RE: SQL SERVER

I am having the same experience. Due to "TCO" factors they say. BTW there is a very good article on Oracle's website concerning TCO and Oracle. The article makes a good argument that when the smoke clears and you are running your application in production, Oracle has a lower TCO. MS just lowers their initial cost and managers that don't know the difference bite. I think that the push towards MS SQL Server is also due to the large volume of VB programmers there are. They don't want to learn anything new and SQL Server
(more like MS Access on steroids) is familiar to them. VB is a very powerful
language and can do some amazing things, but it is not like coding in C or C++.

I have not started administering the MS SQL Server DB yet but will probably have to submit at some point.
In my opinion, there are many differences between MS SQL Server 7 and Oracle. Most are in the area of scalability and performance. Backup and recovery is different and not as secure as one can design an Oracle backup to be. Basically, SQL Server is built like most other M$ products, they take out all the guess work, put in more wizards and "help" you do your job better. Of course, to have any real power or scalability etc. you need to get under the covers which you cannot do with MS. I am no expert in MS SQL Server, but I will bet you that the new TPC performance numbers that MS posted last month (even though they later pulled them) were not produced on a standard install of MS SQL Server, using visual tools only. They spent PLENTY of time tweaking every OS settings and underlying structure that they could (sounds like everyday Oracle administration doesn't it?).

Wow, I don't think I have written this much to the list in 3 years, must have been a good cup of coffee this a.m.

my 2 cents,
Frank Pettinato
Oracle DBA
Intel Corp.

-----Original Message-----
From: root_at_fatcity.com [mailto:root_at_fatcity.com]On Behalf Of BoivinP_at_mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 5:06 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: SQL SERVER

I am not sure, but I think that in SQL Server there is no Archiver process, what you do is a "backup" of the transaction log (read: redo log file).

Then if the disk holding the transaction log has to be replaced, you need to restore that backup if you recover your database after a hardware failure.

Also they keep stressing that setting autoextend for files saves the DBA from having to extend files all the time, but beware of this (as you should in Oracle) because the transaction log can grow and grow and grow and ...

Then to reduce its size you will have to back it up, and truncate the transaction log. It won't happen right away, I think you have to wait until the next checkpoint for the log to shrink back to a reasonable size.

The SQL Server command syntax is different from Oracle's, but you will get used to that pretty quickly. Go go go olé olé olé (sorry, it's early in the morning)

Oh and as usual for Microsoft, a "device" is not a device, it's a pointer to a device. Like the printer in your Printers applet in Windows - Microsoft calls the printer icon and the code underlying it a "device" even though you need a REAL PRINTER to print. I don't know why they declared that a little bit of code is a device, makes no sense to me! Their focus is obviously the code they write, not the physical devices they are referring to. To the point where they forgot that the hardware actually does the work.

Regards,
Patrice Boivin
Systems Analyst (Oracle Certified DBA)

	-----Original Message-----
	From:	Christine Turner [SMTP:Christine.Turner_at_IPS-Sendero.com]
	Sent:	Tuesday, August 01, 2000 8:35 PM
	To:	Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
	Subject:	SQL SERVER

	Hello All.....

	I have rumors down the line that we are also going to start
developing and
	supporting Sql Server.  Anyone supporting both Oracle and Sql Server
now?
	 Comments, suggestions, knowing of whether or not I'm going to a
straight
	jacket????

	Thanks In Advance.
	Take Care,
	Christine Turner
	Database Administrator
	IPS-Sendero
	Scottsdale, Arizona
	Phone:  (800) 321-6899 ext. 3286
	Fax:      (480) 946-8224
	E-mail:  christine.turner_at_ips-sendero.com


	--
	Author: Christine Turner
	  INET: Christine.Turner_at_IPS-Sendero.com

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