Multiple Active Result Sets

Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS) is a feature introduced in SQL Server 2005. This feature works with SQL Server 2005 or later to allow the execution of multiple batches on a single connection. To access multiple result sets on previous versions of SQL Server using SqlDataReader objects, a separate SqlConnection object must be used with each SqlCommand object. However, when MARS is enabled for use with SQL Server 2005, each command object used adds a session to the connection.

The MARS feature is disabled by default. It can be enabled by adding the “MultipleActiveResultSets=True” keyword pair to your connection string. “True” is the only valid value for enabling MARS. The following is an example of the connection string

Data Source=MSSQL1;Initial Catalog=AdventureWorks;Integrated Security=SSPI;MultipleActiveResultSets=True

The above connection string uses the sample AdventureWorks database. The connection string above assume that the database is installed on a server named MSSQL1. You can modify the connection string as necessary for your environment.

ASPStateTempSessions and the ASPStateTempApplications tables

You can configure Microsoft SQL Server for ASP.NET SQL Server mode session state management.

Why there are no tables in the ASPState database after the configuration?
When you use the default InstallSqlState.sql script file to configure ASP.NET SQL Server mode session state management, the script file adds the ASPStateTempSessions and the ASPStateTempApplications tables to the tempdb database in SQL Server by default. If you restart SQL Server, you will lose the session state data that was stored in the ASPStateTempSessions and the ASPStateTempApplications tables.

How the deletion of expired sessions work?
The InstallSqlState.sql script creates a job called ASPState_Job_DeleteExpiredSessions to delete expired sessions from tempdb. Recall that ASP.NET does not keep session resources alive indefinitely. To support this feature when a SQL Server is used to maintain state, the SQL Server Agent must be running so that the expired session deletion job runs as needed. By default, the job is scheduled to run every minute. It deletes session state rows with an Expires value less than the current time. The account under which the SQL Server Agent runs must have the privilege to execute the DeleteExpiredSessions stored procedure.

SQL Server Requirements for Team Foundation Server 2012

SQL Server Requirements for Team Foundation Server 2012

Team Foundation Server 2012 requires SQL Server 2008 R2 or SQL Server 2012. The supported editions of SQL Server are as follow:

• SQL Server 2008, R2 Express
• SQL Server 2008, R2 Standard Edition
• SQL Server 2008, R2 Enterprise Edition with SP 1 CU1 (Aug 25, 2011)
• SQL Server 2012, Express
• SQL Server 2012, Standard Edition
• SQL Server 2012, Enterprise Edition

SharePoint 2010 support for Windows Server 2012

Currently, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 is not supported for installation on computers running the Windows Server 2012 operating system. Installing SharePoint Server 2010 on a computer that is running Windows Server 2012 could lead to unexpected behavior, therefore, Microsoft does not support SharePoint Server 2010 in Windows Server 2012. SharePoint Server 2010 with Service Pack 2 and SharePoint Foundation 2010 with Service Pack 2 will offer support for Windows Server 2012. The release date for Service Pack 2 for SharePoint Server 2010 and SharePoint Foundation 2010 is to be determined.

SQL Server 2012 licensing

There’s no doubt that licensing is one of the trickiest aspects of any Microsoft product to figure out. SQL Server licensing is certainly no exception. In fact, it’s often harder to figure out the licensing than it is to figure out how to use the different technical product features. Major factors that make SQL Server 2012 licensing confusing are the changes in editions, the new core-based licensing, and the different availability options that are brought about by new features such as AlwaysOn Availability Groups. In addition, you might wonder how the new core licensing affects fault-tolerant systems that have duplex hardware. Let’s take a closer look at some of the more confusing SQL Server 2012 licensing issues.

SQL Server 2012 includes several new licensing changes. For example:

• SQL Server 2012 Enterprise is licensed only per core
• SQL Server 2012 Business is licensed only per server and CAL
• SQL Server 2012 Standard can be licensed either per core or per server and CAL

SQL Server 2012’s licensing requires that you buy a minimum of four core licenses. You can purchase additional core licenses in packs of two. When you implement SQL Server 2012 in a virtual machine (VM), each virtual processor equates to a core. For example, if you license SQL Server 2012 Standard per core and install it onto a VM with four virtual processors, then you need to buy four core licenses. The only exception to this is if you buy SQL Server 2012 Enterprise and then license all of the cores on the physical machine. Then you can run an unlimited number of SQL Server instances in VMs on that host.

Visual Studio 2012 Team Foundation Server Monitoring Management Pack is now available!

The Team Foundation Server 2012 Monitoring Management Pack provides both proactive and reactive monitoring of Microsoft Team Foundation Server 2012. It monitors TFS components such as application tier server instances, team project collections, build servers, and proxy servers.

Download URL: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35773

Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/granth/archive/2012/12/10/tfs2012-monitoring-management-pack.aspx