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Understanding the SDLC Phases of a Software Project [Part III]
This is the concluding part of this series that discusses the remaining SDLC phases and sums up what we have learnt so far in this series of articles on the standard SDLC phases in the life cycle of a Software Project.
Watch Now: Using SQL Agent to Automate Tasks with SQL Server
Find out how to use the SQL Server Agent to run jobs automatically on your system. From maintenance to pulling information to be used in reports, the agent can be used to save you time and effort for repetitive tasks. We’ll look at how you set up a job, troubleshoot a job and even how to be notified as jobs succeed and/or fail.
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Webcast Tomorrow: SQL Server 2005 Admin Tools
On tomorrow’s webcast we’ll be looking at the administration tools you have available to you in SQL Server 2005. If you’re curious what’s new and changed, what you might not have used yet or just for some additional looks at what tools are available, check out this webcast. We’ll be going into these, reporting about your SQL Server status, profiler, tuning and more.
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> Weds Sept 12 2007 at 12:00pm Noon Pacific
Good Enough Upgrades
I talked in the editorials and show last week about figuring out where to draw the line on upgrades in terms of what you need to upgrade, what you should upgrade and what you MUST upgrade. We’ve had some good experiences with this, and good feedback from readers as well. I thought I’d pass along a bit of a summary from what I was able to pull together from each of these. Perhaps it’ll help in your own upgrade planning – now or for 2008.
First, security. Be sure to take a step back, learn about better security models and apply them to your applications. In many cases it can be as "simple" case of newer, better username and password combinations along with best practices for granting access only to what’s really needed, rather than what’s easiest to grant.
Further in the security realm, look at the surface area for your SQL Server. Yes, the surface area configuration tool is a good place to start, but think about your systems on a general basis from the operating system out to SQL Server. What applications and processes can you lock out? What can you turn off? What can you tighten security on to make it a more solid foundation and environment? These are key things that should not be written out of your upgrade and update plan.
Second, upgrade specific processes that have been overhauled in a big way. For example, if you have full text indexing in use, you need to look into moving to the new FTS. Not only is it required in the upgrade process, but you need to understand the differences and how it will impact not only your applciation, but also your administration of SQL Server. If there are other areas that have been significantly rebuilt (DTS – SSIS for example), you need to look into the impact of those changes and how they could, and perhaps should, impact your plans.
Third, be sure you understand, test and practice with the administration tools. Largely the same in terms of backup and recovery operations, the dialogs are different, some terminology is different and some new features have been introduced. Look into and understand these differences so you’re prepared. Go through the process of restores and make sure you understand the differences, big and small, and how they’ll impact your systems.
From here, you’ll have to look at your specific systems. Performance, mirroring, all sorts of things are available. You’ll have to consider the things that are a "foundation" for your upgrade and which are "add-ons" for the process. Try planning the add-ons after the initial upgrade work, figure out what is a foundational item and use that as your required set of things for the upgrade. Seriously try to minimize the upgrade bite and you can get it done, then move to the features and functions you want to add-in later in a calm, focused way.
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