SQL Archives - Red Level

Say Farewell to the old SQL, Windows, and Exchange Servers

You’ve probably heard about SQL Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 and Exchange Server 2010 hitting end of life. A lot of our clients are asking us what End-of-Support really means for them and their business? The answer requires an understanding of Microsoft’s product lifecycle. All Microsoft products have a 10-year lifecycle. The first five years is called mainstream support and that’s where you are going to get things such as new features, security updates, and non-security updates. The second five years is called extended support where you are going to receive security updates and non-security updates. During this time there is no additional product feature functionality added to the product. Important End-of-Support dates you need to be aware of: July 9th, 2019 – SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 January 14th, 2020 – Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 7, and Exchange Server 2010 We ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:27+00:00

End of Support for SQL and Windows 2008

What could July 9, 2019 mean to you? What about January 14th, 2020? End of support if you are using SQL or Windows 2008. That means Microsoft is no longer going to provide automatic fixes, updates, hotfixes or online technical support for any SQL or Windows 2008 servers, including R2. As a business, you want to upgrade or migrate to a newer version of these servers to ensure your servers are up to date and protected. To prepare your business for a seamless and smooth transition, whether you are planning on migrating or upgrading the servers, consider taking these actions: For SQL server - You want to start the process by identifying what’s out on your SQL server and move things off. It may be as simple as creating a new SQL server; detaching the database, copying the database and files, re-attaching and changing the SQL collation. Then go to ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:28+00:00

What’s The “Power” in Microsoft’s Power BI (Business Intelligence)?

There's been tons of buzz the last few years' about big data and cloud collaboration. How can you, as a business owner, analyst or data interpreter, determine what data is good or bad for effective analytics and reporting? Let's take it a step further, how can you make usable, actionable data available throughout an organization, enable opportunities for new services, and gain vital insights from fragmented and under-analyzed data? This is the 'Power' in Microsoft's Power BI! Before we dig deeper, what is Microsoft's Power BI? Microsoft Power BI, or “business intelligence,” is an impactful cloud-based tool that transforms a company’s data into rich visuals for its employees to collect and organize so they can focus on what matters to them: getting access to the right information, spotting important trends, and reaching important milestones. One way to look at Power BI is Microsoft Excel on steroids. Once the raw data is loaded ...

Red Level2023-02-16T16:01:37+00:00