Fun with PowerShell: How to get SQL Server information

While I like the SQL Server PowerShell provider I have two issues with it.  First, it’s kind of limited, and second, it only installs with 2008 versions of SQL Server.  For these reasons I prefer to use the good old fashion SQL Server SMO namespace to do my dirty work.  That and we have a lot of SQL Server 2005 in our environment.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms162169.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.sqlserver.management.smo.aspx

Digging around in the SQL Server SMO, Server namespace, I noticed there was this lovely “Information” property list and thought, “I bet I could do something pretty cool with that.”  Now when I say cool, I mean cool in the I’m-a-geek definition of the word, not in the I-was-cool-and-popular-in-high-school version of the word.  And so I wrote a nifty little program, which can easily be turned into a function, that pulls all your basic SQL Server information from a system.

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SQL Server Compact 4.0, the Next Gen Embedded Database from Microsoft

Have you heard about SQL Server Compact 4 yet?

From Microsoft's site: "Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0 is the next generation of embedded database from the SQL Server family, and brings all of its goodness to the world of ASP.NET web application development. SQL Server Compact 4.0 will provide an easy and simple to use database storage for starter websites, and the features of Compact that wooed the mobile devices and desktop developers will now be available to the ASP.NET web application developers. In addition, the features and enhancements in SQL Server Compact 4.0 like the new Transact-SQL syntax for OFFSET & FETCH, higher reliability, seamless migration of schema and data to the higher SKUs of SQL Server, support for code-first & server generated keys in ADO.NET Entity Framework 4.0, and the ability to use Visual Studio 2010 to develop ASP.NET web applications for Compact 4.0 etc. will also excite the existing development community."

Check out the SQL Server team's blog for additional information:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlservercompact/archive/2010/07/07/introducing-sql-server-compact-4-0-the-next-gen-embedded-database-from-microsoft.aspx

Happy hosting! 

Troubleshooting Outlook 2010 Restarts

I have been running Outlook 2010 since it first came out and for the most part I've been pretty happy with it.  Since I first started using it, though, I have had an issue with it.  Apparently out of the blue it would sometimes crash (usually right in the middle of writing an important email) forcing Outlook to restart. 

I spent some time researching this, and it appears that the crashes are most often caused by Outlook Add-Ins.  After looking at Event Viewer, that is the next place I would look.

Go to File -> Options.  That will bring up the Outlook Options window.  Click on Add-Ins in the lower left-hand menu.  That will list all the Add-ins that you have installed with Outlook. 

The next step I would recommend is removing all of the Add-ins and then start adding them back one by one over time to narrow down what is causing the issue.  To disable one or more Add-ins, at the bottom of the Outlook Options window on the Add-in Options page select 'COM Add-ins' beside Manage: and click the Go... button.  That will bring up the COM Add-Ins window where you can uncheck Add-ins that you want to disable.

In my case the 'Send to Bluetooth' Add-in was causing the issue.  once I disabled that I haven't had Outlook crash on me yet.

I hope this helps if you are experiencing the same issue that I was having.

iSSD and other small things

I picked this up from Engadget today and thought it was worthy enough to break my PowerShell blogging obsession long enough to blog about my real technology passion: hardware.

http://sandisk.com/about-sandisk/press-room/press-releases/2010/2010-08-18-sandisk-introduces-world’s-smallest-64gb-solid-state-drive—first-in-new-embedded-ssd-category

The iSSD is a new boot drive from SanDisk.  The iSSD is a postage stamp sized—for those old enough to remember postage stamps—solid state drive (SSD) that is soldered to the motherboard instead of inserted into a MiniPCI slot or SATA drive bay.  This is not a new idea, simply a better implementation of an old concept.

Sizes range from 4GB to 64GB and boast speeds up to 160 MB/sec seq. read and 100 MB/sec seq. write.  Not the fastest thing in the world, but plenty fast for a boot drive.

These little guys should do wonders for the tablet and ultra-slim notebook markets.  Devices like the iPad help get their small size from soldering the NAND flash directly to the motherboard.  The iSSD takes it a step further by providing a simple, all-in-one package that should make adding tiny boot storage to the motherboard cheap and easy for everyone.  Yay competition!

#James Kehr
Get-Member $OW | ?{$_.title -eq "System Administrator"`
-and $_.certification -contains 'MCITP:SA 2008, MCSE 2000, MCDST, Network+, A+'}

New-Variable -name company -value 'ORCS Web, Inc.' -description ‘www.orcsweb.com | 1.888.313.9421’

Is There a New AppleTV Coming? (iTV?)

There seems to be a lot of speculation lately about Apple's plans for their AppleTV product. The latest rumors claim that it will be renamed to iTV (to line up with their other product names), be redeveloped with new hardware and software, and be re-released with a super-cheap price-point of $99 (which I doubt).

I have an AppleTV - the "old" one, not some new fancy beta testing product - and I love it. The movie selection seems way more extensive than Time Warner's PPV or even Netflix's streaming options.

How would I improve it? Here are three suggestions:

• Build-in a web browser so people don't have to hack the system with things like Boxee to view Hulu and other web based services
• Have an HDMI *in* option in addition to the current HDMI output and enable DVR options
• Enable it to accept cable "cards" (whatever they are called) so that it can replace cable company set-top boxes

Do these three things, and even without a lower price, and I think the new device would sell like hotcakes.

Fun with PowerShell: Hyper-V Virtual Machine details

Before I begin I will make a full confession.  This code isn’t actually mine.  Not really.  I chopped most of it out of the PowerShell Management Library for Hyper-V.

http://pshyperv.codeplex.com/

Why would I do such a thing?  I generally dislike calling external files in my PowerShell scripts.  Not always, but most of the time.  The more external files you have the harder it is to make a script highly portable, and, under most circumstances, scripts should be highly portable with as few external dependencies as possible.  And so I ripped out Get-VM from hyperv.ps1 and turned it into a self-standing function called getVmDetails.

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Introducing the Advanced Virtual PC Controls for Windows 7

Last year I got a nice gift from Microsoft for attending TechEd in the form of a TechNet subscription.  After receiving my activation code I promptly upset my ISP by downloading everything I could get my hands on.  It was enough that I’m honestly shocked I didn’t get a call or get turned off.  Among those downloads was a product I had toyed with in the past but never really gotten in to, Windows Home Server (WHS).

For those not familiar with WHS it’s basically Miscrosoft’s home backup tool based off the Windows Server 2003 SBS operating system.  It includes the ability to backup your home computers, store shared files, stream audio/video, remote control your home machines from the Internet, and much more.  I had never really played with it before because I lacked the spare change to buy the necessary hardware.  Enter virtualization… 

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Saving perfmon templates in Windows Server 2008 [R2], Vista and 7

There is a slight change in the way perfmon (the lovingly short way of saying Windows Performance Monitor) templates work once you leave the XP/2003 domain.  In the old days Microsoft likes to put everything in these hard to dissect, custom bin files that you couldn't easily, or at all, modify without the aid of the Microsoft application.  Luckily they are leaving that model behind for one that is open and easy for administrators to automate with.  Enter the XML Dragon.

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Amazon Kindle for $139

It was just last month that the e-reader price wars started and the price of a Kindle dropped to $189. Now Amazon has announced an improved version and a wifi-only model at an even better price point - $139. It's getting close to my previously mentioned sweet spot of $99. In fact, its close enough that I just might get one this year at this new price.

Microsoft WebMatrix Beta Hosting

Have you heard about WebMatrix yet? If not, you should read about it and consider checking it out. You can even test it out with Cytanium's free WebMatrix Beta hosting accounts.

Happy Hosting!