0 have no effect on the iPad.
  

Alternatively, using iTunes, you can boost the volume of each individual video/song:

• Start iTunes
• Select all songs under iPad -> Music
• Right click and select "Get info"
• Tab "options", drag the slider to +100%

The song volumes will be adjusted song by song. This can take a long time!

Keywords: setting the maximum volume limit on iPod

Internet on iPad via adhoc wifi hotspot

Scroll down for the solution, read on for some trial-and-error background info.

When no direct wifi internet connection is available, then it is possible to use the internet connection of wired Windows PC. The only requirement is that the PC needs to also have a wireless (wifi) network card.

It is possible to use internet connection sharing (ICS) on Windows to setup an adhoc wireless network and connect to this network from the iPad:

• Control Panel -> Network and sharing center -> Setup a new network or connection -> Set up wireless adhoc (computer to computer) network -> Next
• Give the network a name
• Security type: WPA2-Personal
• Give the network a password (security key) of at least 8 characters
• Click "Turn on internet connection sharing"
• Select the LAN internet connection when asked "Select the internet connection that you want to share"
• iPad -> Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Select the network, type in the password

I couldn't get this to work properly. I tried all of the following:

• "Turn on internet connection sharing" does not appear. Try a solution posted by sinnerman on windows7forums.com:
  
  • Open Network and Sharing Center
  • Go to Change Adapter Settings
  • Find the adapter for the default internet connection (it was a PPPOE in my case)
  • Right click on that -> Cancel as Default Connection
  • Right click -> Properties -> Sharing tab
  • Uncheck "Allow other network users to connect ..." if it is not
  • Setup the ad-hoc as explained above, the Turn on Internet connection sharing should appear.
• Disable Windows Firewall. If you have another one, for example Bitdefender, then there is/might be a direct option to allow ICS.
• Allow other users on internet connection:
• Control Panel -> Network and sharing center -> change adapter settings -> select internet connection -> Properties -> Sharing -> Check "Allow other network users to connect ..."
• Set a policy that allows you to use ICS: 
• Start gpedit.msc.
• Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Network -> Network Connection
• Set "Prohibit use of Internet Connection Sharing on your DNS domain network." to false

Solution

• Download Connectify. It is freeware
• Install and allow the software to install drivers
• Start Connectify and start easy setup wizard
• Give the network a name, next
• Give the network a password, next
• Select the connection (wired/LAN) through which there is an internet connection
• iPad -> Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Select the network, type in the password.

The connection from the iPad is lost when unused for a couple of minutes. When using, for example, Safari on the iPad, the connection is quickly restored via a popup that lets you select from wifi networks. Sometimes this is not even necessary and safari restores the connection automatically.

Bluetooth device not found on Dell laptop

If you are sure you have a built-in bluetooth device on your Dell laptop, but you cannot find it in control panel or device manager, then try these steps:

• Determine bluetooth device type using the Dell device locator
  or
  Go to http://support.dell.com and type in the search bar: "Find Out Which Bluetooth Adapter Is in Your Dell Computer"
  or
  Go to the webtool "system configuration tool" directly: system configuration tool
  In all cases, use the service tag that can be found on the bottom of the laptop
• Search for "bluetooth" on the page that the SCT returns, it should have code beside it, i.e. "370"
• Go to http://support.dell.com and type in the search bar: "bluetooth 370"
• The results page contains drivers for bluetooth for various Windows OS'es:
  - Look for "Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Minicard, v.XXX" and search for the most recent version XXX.
  - Make sure "Win 7" is in the description, if the driver is needed for Windows 7.
• Download and install the driver.

Notes:

• The SCT only works from Internet Explorer 5.5+
• And only from the 32 bits version of Internet Explorer. Make sure you don't use the 64 bits one.

CTAS disregards number precision and scale

When using a "create table as select" (CTAS) to create a table based on a query, when that query also contains a window function/analytical function in the SELECT-clause, results in the precision and scale being omitted.

The precision/scale are neglected, when running the following example in Oracle 11g:

CREATE OR REPLACE FORCE VIEW VSA_X AS
SELECT
CAST(1 AS NUMERIC(10,2)) AS FLD1,
ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY 1 ORDER BY 1) AS RN
FROM DUAL;

DROP TABLE X;

CREATE TABLE X AS SELECT * FROM VSA_X;

Table X will have no precision/scale for FLD1. It is bypassed and will simply have NUMBER for its datatype. This is a bug in Oracle.

Note:

• Using NUMBER in stead of NUMERIC makes no difference, the bug is still there.
• Explicitly casting the ROW_NUMBER() function also makes no difference.

Solution:

Put the window function inside a derived table:

CREATE OR REPLACE FORCE VIEW VSA_X AS
SELECT
CAST(FLD1 AS NUMERIC(10,2)) AS FLD1,
RN
FROM
(
  SELECT
  1 AS FLD1,
  ROW_NUMBER() OVER (PARTITION BY 1 ORDER BY 1) AS RN
  FROM DUAL
) x;

Keywords: CTAS omits precision, CTAS omits number precision, CTAS bypasses precision, CTAS bypasses number precision.

Subtitle Workshop blank screen with Matroska/MKV containing H.264

Scroll down to solution for the workaround to get video in stead of a black screen. Read on for a little bit more background information.

There are five components to video in Windows: container (like avi, mkv), video format (divx, h.264), splitter, decoder, and video player.

Nice post to get started:
http://www.hack7mc.com/2009/02/mkvs-for-minimalists-on-windows-7.html

But the scripts could be more robust. E.g. change the fixed system root "c:\windows" to %systemroot%

SPLITTERS

Haali Media Splitter: http://haali.su/mkv
Note: since december 2009, this contains also the x64 version.

Gabest: hard to get, but is part in some packs.
x32: http://www.hack7mc.com/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=12
x64: http://www.hack7mc.com/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=11

Advice: Haali splitter.

DECODERS

ffdshow (the original, but outdated): http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow/files
ffdshow tryouts: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow-tryout/files

Get a 64 bits or 32 bit ("generic") in the folder "official releases" or get a more recent nightly build from the folder "SVN builds by clsid".

Advice: a recent 32 bit nightly build.

SPLITTER/DECODER packs

K-Lite Codec Pack: http://www.digital-digest.com/software/K-Lite_Codec_Pack_64-Bit_history.html

Shark007: Install Win7Codecs first (http://www.majorgeeks.com/Win7codecs_d5959.html), then x64Components (http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=5535)

Shark's Win7Codecs comes with a tool to select and configure the various splitters and decoders for the various media types (divx/xvid, mpeg2, h264/mpeg4) and containers (avi, mkv).

Install and use the "settings32.exe" application to configure, since most video players are currently still 32 bit (winamp, zoomplayer)

Advice: Shark007 packs

VIDEO PLAYERS

Zoomplayer 5.02 Standard (latest free version), Windows Media Player (build-in, WMP Classic/Guliverkli2 or WMP Classic Home Cinema) and Winamp all work with the system splitters and decoders. VLC Player comes with its own splitters/decoders and does not use the ones installed on the system.

Subtitle Workshop v2.51 does only work with "real" avi containers. The "rename trick", where the mkv extension is changed to avi, will work with most of the video players, but unfortunately not with Subtitle Workshop.

The more recent betas of v4 do work with mkv/h.264 files, but those are not very stable. The splitter has to be Haali, Gabest's does not work - "cannot render media!". It does not matter if the "rename trick" is used. This also applies to Windows Media Player. Gabest also doesn't work with Subtitle Workshop v2.51.

Winamp doesn't really like mkv files; it almost always halts on startup.

Zoomplayer does not work well with video format "Xvid dev 25-Mar-03". You have to use Haali splitter for avi, because Gabest and Microsoft's cause a stack overflow.

Zoomplayer doesn't work with mkv/H.264 when the ffdshow codec is used.

CHECK TOOLS

Tools to check video containers, e.g. get video format or the the processing workflow (splitting, decoding):

GSpot: http://www.headbands.com/gspot

MediaInfo: http://sourceforge.net/projects/mediainfo/files

GraphStudio: http://blog.monogram.sk/janos/2008/12/13/monogram-graphstudio-0310
GraphEdit: http://www.digital-digest.com/software/download.php?sid=82&ssid=0&did=1

SOLUTION

To get the video preview to work in Subtitle Workshop 2.51 with mkv files, that contain the h.264 video format:

• Install both Shark007 packs mentioned above. Check the box to install ffdshow.
• To get the latest ffdshow version working with Shark007 (this step is not necessary):
• In \program files (x86)\win7codecs\filters: regsvr32 /u "ffdshow.ax". Uninstall this older version
• Download most recent 32 bit nightly build mentioned above and install with default settings
• Copy "ffdshow.ax" from the nightly build install folder to the \win7codecs\filters folder
• Start \program files (x86)\win7codecs\tools\settings32.exe
• Click "reset all" to get the recommended configuration. 
• To be sure, check the following settings:
  H264: use ffdshow's codec/ffdshow with multithreading
  MKV: use haali splitter
• Set H264 codec in directshow players to "use ffdshow's codec"
• Finally, install Vobsub 2.23

Notes:

• The final step is very important. You have to install Vobsub (or "vsfilter") as the final step, even if it is already installed. Just install it again. (VobSub is a directshow filter that overlays subtitles)
• Test mkv and avi video formats in Winamp and Zoomplayer. If they fail to start, then uninstall Vobsub 2.23 again. Use the subtitle option from ffdshow to have subtitles in those players. WMPC and VLC have their own subtitle overlay filters.
• The version has to be 2.23, more recent versions will not work. E.g. 2.39 does not work.
• Do not rename the container from .mkv to .avi. Subtitle Workshop 2.51 will load the .mkv extension without problems.

TNS service names ODBC dropdown box garbled, messed up, gibberish

Most likely cause is that there are two or more different Oracle clients installed, with two or more home folders and tnsnames.ora files.

For example, an Oracle 10 client is installed or Oracle XE is installed. Both contain a home folder with tnsnames.ora. Later, the Oracle 11g instant client + ODBC compontents is added. Now there are two home folders.

In this case, the TNS_ADMIN environment variable needs to exist:

• Create TNS_ADMIN variable via control panel -> system -> advanced -> environment variables -> system variables
• Set is to one of the admin folders, eg.:
  c:\oracle\ic_x32_11.2.0.1.0_basiclite\NETWORK\ADMIN
  Note: make sure is contains the tnsnames.ora, sqlnet.ora and listener.ora files.
• Create a ODBC connection using the Oracle driver and check if the "tns service name" dropdown box contains readable entries
• Just to be sure, replace the body of all other tnsnames.ora files with:
  IFILE=c:\oracle\ic_x32_11.2.0.1.0_basiclite\NETWORK\ADMIN

CDBurnerXP: drive not recognized

CDBurnerXP is a freeware tool for burning CD's and DVD's, including blueray. However, it sometimes does not recognize the drive to burn with.

First, check the FAQ on the CDBurnerXP website:
http://cdburnerxp.se/help/appendices/troubleshooting

In my specific case, I then did the following:

• Start CDBurnerXP in "audio mode"; the drive was recognized. Only in "data mode" it is not.
• Check the chipset. Download the freeware tool "system info": http://www.gtopala.com/siw-download.html.
• Extract and start it - it does not have to be installed; it is a standalone executable. Check hardware -> motherboard -> southbridge. Note the chipset.
• Download "intel matrix storage manager" for your chipset: IMSM.
• Install IMSM and restart.

Now, CDBurnerXP should work in "data mode".

Note: make sure the drive is on the "compatible drives" list: http://cdburnerxp.se/en/testeddrives

The nearby-future of storage

The ioDrive Duo by FusionIO out-performs even multiple SSD's placed in parallel. The 320GB version of the ioDrive has a read/write speed of ~1.5GB/s:

http://www.fusionio.com/products/iodriveduo

Difference with traditional SSD:

• The flash memory is integrated in the PCI card.
• The flash memory has been optimized using a proprietary technology.

Downside:

• Cannot be used as a boot drive.
• Requires a 64-bit operating system.
• The price is about 15,000 euro for 320GB version (ssdeurope.com). Ofcourse, this has to be compared against the cost of buying and operating a SAN.
  

SQL Server statistics

Statistics are information about the distribution of data in a column, maintained internally by the database engine.

Rules and behaviour with regard to statistics, when automatic creation/updating is turned on:

• Statistics are automatically created when creating an index, but only for the first column of the (composite) index.
• Statistics can be created manually on any column or combination of columns.
• Statistics are automatically created/updated when the query optimizer finds need for them.
• Statistics are not automatically created/updated when the server is too busy, unless the "update statistics asynchronously" option is turned on, because then the are created in parallel.
• Asynchronously created/updated statistics have effect the next time the (causing) query is run.

Links:
http://www.sql-server-performance.com/tips/update_statistics_p1.aspx
http://blogs.technet.com/b/rob/archive/2008/05/16/sql-server-statistics.aspx
http://technet.microsoft.com/nl-nl/library/cc966419(en-us).aspx

Set cscript as default script engine

To set cscript as the default scripting engine on the system:

cscript //h:cscript //s

This way, the "wscript.echo" method always spools to the command line in stead of to message boxes. And without the need to start each script with the "cscript.exe" application.

Derived table vs subquery

There are several ways to combine datasets:

• Subquery: SELECT clause, correlation
• Join (cross/left/right/inner/full): FROM clause, no correlation
• Cross apply: FROM clause, correlation

Datasets retrieved in the FROM clause are called "derived tables".

The "cross apply" combines the best features of the subquery and join, but is performance-wise not always the best choice.

SQL Developer thick/OCI driver

The following error messages may appear when using SQL Developer to select data from a SQL Server table via a (heterogeneous or DG4ODBC) database link on an Oracle 11g DB:

Bigger type length than Maximum
OALL8 is in an inconsistent state

Solution: switch to the thick driver to work around this.

In SQL Developer: tools -> preferences -> database -> advanced -> use oci/thick driver = checked.

If this does not work or when getting the error messages:

no ocijdbc11 in java.library.path
vendor code 0

then:

- Download Oracle Instant Client 11.1.0.7.0 basic lite (easily found with Google, register with Oracle to download)

Note: version 11.2 does not work with SQL Developer!

Note: take the 64-bits version on a 64-bits OS, like Windows7 x64.

- Extract files to c:\ora\instantclient_x64_11.1.0.7.0_basiclite
- Add to environment variable PATH: c:\ora\instantclient_x64_11.1.0.7.0_basiclite
- Create a batch file called sd.bat in the rootfolder of the SQL Developer installation, with the following body:

set ORACLE_HOME="c:\ora\instantclient_x64_11.1.0.7.0_basiclite"
start sqldeveloper.exe

- Double-click sd.bat to start SQL Developer
- Add a connection with Connection type = basic

To make a connection with Connection type = TNS:

- Create folder c:\ora\instantclient_x64_11.1.0.7.0_basiclite\network\admin
- Put these files in the admin folder:

sqlnet.ora
tnsnames.ora

- In SQL Developer: tools -> preferences -> database -> advanced -> tnsnames folder: c:\ora\instantclient_x64_11.1.0.7.0_basiclite\network\admin
- Add a connection with Connection type = TNS

Note the following:

• The solution above even (or especially) works when another Oracle client is already installed. For example, if the OracleXE DB (which, at the time of writing, is 10g) is installed locally, then the Oracle Client 10 is also installed. But this client might not work when trying to connect to a remote Oracle 11g DB
• There is no need to set the environment variables ORACLE_HOME or TNS_ADMIN variable on the system. It does not matter what their values are
• The order of folders in the variable PATH does not matter
• Most likely Help -> About -> Properties -> oracle.home does not point to the correct Oracle home folder. So not to c:\ora\instantclient_x64_11.1.0.7.0_basiclite. It does not matter what the value is
• Unfortunately, the ORACLE_HOME trick does not work with the PATH variable; it is no use adding that to the batch file
• The error "Bigger type length than Maximum" is related to a bug in the implementation of the thin part of the JDBC driver. Not to heterogeneous services, Oracle DB, SQL Server, SQL Developer or the thick part of the JDBC driver. (Note: the same driver, e.g. ojdbc6.jar, contains the thin and the thick classes)

Oracle JDBC connections

The following JDBC drivers exist for Oracle:

• classes111.jar: Java 1.1
• classes12.jar: 1.2 and 1.3
• ojdbc14.jar: 1.4 and 1.5 (no JDBC3 and 4 features)
• ojdbc5.jar: 1.5
• ojdbc6.jar: 1.6

Java 1.5 = Java JRE/SE 5 and Java 1.6 = Java JRE/SE 6. Additional jar files are required for some features.

All the classes to support basic functionality for the Thin and OCI drivers are inside the same jar. In short, for simplification, the same file contains both the thin and the thick (=OCI) classes.

Joe Weinstein on forums.oracle.com:

The jar is all of the thin driver and the java portion of the OCI driver. In order to
run in OCI mode, you would use this same jar, giving it the OCI URL instead of the thin
URL, and you would have to have the whole Oracle client installed on your machine,
and your OS environment set up to point to the OCI DLLs as well as the standard C
libraries. Note that the version of the OCI libraries that works with one driver jar
may not work with another driver jar, so if you go the OCI route, you may have to
install a whole new OCI client just to get a particular driver fix.

Thick URL: jdbc:oracle:oci8:@<database_name>
The database_name is the Net Service name of a mapping in tnsnames.ora.

Thin URL: jdbc:oracle:thin:@<server>:1521:<database_name>
The database_name is the database name part of the database service on the (remote) server. E.g. Windows service "OracleServiceORCL", then the database_name is "ORCL".

Oracle released different versions for each driver, eg. 11.1.0.6.0 or 11.1.0.7.0.

To get the different versions, download the Oracle Instant Client of choice from the Oracle website and extract the ojdbc.jar files to one folder. Rename them using the version. This makes testing or switching easy:

ojdbc6_11gR1_11.1.0.6.0.jar
ojdbc6_11gR1_11.1.0.7.0.jar
ojdbc6_11gR1_11.2.0.1.0.jar
etc

Databases

Row-oriented:
Oracle DB
SQL Server
SQL Server CE
MySql: InnoDB
Sybase Advantage Database Server (ADS)
MS Access

Column-oriented:
Extreme-DB
InfiniDB Enterprise Edition
Infobright
MonetDB
ParAccel Analytic Database
Sybase IQ
Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (RDBMS & column-oriented)
Vectorwise
Vertica

Appliance:
Aster Data (MPP, MapReduce)
Greenplum (MPP, MapReduce)
Netezza (MPP)
Teradata (MPP)

In-process:
SQLite

No login prompt for website

Suppose you want to login with Internet Explorer to an intranet website, that uses Windows Authentication as the authentication mechanism. When you do this, a prompt is displayed, that requires you to enter the account's username and password.

This prompt can be skipped:

• Note the webserver name in the title bar of the prompt, e.g. wbsvr01.acme.lan
• Start the Credential Manager: Control Panel -> Credential Manager
• Add a windows credential:
  a. internet or network address: wbsvr01.acme.lan
  b. username: domain\usr
  c. password: pwd

Note: if the website is on the internet, the webserver name has to be added to the trusted sites of the intranet zone:

• Internet Explorer -> Tools -> Internet Options -> Security -> Select "Local Intranet" -> Sites -> Advanced
• Add this website to the zone: http://wbsvr01.acme.lan

Run SSMS using different Windows account

You can log on to a SQL Server database using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) with a Windows Authentication login / NT account / Windows login.

However, the Active Directory domain account to do this with cannot be entered. It is greyed out and always the account of the user that is currently logged on.

There are several ways to bypass this and make a connection:

1) Run SSMS under different privileges

• Create a shortcut to SSMS with the following command:
  runas /netonly /user:domain\usr "g:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\SqlWb.exe"
• Double-click the shortcut and enter password for the runas account

Note: SSMS can be located somewhere else, depending on the choice made for the location when installing or the operating system. When using Windows 7 x64, then the tool is by default located as specified above.

Note: The greyed-out login screen in SSMS still displays the logged on user, not the runas account. This might be confusing.

1a) Run SSMS under different privileges, without needing to enter a password

• Download "runasspc" (can be easily found with a search engine)
• Extract "runasspc.exe" from the zip file and copy to the windows folder
• Create a shortcut to SSMS with the following command:
  runassprc "g:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft SQL Server\90\Tools\Binn\VSShell\Common7\IDE\SqlWb.exe" /domain:domain /user:usr /password:pwd

2) Create a network connection to the remote server

• Open a command windows (Win+R, cmd.exe)
• Delete all mappings: net use * /delete /y
• Create mapping to SQL Server server: net use \\servername /user:domain\usr
• Start SQL Server Configuration Manager via Programs (or locate SQLServerManager.msc directly)
• Open SQL Native Client Configuration
• Enable Named Pipes protocol and move to top in the order
• Add a new alias. Use:
  a. "Named Pipes" as network library
  b. Server name: fill in remote server name. The pipe field will display: \\[servername]\pipe\sql\query"
• Start SSMS
  a. Server name: fill in remote server name
  b. Authentication: Windows Authentication
  c. Connection Properties -> Network Protocol, set to Named Pipes

Note: SSMS automatically uses the account name from the connection to the remote server.

3) Set credentials for a remote server using Credential Manager

• Control Panel -> Credential Manager
• Add the domain\account and password for the remote server

Note: use the fully qualified server name and port, e.g. remoteserver.domain.com:1433

4) Set terminal services Active Directory rights
Get the "allow logon to terminal services" right for the remote server for the domain account. Then make a terminal services connection to the server with that account and start SSMS within that session.

Links:
http://www.olegsych.com/2009/05/crossing-domain-boundaries-windows-authentication/

Change column position

In Oracle, it is not straightforward to change the position of a column. Let alone one that contains data.

Without resolving to manually changing metadata tables, but using SQL, the following trick can be applied:

- Create a new table called "newtable" with the desired column order, based on "oldcolumn"

Note: generate DDL script for "oldtable" and only change the position of the columns. Do not apply constraints, defaults, primary keys, foreign keys, etc. They are named and the names cannot exists twice in a schema

- Insert all data from "oldtable" into "newtable" using a DML INSERT-statement
- Drop "oldtable"
- Rename "newtable" as "oldtable"
- Apply constraints, defaults, etc to "oldtable"

Note: if columns are deleted or newly added to "newtable", then this is not straightforward and each constraint, default, etc should be inspected before applying

Or you can use the "dbms_redefinition" package (bhaski on www.geekinterview.com):

But you should have these previleges -->
# execute access on the dbms_redefinition package
# create any table # alter any table
# drop any table
# lock any table
# select any table

create table tab1(col1 char,col3 number);

alter table tab1 add(col2 char);

create table tab2 as select col1,col2,col3 from tab1; exec

dbms_redefinition.can_redef_table('schema_name','tab1');

begin
dbms_redefinition.start_redef_table('schema_name','tab1','tab2','col1,col2,col3');
dbms_redefinition.finish_redef_table( 'schema_name', 'tab1', 'tab2' );
end;

select * from tab1;
col1 col2 col3

Change column data type

In Oracle, it is not straightforward to change the data type of a column that contains data. Without resolving to manually changing metadata tables, but using SQL, the following trick can be applied:

- Add a new column to the table called "new column" with the new data type
- Copy the values of "old column" to "new column" using a DML UPDATE statement
- Remove the "old column" from the table using a DDL ALTER statement

Most recognizable samples

Breakbeats
Al Green - I’m Glad You’re Mine (0:00)
[Eric B. & Rakim - Mahogany, The Notorious B.I.G. - I Got a Story to Tell, RZA - My Lovin' Is Digi]

Bad Bascomb – Black Grass (1:41)
[Doug E. Fresh - Everybody Got 2 Get Some, Monie Love - Monie In The Middle]

Billy Squier – Big Beat (0:00)
[Ice Cube – Jackin’ For Beats, Big Daddy Kane – Get Down, A Tribe Called Quest – We Can Get Down, EPMD – Get Wit This]

Booker T. & The M.G.'s - Born Under A Bad Sign
Booker T. Jones & William Bell - Born Under A Bad Sign

Bobby Byrd - Hot Pants (0:00)
[Sir Mix-a-Lot - One Time's Got No Case, Das EFX - Straight Out the Sewer, Ini Kamoze - Here Comes the Hotstepper, Run-DMC - What's It All About]

Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers - Ashley’s Roach Clip (3:31)
[Eric B. & Rakim – Paid In Full, PM Dawn – Set Adrift On Memory Bliss, Nice & Smooth - Down the Line]

Dexter Wansel – Theme From The Planets (0:00)
[Eric B. & Rakim - I Ain't No Joke, Last Night by Kid 'N Play, Gutfest '89 by Digital Underground]

Donny Hathaway – Magnificent Sanctuary Band (0:00)
[Beastie Boys - Johnny Ryall]

Edwin Birdsong - Rapper Dapper Snapper (0:00)
[De La Soul - Me Myself and I, Gang Starr - Skills]

Fred Wesley and The J.B.'s - More Peas (7:22)
[Organized Konfusion - Fudge Pudge, Cypress Hill - The Phunky Feel One]

Funkadelic – Good Old Music (0:00)
[Young Black Male by 2Pac]

Kool & The Gang – Jungle Jazz (0:13)

Kool & The Gang - N.T.
[Jump by Kris Kross, Fakin' the Funk by Main Source]

Funk Inc. – Kool Is Back (1:48)
[Jeru the Damaja - Come Clean]

Isley Brothers – Footsteps In The Dark

James Brown - Blues and Pants (0:00)
[Ice-T - New Jack Hustler, Cypress Hill - The Phunky Feel One]

James Brown - Funky Drummer (5:35)

James Brown – Funky President (0:00)
Eric B. Is President by Eric B. & Rakim, Hey Ladies by Beastie Boys]

Jeff Beck – Come Dancing (0:00)
[Chino XL - It's All Bad, Gang Starr - New York Strait Talk]

Jimi Hendrix - Flashing (0:00)

Joe Tex – Papa Was Too (0:00)
[EPMD - Headbanger, Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F*** Wit]

Lafayette Afro Rock Band - Hihache (0:00)

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks (0:00)
[Ice-T - Midnight, Eminem - Kim]

Little Feat - Fool Yourself (0:00)
[A Tribe Called Quest - Bonita Applebum, Organized Konfusion - Soundman]

Little Richard – The Rill Thing (0:00)

Lowell Fulsom - Tramp (0:00)
[House Of Pain - Jump Around, Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill A Man]

Lyn Collins - Think (About It) (1:23)

Manzel - Midnight Theme (0:00)
[Wreckx-N-Effect - Rump Shaker, Cypress Hill - How I Could Just Kill A Man]

Mountain - Long Red (Live) (0:00)

Melvin Bliss - Synthetic Substitution (0:00)
[Naughty By Nature - OPP, Ice-T - Original Gangster, The Pharcyde - Ya Mama]

Orange Crush – Action (0:25)
[Do You Want It... Do You Like It... by Puff Daddy, We Major by Kanye West]

Power of Zeus – Sorcerer of Isis (0:10)
[The Wiseguys - Face the Flames, Eminem - Amityville]

Q65 – Get Out Of My Life Woman
[Jeru the Damaja - Revenge of the Prophet (Part 5), The Wiseguys - We Be the Crew]

Roy Ayers – The Boogie Back (0:00)
[N.W.A - F*** Tha Police]

Silhouettes – Fonky First (0:00)

Skull Snaps – It’s A New Day (0:00)
[The Pharcyde - Passin' Me By, Digable Planets - For Corners]

Sly & the Family Stone - Sing a Simple Song (2:12)

The Headhunters – God Make Me Funky (0:09)
[Eric B. & Rakim - Beats for the Listeners]

The Honey Drippers - Impeach the President (0:00)

The Incredible Bongo Band - Apache (0:00)
[Sugarhill Gang - Apache, LL Cool J - You Can't Dance, Grandmaster Flash - Freelance]

The Meters – Here Comes The Meterman
[Big Daddy Kane - Long Live The Kane, Run-DMC - How'd Ya Do It Dee?]

The Meters - Look-Ka Py Py (0:50)
[Cypress Hill - The Phunky Feel One]

The Winstons - Amen, Brother (1:27)
[N.W.A. - Straight Out Of Compton, 3rd Bass - Portrait Of The Artist As A Hood, Brand Nubian - The Gods, Snow - Informer, Eric B. & Rakim - Casualties of War]

Young Holt Unlimited – Wah Wah Man

Zapp and Roger – More Bounce To The Ounce (0:00)
[EPMD – You Gots To Chill, Ice Cube – Jackin’ For Beats, Public Enemy – One Million Bottlebags, Ice Cube – Look Who’s Burnin’]

The Turtles – I’m Chief Kamanawanalea (0:00)
[Serious by Steady B feat. KRS-One, Say No Go by De La Soul, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted by Ice Cube]

Grady Tate - Be Black Baby (0:00)
[Set It Off by Big Daddy Kane, Fakin' the Funk by Main Source, Stand Together by Beastie Boys]

Sounds
The J.B.'s - The Grunt (0:00)
Herbie Hancock - Wiggle Waggle (0:00)

Identifying keys

A key that is made up of one field is a simple key. All other keys are combined keys. There are two types of combined keys, compound and composite:

Simple key: key that consists of one field

Combined key: key that consists of more than one field

Compound key: combined key in which each field is itself a simple key (of another entity)

Composite key: combined key, that is not a compound key

A new term I have made up myself:

Concatenated key: a simple key, that is the concatenation of the fields in a combined key

Truncate tables that have a foreign key

A script to truncate tables that have foreign keys referencing them. It also keeps one record in the table, the one with ID=0. In this case, each table has this field as a primary key.

Finally, some tables are not to be truncated. The readible names of these tables are in a metadata table called TDWM_TABLES. The readible name is in the field VIEWNAME.

The process is:

- disable constraints on the selected tables, i.e. with names like 'TDWH_%'
- create a new intermediate table via CTAS that contains the records to keep, i.e. with ID=0
- truncate the table
- copy records back from the intermediate table
- drop intermediate table
- enable constraints on the selected tables, i.e. with names like 'TDWH_%'. Note: enable PK constraints before enabling the FK constraints!

Here is the script:

/* SCRIPT */

SET SERVEROUTPUT ON SIZE UNLIMITED

BEGIN

-- Disable constraints
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('-> Disabling constraints');
FOR reg IN (SELECT 'ALTER TABLE ' || table_name || ' DISABLE CONSTRAINT ' || constraint_name || ' CASCADE' as ST1 FROM user_constraints WHERE table_name LIKE 'TDWH_%')
LOOP
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (reg.ST1); EXECUTE IMMEDIATE reg.ST1;
END LOOP;

-- Truncate tables
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('-> Truncating tables');
FOR reg IN (
SELECT
'CREATE TABLE Z_' || TABLE_NAME || ' AS SELECT * FROM ' || TABLE_NAME || ' WHERE ID=0' AS ST1,
'TRUNCATE TABLE ' || TABLE_NAME AS ST2,
'INSERT INTO ' || TABLE_NAME || ' SELECT * FROM Z_' || TABLE_NAME AS ST3,
'DROP TABLE Z_' || TABLE_NAME AS ST4
FROM USER_TABLES t
INNER JOIN TDWM_TABLES b ON UPPER(t.TABLE_NAME) = UPPER(b.TABLENAME)
WHERE t.TABLE_NAME LIKE 'TDWH_%' AND
UPPER(b.VIEWNAME) NOT IN ('TDAYOFWEEK','TMONTHOFYEAR','TQUARTEROFYEAR')
)
LOOP
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (reg.ST1); EXECUTE IMMEDIATE reg.ST1;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (reg.ST2); EXECUTE IMMEDIATE reg.ST2;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (reg.ST3); EXECUTE IMMEDIATE reg.ST3;
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (reg.ST4); EXECUTE IMMEDIATE reg.ST4;
END LOOP;

-- Enable constraints
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE ('-> Enabling constraints');
FOR reg IN (SELECT 'ALTER TABLE ' || table_name || ' ENABLE CONSTRAINT ' || constraint_name as ST1 FROM user_constraints WHERE table_name LIKE 'TDWH_%' ORDER BY CONSTRAINT_NAME DESC)
LOOP
DBMS_OUTPUT.PUT_LINE (reg.ST1); EXECUTE IMMEDIATE reg.ST1;
END LOOP;
END;

Unlimited login attempts on Oracle 11g

In Oracle 10g, by default, each user has unlimited login attempts before being blocked. In Oracle 11g this behaviour is changed to 10 attempts.

When a user/schema is created, it gets assigned to the default profile. The easiest way for unlimited login attempts for all users is to give the default profile the rights:

ALTER PROFILE DEFAULT LIMIT FAILED_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS UNLIMITED;

Reconfigure OracleXE built-in webserver's port

OracleXE comes with a built-in webserver, running on port 8080. Since this is a wellknown port, chances are that it is already in use on your machine, and therefore conflicting with an already running webserver.

Check this blog to reconfigure it:

http://daust.blogspot.com/2006/01/xe-changing-default-http-port.html

Cannot load package & required privilege is not held by the client

How to start a filesystem dtsx package from sql agent, without a config file or without adding a package password to the command line:

- ssis: make note of the package owner, should be windows (domain) account
- ssis: package: encrypt with userkey
- os: sql agent service should run under LocalSystem account
- os: add package owner to local groups: SQLServer2005DTSUser$SERVER, SQLServer2005SQLAgent$SERVER
- ssms: create credential for package owner
- ssms: create proxy using created credential, add all principals, add all subsystems
- ssms: use the created proxy as "run as" user for the job step that starts the package

There is no easy option to specify the password for a package from sql agent, hence the "encrypt with userkey".

See also: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918760

Background information
Principals have access to a proxy. A proxy is a mapping to a credential. A credential is a mapping to a Windows account.

1. SSMS / Security / Credential, create a credential. Set identity to an existing account that has the appropriate rights to run the job.
2. SQL Agent / Proxies / SSIS Package Execution, create a new proxy
2a. Proxy / General / Credential name: select the credential from step 1
2b. Proxy / General / Subsystems: select all
2c. Proxy / Principals / MSDB Role, add principals: sqlagentuserrole, sqlagentreaderrole, sqlagentoperatorrole. This are the principals that can access the proxy.
2d. The account must have "logon as a batch job" privileges (check with secpol.msc)
4. Set SQL Server Agent service account to LocalSystem
5. If needed, run a job step under another account. Typically: a SQL Server account based on a Windows account: SQL Server Agent / Jobs / job / Steps / Edit / Advanced / Run as user,
- select proxy
- type SSIS package
- package source File system

If the "A required privilege is not held by the client" error occurs (from Microsoft website):

1. Set the SQL Server Agent service account in SQL Server Configuration Manager to the LocalSystem account.
2. Stop and then start the SQL Server Agent service.
3. Reset the SQL Server Agent service account in SQL Server Configuration Manager back to the original account.
4.Stop and then start the SQL Server Agent service.

From Marc at Stackoverflow:

So it boils down to really just two accounts:

one account is needed to run the SQL Server Agent Windows service - this is a Windows account on your machine / server which needs to have enough permissions to run the service, start and stop it - either use LocalSystem, Network Service, or whatever other Windows account you have to run services with

The other account would be the account to run your SQL Server Agent steps under - that's typically a SQL Server account (which could be based on a Windows account), and it needs enough privileges inside SQL Server to do its job, e.g. it needs access to the database objects and all. I would strive to have just one account for each app that runs the SQL Server jobs - makes life a whole lot easier!

From Influent at SQLTeam:

1. set ProtectionLevel to DontSaveSensitive in package properties in Visual Studio (using SSPI anyway so not sure it mattered)
2. created configuration file (had to alter path to config file in dtsx file since it's different on servers than in dev environment)
3. instead of importing the package into MSDB, set the job step Package Source to "File system" and pointed to dtsx file on local drive of server
4. set the Configurations tab of the job step to point to the dtsConfig file created in step 2
5. made sure the AD user kicking off the job was part of local server groups: Administrators, SQLServer2005DTSUser$SERVER, and SQLServer2005SQLAgent$SERVER (I eventually removed Administrator permissions because I only needed it to log to Windows Event Log)
6. made the associated SQL user to the user in step 5 part of the SQLAgentUserRole in the msdb database
7. made sure the local user assigned to the SQL Agent service was part of local server groups: Administrators, SQLServer2005DTSUser$SERVER, and SQLServer2005SQLAgent$SERVER

From xprog.blogspot.com:

1) Executed as user: DOMAIN\user. The process could not be created for step 1 of job 0xB013D0354C8CBD46B79E948740EF5441 (reason: 1314). The step failed.
The error 1314 is "A required privilege is not held by the client".

This message indicates that the SQL Server Service account doesn't have the required rights to switch the security context to the proxy account.

To fix it verify:
1. The proxy account have the "Act as part of the operating system" privilege.
2. The SQL Server Account is in the group
SQLServer2005MSSQLUser$$
3. The Proxy account is in the group
SQLServer2005DTSLUser$$

SQL Server Agent Account must have 'Adjust memory quotas for a process' (or 'Increase quotas' in pre-Windows 2003) privilege on SQL Server.

From FriggleFragle at MSDN:

an issue i found was that sql server agent and ssis had been changed to not use the local system account. this caused me to continually get the dreaded --> "A required privilege is not held by the client" error. i fought with it all afternoon and eventually updated the services to use the local system account and it worked. perhaps this will save some other as much time as i wasted.

External tables

Data can be imported into and exported from Oracle 10g in different ways. E.g. by using the SQL*Loader tool for text files (sqlldr) or the Data Pump (impdp/expdp) tools for the propriety Oracle RAW format. For previous Oracle versions, the tools imp and are also available. Those import/export to external locations on the client machine, not the server machine.

Another way to get data in and out of Oracle is to define an external table. To do this you have to create a table in Oracle in the regular way using a CREATE TABLE statement, but with adding an additional ORGANIZATION EXTERNAL clause.

Within this clause the properties of the external (server side!) location can be specified.

EXAMPLE

CREATE TABLE TEST
(
  "CODE" VARCHAR2(17 BYTE)
)
ORGANIZATION EXTERNAL
(
  TYPE ORACLE_LOADER
  DEFAULT DIRECTORY DATA_PUMP_DIR
  ACCESS PARAMETERS (
    RECORDS DELIMITED BY NEWLINE
    CHARACTERSET WE8MSWIN1252
    FIELDS TERMINATED BY 0X'09'
    MISSING FIELD VALUES ARE NULL
    REJECT ROWS WITH ALL NULL FIELDS
  )
  LOCATION ( DATA_PUMP_DIR: 'EXTFILE.TXT' )
)

FIELD LIST

The list of fields following the create table keywords cannot be inferred dynamically, but has to be specified explicitly. So it is not possible to "hook up" a text file and retrieving the list of fields automatically.

Trick: import the data first into a table using SQL Developer, TOAD, etc, and create the DDL script from it. Finally, copy and paste the field list from this script.

It is also possible to specify the "external" list of fields inside the organization external clause. This is, for example, similar to how it is done using Oracle Warehouse Builder (OWB).

TYPE

One of these properties is "TYPE", which specifies the access driver that Oracle uses. There are two values for this property:

• ORACLE_LOADER: only read access, from all kinds of text files (but not, for example, Excel .xls)
• ORACLE_DATAPUMP: read and write access, a propriety RAW format

The access driver is a wrapper Oracle uses to call the previously mentioned SQL*Loader or Data Pump functionality.

An error occurs when an insert statement is performed on a table is created with access driver ORACLE_LOADER:

SQL Error: ORA-30657: operation not supported on external organized table30657.0000 -  "operation not supported on external organized table"
*Cause:    User attempted on operation on an external table which is
           not supported.
*Action:   Don't do that!

The ORACLE_DATAPUMP type has to be used to export data from Oracle using an external table. Unfortunately, this data cannot be humanly read or imported into any other tool then an Oracle database.

DEFAULT DIRECTORY / LOCATION

A directory object has to be available in Oracle. If it is not already present, it has to be created. For example:

CREATE OR REPLACE DIRECTORY DATA_PUMP_DIR AS 'C:\'

Now the tag DATA_PUMP_DIR can be used in the organization external clause. The DEFAULT DICTIONARY property is mandatory and has to be used when setting the LOCATION.

A path specification is not allowed between the single-quotes.

This is not valid:

• LOCATION ( 'C:\EXTFILE.TXT' ) 

ACCESS PARAMETERS

The options are rather straightforward, except perhaps "FIELDS TERMINATED BY". To set the field delimiter a character can be specified between single-quotes. But it is also possible to specify special characters like tab or linefeed.

To specify a tab:

FIELDS TERMINATED BY 0X'09'

The 0X instructs Oracle that the value between the single-quotes should be interpreted as an ASCII value. In the example, ASCII character 9 is a tab.

OPTIONALLY ENCLOSED BY '"'

It is also possible to specify that some values have double-quotes around them. This however does not work in the following case:

Column 1 value - tab - tab - Column 3 value

Here a record has a value for columns 1 and 3, but not for column 2. It should be read as NULL, but is actually skipped. This results in the value of column 3 being wrongly inserted in column 2.

CHARACTER SET

Explicitly setting the character set of the external location prevents problems with interpreting the data and can improve performance.

From Odi's blog:

If you do not specify the CHARACTERSET parameter, the database character set is used to interpret the input file. As the input file is in WE8MSWIN1252, the ORACLE_LOADER driver gets confused trying to interpret single-byte WE8MSWIN1252 codes as multibyte AL32UTF8 codes.

The character set of the input file depends on the way it was created. Even on US Windows, you can create text files in different encodings. Notepad allows you to save the file in ANSI code page (=WE8MSWIN1252 on US Windows), Unicode (=AL16UTF16LE), Unicode big endian (=AL16UTF16), and UTF-8 (=AL32UTF8). The Command Prompt edit.exe editor saves the files in the OEM code page (=US8PC437 on US Windows).

-- Sergiusz

LOGGING

All errors are logged to a bad file - containing the violating records - and a log file - containing messages about the error that occured.

To disable logging, (some of) the following keywords can be added to the clause:

• NODISCARDFILE
• NOBADFILE
• NOLOGFILE

Oracle specification of the ORACLE_LOADER access driver:

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/itss/docs/oracle/10g/server.101/b10825/et_params.htm