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SQL Server Support
SQL Server 7.0 is the industry standard high-performance,
reliable, scalable database solution for all of your Internet and e-business
needs. SQL support is only available for Corporate Plan or InstAccount
customers. For Corporate Plan customers, there is a one-time $50 set up
fee for a database. This fee is waived for InstAccount customers.
A SQL database includes a 10MB database and a 2MB transaction
log. Any database over this size is $0.50/MB per month. You may also have
a full-text index set up for an additional $25 fee. To sign up for a SQL
server, please visit the Control Panel.
You only need to follow these instructions if you want to
directly connect to our SQL server from your SQL Enterprise Manager. To
display or update SQL database information on your website, you
should use a DSN. You will be notified of your DSN when you sign up for
a SQL server on the Control Panel.
PC Week Labs concluded that the Microsoft
web platform, which includes Windows NT 4.0 and SQL Server 7.0, is "like
a bolt of lightning" and "fast enough for any business on earth."
SQL Server 7.0 consistently outperforms Oracle, Ingress, Informix, Sybase,
and others, which is why offering our customers SQL Server 7.0 for a fraction
of the cost of other hosting companies is consistent with our goal of
providing you the best products and services available at the most affordable
price.
You have complete remote control of your
database using familiar Microsoft management tools, and your SQL Server
database is maintained and monitored 24 hours a day by our staff of Microsoft-certified
engineers for 100% reliability. You have enough things to worry
about. The reliability and performance of your data shouldn't be
one of them.
BuildersPlanet.com SQL Server FAQs
This page answers three commonly asked
questions:
- How do I set up
my PC to connect to my SQL Server database at BuildersPlanet.com?
- How do I add
my BuildersPlanet.com database to my SQL Server Enterprise Manager?
- What's the best
way to transfer data that I already have to my BuildersPlanet.com
SQL Server database?
How do I set up
my PC to connect to my SQL Server database at BuildersPlanet.com?
Setting up your PC to connect to your SQL
Server database at BuildersPlanet.com (BP) is necessary before you can
do anything else with your SQL Server database from your PC. Please
note that you must have already installed the Client Connectivity portion
of SQL Server 7.0 on your local machine before continuing.
1) Make sure that you are connected to
the Internet and have the TCP/IP protocol enabled.
2) Run the Client Network Utility program,
found in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group. If you do not
have this program group, then you have not installed at least the Client
Connectivity portion of SQL Server 7.0 on your local machine, which is
necessary to connect to your SQL Server database at BP.
3) Click the "Add..." button to add a new
SQL Server entry. Enter the settings in the screenshot below and
click "OK".
4) Click "OK" again to exit the Client
Network Utility.
5) To test your connection to your SQL
Server database at BP from your PC, you should run the Query Analyzer,
also found in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group, and perform
the following steps:
a) In the "Connect to SQL Server" dialog
box that appears, select "BP" as the SQL Server to connect to.
If BP isn't listed in the drop-down box, click the ellipse (...) button
and select BP.
b) Select the "Use SQL Server authentication"
connection option, and enter your SQL Server username and password supplied
to you by BuildersPlanet.com (see screenshot below). Click "OK"
to connect to the BP SQL Server database.
c) After your connected, enter the following
query and click the green arrow in the toolbar to execute it:
SELECT COUNT(*) FROM SYSCOLUMNS
The query should return a single number
as a result, usually 391 for a new database. If you are able to
successfully execute this query, then you have verified your client
connection to your database, as well as your SQL Server username and
password.
NOTE: If your connection to your
SQL Server database failed in step (b) above, verify that you entered
the client network information correctly in step (3) above. Also,
verify that you are not trying to connect to the BP SQL Server
database from behind a firewall. Many firewalls by default do
not allow TCP/IP traffic on port 1433, which is the default port for
SQL Server. If you are attempting to connect from work, or some
other location that may have a firewall installed, you may want to try
connecting to your BP SQL Server database from your home, or some other
location where you are certain you are not behind a firewall.
If you are still not able to connect, and you are certain you
have entered the client network information correctly and you are not
behind a firewall, please e-mail sql@buildersplanet.com
for further assistance.
How do I add
my BP database to my SQL Server Enterprise Manager?
To administer your SQL Server database,
you will most likely want to use the SQL Server Enterprise Manager.
This is installed in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group.
If you do not see this option available, you may need to re-install the
SQL Server client on your machine, making sure you select "Management
Tools" under the options during setup.
Follow these steps to add your BP SQL Server
database to Enterprise Manager:
1) Verify that you able to successfully
connect to you SQL Server database by performing step (5) in the FAQ section
"How do I set up my PC to connect to my SQL Server
database at BuildersPlanet.com?"
2) Run the Enterprise Manager, located
in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group.
3) Click the "Action" menu item and select
"Add New SQL Server Registration" to continue. You can also right-click
on the "Microsoft SQL Servers" node on the server tree and select the
same thing.
4) In the "Registered SQL Server Properties"
dialog box that appears, select "BP" as the Server to connect to.
If BP isn't listed in the drop-down box, click the ellipse (...) button
and select BP. Select the "Use SQL Server authentication" connection
option, and enter your SQL Server username and password supplied to you
by BuildersPlanet.com (see screenshot below). Click "OK" to register
your BP SQL Server database.
5) Once your BP SQL Server database is
registered, you will be able to connect to the BP SQL Server and administer
your database. Please note that you will be able to see all databases
on the BP SQL Server, but you will only have permissions to view and modify
your own database.
NOTE: When you connect to your SQL Server database
with Enterprise Manager, you may see a popup dialog box with the following:
"The SQL Server \\BP is not know to be running. Do you wish to connect?"
This is displayed because Enterprise Manager does not attempt to verify
the state of a remote SQL Server registration before trying to connect.
This does not cause any problems, nor does it indicate an existing problem.
Click "Yes" to continue and you will be connected to your database.
What's the best
way to transfer data that I already have to my BuildersPlanet.com SQL
Server database?
If you have data you want to transfer to
your new database, the best way to do this is by using the "Import and
Export Data" program, found in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group.
This runs the Microsoft Data Transformation Services (DTS) Wizard, which
will guide you step-by-step through transferring your data to your SQL
Server database at BP. If you do not see this option available,
you may need to re-install the SQL Server client on your machine, making
sure you select "Management Tools" under the options during setup.
While the DTS Wizard will transfer data
from a large number of formats to SQL Server, we recommend that you get
your data in the format you want it in either an Access database or a
local SQL Server database before transferring it to your BP SQL Server
database. This will help ensure that the resulting database is in
the format you expect.
A NOTE ABOUT THE MICROSOFT ACCESS UPSIZING
WIZARD: the upsizing wizard has a number of known compatibility and scalability
issues that make it unreliable when transferring data over a slow (i.e.
dial-up) connection, or transferring large amounts of data, among other
scenarios. The DTS Wizard is as easy (if not easier) to use as the
upsizing wizard, and works very well with SQL Server 7.0 over a remote
connection. Therefore, we do offer technical support for problems
transferring data with the DTS Wizard, but not for transferring
data with the Access upsizing wizard. If you are having problems
transferring data using the upsizing wizard, we strongly recommend using
the DTS Wizard.
Follow these steps to transfer data using
the DTS Wizard:
1) Verify that you able to successfully
connect to you SQL Server database by performing step (5) in the FAQ section
"How do I set up my PC to connect to my SQL Server
database at BuildersPlanet.com?"
2) Run the "Import and Export Data" program,
located in the Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 program group.
3) Click "Next" from the introduction screen,
and on the "Choose a Data Source" screen, select the source where your
data currently resides. The screenshot below illustrates selecting
the Northwind.mdb Access database:
The options you will have to fill in will
vary depending on the data source type you select in the "Source" drop-down
list box. For example, you'd select the default "Microsoft OLE DB
Provider for SQL Server" if you were transferring data from a local SQL
Server.
4) Click "Next" to continue.
5) On the "Choose a Destination" screen,
leave the default "Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server" as the source.
Select "BP" for the Server to copy data to. Select the "Use SQL
Server authentication" connection option, and enter your SQL Server username
and password supplied to you by BuildersPlanet.com. Then click the
"Refresh" button to retrieve a list of databases from the BP SQL Server,
and select your database from the "Database" drop-down list box.
See the screenshot below for an example.
6) Click "Next" to continue.
7) On the "Specify Table Copy or Query"
screen, select "Copy table(s) from the source database" and click "Next"
to continue.
8) If you see the "Select Source Tables"
screen, you can specify which tables you would like to copy to your BP
SQL Server. Unless you are an expert user, leave the defaults for
the "Destination Table" and "Transform" columns. Click "Next" to
continue.
9) On the "Save, Schedule, and Replicate
Package" screen, leave the default "Run Immediately" selection checked,
and click "Next" to continue.
10) Lastly, on the summary screen, review
your selections and click "Finish" to execute the data transfer.
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