This paper details the results of the tests conducted including VLDB testing on SQL Server. The white paper can be downloaded directly from the dell.com web site using the link above, there is also a summary of this paper in the following link

Summary of Dell White Paper on HyperBac for SQL Server and Oracle

The summary of HyperBac from the article is below:

HyperBac for SQL Server
Pros: Excellent integration with SQL Server; no updating of SQL Server Agent jobs or T-SQL scripts; simple installation; ZIP functionality; compression of bcp, DTS, and SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) files to disk; fastest restore of products compared Cons: No GUI-based backup tools
Rating: 4 stars
Price: $699 per server
Recommendation: HyperBac for SQL Server matches the way many DBAs like to work and integrates with SQL Server seamlessly out of the box. Coupled with innovative features such as backing up to a .zip file and the ability to compress bcp, DTS, and SSIS streams to and from files, HyperBac for SQL Server is a clear winner.
Contact: HyperBac Technologies • www.hyperbac.com

The full article is available at http://www.sqlmag.com/Article/ArticleID/98180/sql_server_98180.html

Exam Duration: 120 Minutes

Questions: 40 (28 correct answers required for a pass)

Exam Notes:

Managing Users, Computers and Groups

Know the command line utils such as csvde, dsmod and dsadd- where, when and how to use them, as well as how to manage properties on multiple accounts in ADUC simultaneously. Alot of questions regarding Group Policy, know how to filter inheritance using the Deny Apply Group Policy permission, remembering that the Deny permission overrides any other delegated or inherited permissions on any onject.

Managing and Maintaining Access to Resources

The emphasis of this section is Terminal Services administration.  Familiarize yourself with the RDP-Tcp Properties Dialog, also be familiar with the command line utility used to force a shutdown of all TS sessions with a warning dialog to all connected users:

tsshutdn wait_time [ /server:server_name]

Managing and Maintaining a Server Environment

This section primarily covers the Software Update Service (SUS), IIS 6.0 (know that you need the WebDAV web service extension installed to use Web Folders) and the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA)

Managing and Implementing Disaster Recovery

Emphasis specifically on Automated System Recovery (ASR), Backup – using NTBackup and the Volume Shadow Copy Service, nothing too tricky here if you are familiar with these concepts.

Implementing, Managing and Maintaining Name Resolution

DNS exclusively, you need to have this down to pass this exam. Be familiar with Stub Zones – new to Windows Server 2003 and Conditional Forwarders, as well as DNS basic principles.

Implementing, Managing and Maintaining Network Security

Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) policy is covered in this section as well as auditing security events on domain controllers

Additional Study Materials/References Used:

• 70-292 Cram Session Study Guide
• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 DNS Technical Reference
• Introduction to Shadow Copies of Shared Folders Document (attached)
• Remote Administration of Windows Servers Using Remote Desktop for Administration Document (attached)

EXEC master..sp_configure 'Allow Updates', 1
RECONFIGURE WITH OVERRIDE

These tables can now only be accessed via Direct Administrator Connection (or DAC), these tables are also exposed to DBA’s using HyperBac’s OLEDB Object Recovery Provider – Backup Explorer along with user base tables, the database catalog contained in the backup device(s) can be used to reconstruct DDL for stored procedures, views, UDFs and other objects.

A Direct Administrator Connection (DAC) can be obtained by using a connection string a SQL Server Management Studio Query Editor session as follows:

ADMIN:ServerName\InstanceName

A DAC can also be obtained using sqlcmd using the -A switch. Only members of the SQL Server sysadmin role can connect using the DAC.

NOTE: A Direct Administrator Connection should be used with caution, and all attempts should be made not to modify meta data in the SQL Server 2005 database or system catalog unless absolutely necessary

To obtain read only access to these catalog base tables from a backup device, create a Linked Server using the HyperBac Backup Explorer OLEDB Provider to a SQL Server 2005 Database Backup, the tables can now be accessed via SELECT statements to the provider

A list of these entities is below, with descriptive information following:

syschildinsts (master database only)

sysdbreg (master database only)

sysendpts (master database only)

syslnklgns (master database only)

syslogshippers (master database only)

sysrmtlgns (master database only)

sysusermsgs (master database only)

syswebmethods (master database only)

sysxlgns (master database only)

sysxsrvs (master database only)

sysallocunits

sysasymkeys

sysbinobjs

sysbinsubobjs

syscerts

sysclsobjs

syscolpars

sysconvgroup

sysdbfiles

sysdercv

sysdesend

sysfiles1

sysftinds

sysguidrefs

syshobtcolumns

syshobts

sysidxstats

sysiscols

sysmultiobjrefs

sysnsobjs

sysobjkeycrypts

sysobjvalues

sysowners

sysprivs

sysqnames

sysremsvcbinds

sysrowsetcolumns

sysrowsetrefs

sysrowsets

sysrts

sysscalartypes

sysschobjs

sysserefs

syssingleobjrefs

syssqlguides

systypedsubobjs

sysxmitqueue

sysxmlcomponent

sysxmlfacet

sysxmlplacement

sysxprops

In 2001, a small group of developer/DBAs from Melbourne, Australia discovered a significant shortcoming in SQL Server when it came to backing up VLDB databases.  It took far too long and consumed an unacceptable amount of disk and tape, in addition the IO workload placed on a SQL Server when moving hundreds of GB (or even TB on rare occasions at that juncture in time).  There were no viable alternatives available at the time to relieve these issues.  The developers began working on a project which would be called SQL LiteSpeed, later to be re-named LiteSpeed for SQL Server.

The SQL LiteSpeed architecture involved an out of process executable which requested data from SQL Server using the Virtual Device Interface (VDI), an API typically used by the likes of Veritas, Legato, ArcServe, etc to write data to tape (or disk staging areas).  The exe was accessed in process from SQL Server by using Extended Stored Procedures (xp_backup_database, xp_restore_database, etc).  SQL LiteSpeed was suitable priced and licensed for the SQL Server market at the time and was effectively positioned and marketed to the community, subsequently the product rapidly gained momentum, acceptability and market share.

In early 2004, Insight Venture Partners (a New York based technology investment company) acquired a majority stake in DBAssociatesIT (the founding company for SQL LiteSpeed).  Insight appointed the outgoing VP of Sales for Embarcadero as the new CEO.  The newly formed entity was named “Imceda”.  Over the course of 2004-2005, sales and marketing efforts for the LiteSpeed product intensified substantially.

During the period of 2004-2005, the SQL Server compressed backup market was seen by other vendors to be very lucrative as well and subsequently spawned various other products including Idera’s SQL Safe (released in Q3-2004) and Red Gates SQL Backup (initially called Yohz Mini SQL Backup prior to its acquisition by Red Gate).  All of these products essentially mirrored the initial SQL LiteSpeed architecture (invoking the backup from TSQL using extended stored procedures either directly or indirectly).  Efforts from all vendors were focused mainly on graphical enhancements to their respective management console interfaces for differentiation. 

At this stage, the SQL Server backup wars were raging, with the end users often finding themselves precariously placed in the middle of the battlefield between the various combatants.

In Q2-2005, Imceda was acquired by Quest Software for $60M, and sales and marketing efforts were taken to another level altogether.  By this time only one of the original founders of SQL LiteSpeed remained with Quest.  The other two co-founders, which included the developer who wad written the entire SQL LiteSpeed engine code, had departed Imceda between Feb and Sep 2004. 

After their respective departures from Imceda in 2004 – long before the QSFT acquisition, the two co-founders of SQL LiteSpeed got together to explore an alternative way to achieve the LiteSpeed value with a unique, extensible architecture, which would subsequently extend features and benefits beyond that of what any other technologies on the market were capable of delivering.  The new technology was called HyperBac.

After serving out their individual non-compete agreements, which originated with the Insight transaction and were commuted to Quest after their acquisition of Imceda, the co-founders of SQL LiteSpeed released HyperBac.

HyperBac took a completely different approach to achieving SQL Server backup compression, using filter driver technology (using standard, supported Microsoft platform APIs as provided to many other file system driver development companies) to seamlessly compress SQL Server backup data streams as they are written from SQL Server to disk.

HyperBac was the first technology to introduce this new architecture, which was a marked departure from the numerous extended stored procedure based products available on the market to date.  HyperBac allowed DBA’s to use native TSQL to perform backups with integrated high performance compression and encryption.  Moreover, HyperBac’s architecture extended backup compression to other DBMS’s besides SQL Server, something not achieved by any other third party software vendor at the time.  In addition the co-founders implemented several other innovations including the capability of performing backups directly to a ZIP/RAR compatible storage format, as opposed to a proprietary storage format creating an indefinite dependence on a third party software vendor to extract or restore companies data.

In Q3-2007, Microsoft announced that it was to release their own implementation of integrated backup compression in SQL Server 2008.  This feature would be available in the Enterprise Edition of SQL Server 2008.  Which takes us to today, Part II to follow…

More information on HyperBac for SQL Server is available at http://www.hyperbac.com/sqlserver/

More information on compression in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/2008/default.mspx