SQL, Code, Coffee, Etc.

05/24/2013
by Marlon Ribunal
7 Comments

Connecting Windows Server 2003 VM To External Network In Hyper-V

The Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 SP1 Virtual Machines on my laptop are connecting just fine to my physical network adapter (wifi) via the External Virtual Switch that I setup in Hyper-V (Windows 8 Pro host). I can connect to the internet to do Windows updates on those VM’s.

Now I have installed Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard x64 Edition with SP2 on a new VM. I set up the Network Adapter to use the same virtual switch (“External WiFi”) that I’ve been using for my VM’s. But this time, my Windows Server 2003 VM cannot connect to the network or the internet.

According to the many sources I found online, I need to add a Legacy Network Adapter to the Windows Server 2003 VM. Hint: You need a little more than that.

These two posts were really helpful in setting up the legacy network adapter:

Go ahead and read those. But I have summarized the steps below:

Adding the Legacy Network Adapter Device to the VM

Add a Legacy Network Adapter Hardware to the Windows Server 2003 VM via Hyper-V Manager (Hyper-V Manager > {MyVMhere} > Setting)

Then connect that to the Virtual Switch:

Installing the Adapter to the VM

We need to copy some NIC driver files from an existing x64 machine — files from Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 Sp1 worked just fine:

1. Create a floppy disk from the Hyper-V Manager. Mount that to an existing VM. Here’s how to create and use a Virtual Floppy Disk.

2. On the existing VM, copy the files from %windir%\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\dc21x4vm.inf_amd64_aaa5f1eb8c006024 into the floppy disk. Then, dismount/unmount the floppy disk.

3. Mount the same floppy disk to the Windows Server 2003 x64 VM.

4. Then install the Legacy Network Adapter to the Windows Server 2003 x64 VM.

You should now be able to do your Windows Server 2003 x64 Updates.

I hope that saves you some time.

05/16/2013
by Marlon Ribunal
1 Comment

Rated R (A Teaser)

How many lines of TSQL codes and Window Functions you need to come up with this?

With R, it takes about 2 commands:

[sql]
> order > summary(order)
[/sql]

To give you an idea, I prepared the dataset into a view like this:

[sql]
CREATE VIEW SalesDetails
AS
SELECT
soh.OrderDate AS [Date],
soh.SalesOrderID,
ppc.Name AS Category,
pps.Name AS Subcat,
pp.Name as Product,
SUM(sd.OrderQty) AS Qty,
SUM(sd.LineTotal) AS LineTotal
FROM Sales.SalesPerson sp
INNER JOIN Sales.SalesOrderHeader AS soh
ON sp.BusinessEntityID = soh.SalesPersonID
INNER JOIN Sales.SalesOrderDetail AS sd
ON sd.SalesOrderID = soh.SalesOrderID
INNER JOIN Production.Product AS pp
ON sd.ProductID = pp.ProductID
INNER JOIN Production.ProductSubcategory AS pps
ON pp.ProductSubcategoryID = pps.ProductSubcategoryID
INNER JOIN Production.ProductCategory AS ppc
ON ppc.ProductCategoryID = pps.ProductCategoryID
GROUP BY ppc.Name, soh.OrderDate, soh.SalesOrderID, ppc.name, pps.Name, pp.Name,
soh.SalesPersonID
[/sql]

And, that’s it. I just fed that view to the R engine and it summarized the dataset just by using those two commands.

This is not the perfect dataset to test with R.

I’d love to dig deeper into R because of its powerful analytical features.

What is R?

“R is a language and environment for statistical computing and graphics.”

If you’re into statistics, linear/non-linear modelling, or simply want to try another tool to analyze your data warehouse, give R a shot.

If you want to start digging with R, Ted Malone ( b | t ) has a nice introduction to using R with SQL Server 2012. Get more information about R on the R Project website.

05/10/2013
by Marlon Ribunal
Comments Off on Non-Tech Books On My Desk

Non-Tech Books On My Desk

This post is inspired by Andy Warren’s ( b | t ) “Books On The Desk” post.

I’ve got plenty of SQL Server books at home (physical and Kindle versions). But if I’m not in the mood of reading a tech book but itching to read anyway, I’d grab any book that interests me at the moment.

If I found a book interesting enough, I’d keep it for re-reading. Some of the books I listed below are rereads.

These are the books on my “reading desk” (read/re-read):

“The Art of the Start” by Guy Kawasaki
“Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money” by Daniel Lapin
“Super Freakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance” by Steven D. Levitt
“Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? ” by Seth Godin
“The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) ” by Seth Godin
“Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell

What’s Next:

“Rework” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
“The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses” by Eric Ries
“Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us” by Seth Godin
“Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization” by Dave Logan et al

What’s on the Bookshelf:

“Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity” by David Allen
“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change” by Stephen R. Covey
“The Tools: Transform Your Problems into Courage, Confidence, and Creativity” by Phil Stutz
“The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg
“The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich (Expanded and Updated)” by Tim Ferris
“The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman” by Tim Ferriss
“The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life” by Tim Ferriss
“The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness” by Dave Ramsey
“ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income” by Darren Rowse

How about you? What are the non-tech books you read?