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Table of Contents

Editorial: Dear SQL Server Standard Subscribers by Chuck Heinzelman

The 64-bit Question by Rick Heiges If you aren't doing it already, you probably will be in the near future. 64-bit servers are becoming more and more popular. Here we'll cover some of the benefits and challenges involved with taking advantage of the different 64-bit offerings.
	Automating DBA Tasks by Kathi Kellenberger Most DBAs have a specific set of tasks that they do on a regular basis. Things such as setting up new development servers and adding user accounts become such a part of the daily routine that it could become easy to slip up and inadvertantly make a mistake. Automating some of your routine tasks will eliminate the worry of making a mistake and free you up to do more interesting things.
Fuzzy Grouping by Brian Norberg Scrubbing through mounds of imperfect data looking for matches is not easy for a person to do. Now try getting a computer to do it! SQL Server 2005 includes some fuzzy logic operations in SSIS that helps wiht the process of finding similar data items that you can use right out of the box.
	Built-In Security Principals and Unusual Logins by K. Brian Kelley With the fairly recent increase in government regulations on data security, it is extremely important to know who has access to what is on your database servers. Knowing which different operating system groups need to have server access to SQL Server and which groups don't will go a long way toward understanding your overall security profile.
A Small Discussion on Covering Indexes by Randy Dyess Indexing in your database is one of the most important aspects of performance tuning. Among the different indexes, the covering index is the holy grail. Understanding how to build covering indexes will bring your overall database tuning skill set to the next level.
	Better Living Through Endpoints by Michael Coles Web Services have been around for years, and SQL Server 2000 provided some support for exposing stored procedures as web services. SQL Server 2005 takes the experience to the next level with integrated SOAP endpoints.
SQL Server 2005 CLR Integration Security by Scott Klein

Thank you for your continued support for this publication. We hope you have found it a useful resource for SQL Server information and education. We would like to announce a change in the ownership o fhte magazine. Effective immediately, the SQL Server Standard Magazine is owned and published by the Professional Assocation for SQL Server (PASS).

We are extremely pleased to augment our portfolio with such a well-respected technical resource. Our plans are to maintain the high standard of content that subscribers have enjoyed in respect to articles, reviews, and expert tutorial pieces, as well as to increase PASS specific content.

All current subscriptions will continue to be honored. There may be some slight adjustments to the delivery schedule and editorial calendar over the next weeks as ownership is full transferred to PASS.

We appreciate your patience during this process and look forward to your feedback about the magazine as PASS launches this exciting new venture.

As part of the change in ownership, we'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to the new Editor-in-Chief for the SQL Server Standard magazine, Chuck Heinzelman.

Potpourri and Change

According to Merriam-Webster, potpourri is defined as a miscellaneous collection, and change is defined as to give a different position, course, or direction to. You may be asking yourself right now what these two things have in common. The commonality is this issue of the SQL Server Standard magazine.

Let's start by addressing the changes; the first is that this magazine has been acquired by PASS, the second is that I have succeeded Steve Jones as editori of this magazine.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Chuck Heinzelman and I am the Director of Technical Publications for the Professional Association for SQL Server. I have been involved with PASS since the fall of 2000. During that time I have served as speaker, author, newsletter co-editor, and board member.

Now for the potpourri. That is what I've chosen as the theme for this issue. SQL Server 2005 has a plethora of features and capabilities - some of them released as add-ons to SQL Server 2000 and others saved for SQL Server 2005. In this issue, we'll be highlighting SOAP endpoints, 64-bit computing, Covering Indexes, Fuzzy Logic, Security Principals, and DBA Task Automation.0

I hope that you enjoy this issue, and I look forward to providing you with a great source of entertainment and education for years to come!

Chuck Heinzelman