SQL Server Q&A

Symptoms
Consider the following scenario:You have a database mirroring session in Microsoft SQL Server 2005. The database mirroring session does not have a witness. You set up a witness server. On the principal server and on the witness server, you do not use DNS together with DHCP for name resolution. Instead, you specify that a host file should be used for name resolution. On the principal server instance, you try to set the witness.In this scenario, you receive the following error message:

Msg 1456, Level 16, State 3, Line 1
The ALTER DATABASE command could not be sent to the remote server instance ‘TCP://ServerName:port’. The database mirroring configuration was not changed. Verify that the server is connected, and try again.
Resolution
A database mirroring session must use a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) to resolve the name of the witness server.

Symptoms
If you back up a database with SQL Enterprise Manager (SEM) and you check Verify backup upon completion under the Option tab, SQL Server issues the following commands: BACKUP DATABASE and RESTORE VERIFYONLY. RESTORE VERIFYONLY checks whether the backup set is complete and whether all volumes are readable.
For example, if you back up the Pubs database to a backup device called Test, SQL server runs the following two SQL commands:

BACKUP DATABASE [pubs] TO [test] WITHINIT ,NOUNLOAD ,NAME = N’pubs backup’,NOSKIP ,STATS = 10,NOFORMAT goRESTORE VERIFYONLY FROM [test] WITHFILE = 1 ,NOUNLOAD However, if you schedule a job through the SQL Enterprise Manager to do the same database back up, SQL Server only schedules BACKUP DATABASE without the RESTORE VERIFYONLY option.
Resolution
SQL Server 2000To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft SQL Server 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in theMicrosoft Knowledge Base:
290211?(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290211/EN-US/) INF: How to Obtain the Latest SQL Server 2000 Service Pack
SQL Server 7.0To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for SQL Server 7.0. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in theMicrosoft Knowledge Base:
301511?(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/301511/EN-US/) INF: How to Obtain the Latest SQL Server 7.0 Service Pack

Symptoms
When you use SQL Server Enterprise Manager to backup and verify the backup of a database, the verification assessment of the backup is not reliable if the backup set is appended to either a previously existing file or device.
Furthermore, if you attempt to establish a Database Maintenance Plan through the Database Maintenance Wizard and you select Verify the Backup to a tape that contains a Microsoft Windows NT file backup that is File number 1, you will see this error message:

[Microsoft SQL-DMO (ODBC SQLState: 42000)]
Error 3143: [Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server]
The data set on device ‘\\.\Tape0′ is not a SQL Server backup set.
[Microsoft][ODBC SQL Server Driver][SQL Server]Backup or restore
operation terminating.Also, if you put a SQL Server database backup on the tape first and you then attempt to perform a Windows NT backup, a Dr. Watson error (0xc000005) occurs.
Resolution
Here are a few ways to work around this problem:Run this line of code from Query Analyzer to the backup device or file to identify the last backup set in the file:

RESTORE HEADERONLY Next, run this code:

RESTORE VERIFYONLY FROMDISK = N’c:\BACKUP\pubsbk.jnk’ WITHFILE = X ,NOUNLOAD where X is the maximum file id identified by the Position output column from RESTORE HEADERONLY. If you use the Database Maintenance Wizard, alter the previous RESTORE statement in the Schedule Task.
-or-
Consider selecting the Overwrite Existing Media option to make sure that the backed up file is always the first backup set in the file.
-or-
Consider backing up the SQL Server databases to a tape on which only SQL Server database backups exist.
-or-
Consider scripting the commands and then run the commands from a command prompt or batch file.For example:

DECLARE @DBNameVARCHAR(200),@TargetLocation VARCHAR(1000),@BackupNameVARCHAR(200),@FileNumberVARCHAR(10),@xpcmdStringVARCHAR(2000),@PrintStringVARCHAR(200)SELECT @DBName= ‘[pubs]‘,@TargetLocation = ‘c:\BACKUP\pubsbk.jnk’ ,@BackupName= ‘pubs backup’SELECT @xpcmdString = ‘BACKUP DATABASE ‘+@DBName+’ TO DISK = N’ + CHAR(39)+@TargetLocation+CHAR(39)+’ WITHNOINIT ,NOUNLOAD ,NAME = N’ + CHAR(39)+@BackupName+CHAR(39)+’,NOSKIP ,STATS = 10,NOFORMAT ‘EXEC (@xpcmdString)CREATE TABLE #TempBackupResults(BackupName nvarchar(128),BackupDescriptionnvarchar(255),BackupType smallint,ExpirationDate datetime,Compressed tinyint,Position smallint,DeviceType tinyint,UserName nvarchar(128),ServerName nvarchar(128),DatabaseName nvarchar(128),DatabaseVersionint,DatabaseCreationDatedatetime,BackupSize numeric(20,0),FirstLSN numeric(25,0),LastLSN numeric(25,0),CheckpointLSNnumeric(25,0),DatabaseBackupLSNnumeric(25,0),BackupStartDatedatetime,BackupFinishDatedatetime,SortOrder smallint, CodePage smallint,UnicodeLocaleId int,UnicodeComparisonStyle int,CompatibilityLeveltinyint,SoftwareVendorIdint,SoftwareVersionMajorint,SoftwareVersionMinorint,SoftwareVersionBuildint,MachineName nvarchar(128))SELECT @xpcmdString = ‘RESTORE HEADERONLY FROM DISK = N’ + CHAR(39)+@TargetLocation+CHAR(39)INSERT#TempBackupResults EXEC (@xpcmdString)SELECT @FileNumber = CONVERT(VARCHAR(20), MAX(Position))FROM #TempBackupResults WHERE BackupName=@BackupNameSELECT @xpcmdString = ‘RESTORE VERIFYONLY FROM DISK = N’ + CHAR(39)+@TargetLocation+CHAR(39)+’ WITHFILE = ‘ + @FileNumberSELECT @PrintString = ‘Verifying Integrity of Backup Set Number ‘ + @FileNumberPRINT @PrintStringEXEC (@xpcmdString)DROP TABLE #TempBackupResults

Symptoms
Consider the following scenario:You have a database mirroring session in Microsoft SQL Server 2005. The database mirroring session does not have a witness. You set up a witness server. On the principal server and on the witness server, you do not use DNS together with DHCP for name resolution. Instead, you specify that a host file should be used for name resolution. On the principal server instance, you try to set the witness.In this scenario, you receive the following error message:

Msg 1456, Level 16, State 3, Line 1
The ALTER DATABASE command could not be sent to the remote server instance ‘TCP://ServerName:port’. The database mirroring configuration was not changed. Verify that the server is connected, and try again.
Resolution
A database mirroring session must use a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) to resolve the name of the witness server.

Symptoms
The System.Environment class has methods to read the environment variables. However, this class hasno method to set the environment variables for the current process.
Resolution
To work around this problem, use the interop services to set the environment variables. You can set an environment variable by using the Microsoft Platform Software Development Kit (SDK) SetEnvironmentVariable function.
To set an environment variable by calling the Platform SDK SetEnvironmentVariable function, follow these steps: Start Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 or Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. On the File menu, point to New, and then click New Project.In the New Project dialog box, click Visual C# Projects.
Note In Visual Studio 2005, Visual C# Projects is be changed to Visual C#.Under Templates, click Console Application, and then click OK. By default, the Class1.cs file is created.In the code view of the Class1.cs file, specify the using statement to declare the namespaces so that you do not have to qualify the declarations later in the code. Paste the following code in the Class1.cs file:

using System;using System.Runtime.InteropServices;using System.Security;using System.Security.Permissions;Declare the static method and the extern method. Use the DllImport attribute to import the Kernel32.dll file. This declaration indicates that the definition of the function is outside the code. To do this, paste the following code in the Class1.cs file:

// Import the Kernel32 dll file.[DllImport("kernel32.dll",CharSet=CharSet.Auto, SetLastError=true)][return:MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]// The declaration is similar to the SDK functionpublic static extern bool SetEnvironmentVariable(string lpName, string lpValue);Paste the following code in the Class1.cs file to add a static method in the class that calls the SetEnvironmentVariable method and that sets the environment variable:

public static bool SetEnvironmentVariableEx(string environmentVariable, string variableValue){ try { // Get the write permission to set the environment variable. EnvironmentPermission environmentPermission = new EnvironmentPermission(EnvironmentPermissionAccess.Write,environmentVariable); environmentPermission.Demand(); return SetEnvironmentVariable(environmentVariable, variableValue); } catch( SecurityException e) { Console.WriteLine(“Exception:” + e.Message); } return false;}Paste the following code in the Main method to set an environment variable:

// Create a sample environment variable and set its value (for the current process).SampleSetEnvironmentVariable.SetEnvironmentVariableEx(“TESTENV”, “TestValue”);Paste the following code to display the environment variable value:

// Verify that environment variable is set correctly.Console.WriteLine(“The value of TESTENV is: ” + Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable(“TESTENV”));Complete Code Sample

using System;using System.Runtime.InteropServices;using System.Security;using System.Security.Permissions;namespace SetEnv{ /// <summary> /// Summary description for Class1. /// </summary> public class SampleSetEnvironmentVariable {// Import the kernel32 dll.[DllImport("kernel32.dll",CharSet=CharSet.Auto, SetLastError=true)][return:MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]// The declaration is similar to the SDK functionpublic static extern bool SetEnvironmentVariable(string lpName, string lpValue); public SampleSetEnvironmentVariable() { } public static bool SetEnvironmentVariableEx(string environmentVariable, string variableValue) { try { // Get the write permission to set the environment variable. EnvironmentPermission environmentPermission = new EnvironmentPermission(EnvironmentPermissionAccess.Write,environmentVariable); environmentPermission.Demand(); return SetEnvironmentVariable(environmentVariable, variableValue); } catch( SecurityException e) { Console.WriteLine(“Exception:” + e.Message); } return false; } } class MyClass { /// <summary> /// The main entry point for the application. /// </summary> [STAThread] static void Main(string[] args) { // Create a sample environment variable and set its value (for the current process). SampleSetEnvironmentVariable.SetEnvironmentVariableEx(“TESTENV”, “TestValue”); // Verify that environment variable is set correctly. Console.WriteLine(“The value of TESTENV is: ” + Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable(“TESTENV”)); } }}

Symptoms
When you upgrade from Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000) to SQL Server 2008 Express, you receive thefollowing error message:

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Setup
A network-related or instance-specific error occurred while establishing a connection to SQL Server. The server was not found or was not accessible. Verify that the instance name is correct and that SQL Server is configured to allow remote connections. (provider: Named Pipes Provider, error: 40 – Could not open a connection to SQL Server)
Click ‘Retry’ to retry the failed action, or click ‘Cancel’ to cancel this action and continue setup.
For help, click: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkID=20476&ProdName=Microsoft+SQL+Server&EvtSrc=setup.rll&EvtID=50000&ProdVer=10.0.1600.22&EvtType=0×1BBF2F31%25400×12C2466D If you click Retry, this problem still occurs.
Resolution
To work around this problem, click Cancel to cancel this action, and then continue the upgrade.
Note The final summary page of the upgrade program will contain this error message. However, you can safely ignore this error message, and the upgrade will be finished successfully.