Jon Tupitza's SQL Server and BI Blog

Part 3: Create a Virtual Shared Storage Solution in the Hyper-V Lab

Jon Tupitza — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 11:39:00 GMT

Introduction

In order to configure a Windows Failover Cluster inside a Windows 2008 R2 Hyper-V based virtual lab environment you must first prepare a shared storage solution that can be leveraged by the members of the Windows Failover Cluster. While a separate virtual hard disk (VHD) can be attached to a stand-alone server inside a Hyper-V environment, it cannot be attached to more than one virtual server image; hence, a virtual hard disk cannot be used to fulfill a Windows Failover Cluster's requirement for shared storage. Fortunately, you can use Windows Storage Server to create a virtual iSCSI storage solution to support WSFC.

To complete this exercise you will need to download the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 software at: https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=19867

Install the iSCSI Software Target 3.3 Software

First, copy the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3 installer (MSI) file to iSCSI-01
Make sure to log on to iSCSI-01 using the domain administrator credentials CONTOSO\Administrator; not the local Administrator credentials

Run the install file iSCSITarget_Public.MSI according to the following steps:

1. Double click the installer file, and then click the Install button to extract the files.	2. In the Install a Server quadrant, click the iSCSI Software Target (x64) link.

3. On the Setup Wizard Welcome page, click the Next button to initiate the installer.	4. Choose to accept the license agreement, and then click the Next button.

5. Accept the default install location, and then click the Next button.	6. Choose whether or not to join the customer experience program, and then click the Next button

7. Choose whether to use the Microsoft Update service, and then click Next.	8. Confirm your installation choices, and then click the Install button.

9. When the installation is complete, click the Finish button.

Configure the iSCSI Target Shared Storage Device

To facilitate the the creation of a Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) that will be used to support the creation of a SQL Server Failover Cluster, the iSCSI Target needs to be created with the following devices (LUNs or VHD files):

A 1GB LUN to provide for a Cluster Witness volume (Quorum)
A 20GB LUN to provide a storage volume dedicated to SQL Server Data Files (*.mdf and *.ndf)
A 20GB LUN to provide a storage volume dedicated to SQL Server Transaction Log Files (*.ldf)
A 20GB LUN to provide a storage volume dedicated to SQL Server TempDb Data Files
A 20GB LUN to provide a storage volume dedicated to SQL Server TempDb Transaction Log Files
A 20BG LUN to provide a storage volume dedicated to SQL Server Backup (*.bak) files

These 6 Devices will be used by 2 initiators: SQLNode01 and SQLNode02

Create a New Virtual Hard Disk for the iSCSI Target Server

Since the VHD file used to host the iSCSI-01 server instance isn't large enough to host the 102GB of data used by the LUNs described above, use the Hyper-V Manager to create a new 105GB fixed-size Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) file named iSCSIStorage.vhd..
Then use the Hyper-V Manager to add a new SCSI Controller to the iSCSI-01 Virtual Machine.
Next, click the Add button to attach the new VHD file to the newly created SCSI Controller....
...And then click the Browse button to navigate to, and specify the newly created VHD named iSCSIStorage.vhd
Start the iSCSI-01 server, launch the Server Manager, and then use the Disk Management plug-in to expose the new volume to the server.
Right-click Disk 1, and select Online from the action menu.
Next, right-click Disk 1 again, and select Initialize Disk, choosing the MBR (Master Boot Record) partition style.
Finally, right-click the new partition and select Activate from the action menu. The disk is now ready for use.

Configure the iSCSI Target

First create the 6 devices: one 1GB VHD for the Cluster Witness volume, and five 20GB VHDs for the data, transaction log, and backup volumes.

Start the iSCSITarget Manager, right-click the Devices node, and then select Create Virtual Disk from the action menu.

Using the wizard, create the first device with the file at E:\LUN0.VHD, specifying 1024MB for its size, LUN0 for its description, and configuring no target access.

1. First Start the Wizard.	2. Specify the location for the VHD file.

3. Specify the disk size in megabytes.	4. Type a Description for the LUN.

5. Configure no target access.	6. Click the Finish button to create the disk.

Create the remaining devices at E:\LUN1.VHD through E:\LUN6.VHD, entering 20480MB as their size, and again configuring no target access. When done you'll have 6 new devices.
Next, to create a new iSCSI Target, right-click the iSCSI Target node and then choose Create iSCSI Target from the action menu. This will invoke the Create iSCSI Target Wizard.

Use the Create iSCSI Target Wizard to create one target named SQLServers that is exposed to two initiators (the SQL Servers in the Cluster)

1. Click the Next button to begin.	2. Specify a target name and description.

3. On the page for iSCSI Initiators Identifiers, click Advanced and then add two initiators by IP address.	4. Confirm that you’re exposing the same target to multiple initators. That's OK when those initiators are Windows Servers running Failover Clustering.When adding more than 1 target, ignor the warning.

5.When finished the Identifiers list looks like this.

After the target is created, use the option to add existing virtual disks to the iSCSI Target
One at a time, add all 6 LUNs (VHDs) you created earlier.
When complete, the iSCSI Target Manager looks like this...

Part 2: Create a Windows 2008 R2 Hyper-V Lab Network

Jon Tupitza — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 10:20:00 GMT

Introduction

Creating a WIndows 2008 R2 domain network lab environment on a Windows Hyper-V host server involves creating a number of Windows 2008 R2 servers, each to fulfull a required role. Central to any Windows server domain network is an Active Directory Domain Controller (DC) and Domain Name Services (DNS) server. With the core network infrastructure in place member servers can then be added as needed. With Windows Server 2008 R2 you can create lab environments like this inside one self-contained Boot-to-VHD file. I've already published instructions on how to Create a Hyper-V Host System Using Boot-to-VHD.

To make the most effective use of disk space, all the guest servers in your lab can be created using differencing disks. Using this approach, each differencing disk will only contain the delta (configurations and additional software) that exists between the parent virtual hard disk and the system you create using the differencing disk. This technique also eases configuration and saves you time since all the applicable Windows Updates (service packs, hot fixes, etc.) can be loaded into the parent virtual hard disk, and will then already be applied to the system(s) you create using the differencing disk(s).

You can further minimize resource usage and lessen the administrative burden for each server by implementing Server Core Installation. Since the Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core operating system has no graphic user interface, it consumes much less disk space, and loads into a smaller memory footprint, than the Full Installation. What's more, since many Windows Updates pertain specifically to the graphic user interface portion of the code-base, administrative burden will be lessened due to a dramatic decrease in the number of updates being downloaded and installed. This is most important in a production environment because it also greatly lessens the frequency of server re-starts. The downside to this approach is that local server administration can only be accomplished using a command-line interface. This can be remediated; however, by enabling remote server administration on each Core server, and then administering them using Server Manager on another computer that's running a Full Installation of Windows Server 2008 R2.

Install the Hyper-V Role

If your host instance of WIndows Server 2008 R2 isn't already configured to run the Hyper-V role then follow these steps:

Start the Server Manager, right-click Roles, and then select Add Roles from the action menu.
Next, select the Hyper-V role, and then click the Next button
On the Create Virtual Networks dialog, select the physical network interface for the host machine:

Configure the Virtual Networks Required to Support the Lab Environment

Now that the Hyper-V Role is installed, the next steps is to create the Virtual Networks:

Launch the Hyper-V Manager and then open the Virtual Network Manager
Create 3 Internal only networks to facilitate communication between the virtual machines you'll create.

Create a Virtual Hard Disk to Serve as the Base Image for All Your Servers:

Launch Hyper-V Manager, right-click your server and then select New > Virtual Machine...
Type a name for the new virtual machine, either accept the default location for your new virtual machines, or check the Store the virtual machine in different location checkbox to specify another location.
On the Assign Memory dialog, specify 1024MB of RAM
On the Configure Networking dialog, select External Virtual Network from the Connection dropdown:
In the Connect Virtual Hard Disk dialog, name the new disk and specify its location and size
On the Installation Options dialog, leave the Install an operating system later radio button selected
Finally, review the Completing the New Virtual Machine Wizard dialog and click the Finish button
Connect to the new VM, and then point the DVD Drive to your Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 ISO file.
Start the virtual machine, and then perform an install just as you would for a (physical) machine.
Configure preferences for language, time and currency, and keyboard input. Click Next to continue.
Select which OS version you want to install; you can perform either a Full or Server Core installation.
When the install wizard completes, set a Password.
If you ran a Full Server Installation then run Windows Update. You may have to run it more than once.
If you ran a Core Server Installation then all administration must be performed using CMD.exe.
To enable automatic updates, run the following commands (remember to press ENTER after each line):

Net stop wuauserv

Cscript C:\Windows\System32\scregedit.wsf /AU 4

Net start wuauserv
To force Windows Update to detect and install any available updates, run the following command:

Wuauclt /detectnow
Since it will be easier to administer Server Core machines from a remote desktop, run the following command to enable remote administration:

Cscript C:\Windows\System32\Scregedit.wsf /AR 0
Don’t install any roles or rename the machine. Once fully configured, run the following command:

C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\Sysprep.exe
Select the options Enter System-Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE), Generalize and Shutdown:
You now have a new base virtual hard disk that should be less than 8GB (Full) or 3GB (Core).
Finally, remove the BASE virtual machine from Hyper-V Manager; the BASE.vhd file will not be deleted.

Create Differencing VHDs Based on your BASE Virtual Machine Image

Launch Hyper-V Manager, right-click your server and then select New > Hard Disk...
In the Choose Disk Type dialog, select the Differencing radio button, and then click the Next button.
On the Specify Name and Location dialog, type a name, specify where you want to save your new differencing hard disk, and then click the Next button.
On the Configure Disk dialog, click the Browse button and navigate to the parent hard disk BASE.vhd
Finally, review the Completing the New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard dialog, and click the Finish button.
You now have a new differencing virtual hard disk that is under 200KB in size. Since the differencing VHD file contains only the data required to reference which parent virtual hard disk it was based upon, it can be safely copied and pasted to produce as many new virtual servers as you need. I'd recommend saving the original VHD file so it can be copied to create new machines in the future.

WARNING: If you attempt to start or otherwise change the Parent Virtual Hard Disk then all of the differencing hard disks that were based upon it will be BROKEN!

Create the Virtual Machines for Your Lab Network

Using the copy/paste method, create 6 new differencing virtual hard disks named: DC01, iSCSI-01, SQLNode01, SQLNode02, SQLNode03, SQLNode04.
Run the New Virtual Machine Wizard six times; each time creating one of the 6 new virtual machines.

On the Configure Networking dialog, select External Virtual Network from the Connection dropdown.
On the Connect Virtual Hard Disk dialog, select the Use an existing virtual hard disk radio button, and then click the Browse button to locate the differencing VHD you created in step 1.

Using Hyper-V Manager, right-click each new virtual machine, and then select select Settings.
In the Settings dialog, select Add Hardware > Network Adapter, and then click the Add button to add aditional network adapters.
For DC01 (domain controller) and iSCSI-01 (iSCSI Target), add only one more network adapter to connect to Internal 1. DC01 and iSCSI-01 will be configured with 2 network adapters, 1 external and 1 internal.
For SQLNode01, SQLNode02, SQLNode03, SQLNode04, add 3 more network adapters to connect to Internal 1, Internal 2 and Internal 3. SQLNode01, SQLNode02, SQLNode03, and SQLNode04 will be configured with 4 network adapters, 1 external and 3 internal.

Perform Initial Configurations

Start each of the Virtual Machines, and let the initial setup complete.
Using Hyper-V Manager, connect to each virtual server, and then set its Administrator Password.
Configure the IP addresses for each network interface as specified in the table below:

The Internal 1 network is used by the DNS/Domain Controller and the iSCSI Target.
The External Virtual Network is used only for connecting to the Internet so it can be disabled most of the time.
For all 3 Internal networks on all of the computers:

Ensure the Subnet mask is set to 255.255.255.0
Ensure the Preferred DNS server is set to 192.168.1.1.
This will instruct them to register their names and IP addresses with the DNS server.

In the System Properties dialog, click the Change... button to rename each computer as specified in the table below:

Role	Computer Name	External	Internal 1	Internal 2	Internal 3
DNS, Domain Controller	DC01.contoso.local	DHCP	192.168.2.1	N/A	N/A
iSCSI Target	iSCSI-01.contoso.local	DHCP	192.168.2.2	N/A	N/A
SQL Server 1	SQLNode01.contoso.local	DHCP	192.168.2.3	192.168.3.3	192.168.4.3
SQL Server 2	SQLNode02.contoso.local	DHCP	192.168.2.4	192.168.3.4	192.168.4.4
SQL Server 3	SQLNode03.contoso.local	DHCP	192.168.2.5	192.168.3.5	192.168.4.5
SQL Server 4	SQLNode04.contoso.local	DHCP	192.168.2.6	192.168.3.6	192.168.4.6

TIP: Rename the Network Connections in each virtual machine for easy identification. If you have trouble identifying each connection inside the virtual machine then temporarily set each adapter to Not Connected in the Hyper-V Manager - Settings dialog. This will cause the corresponding network adapter to display Network cable unplugged in Network and Sharing Center.

On the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog, click the More... button, and then set the Primary DNS suffix of this computer to contoso.local in the DNS Suffix and NetBIOS Computer Name dialog.
The Full computer name should be displayed including the DNS suffix in the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog:
Select the Domain radio button in the Member of control group, enter contoso.local in the text box, and then click the OK button to join the computer to the domain.

Install the Domain Name Services (DNS) Server Role

The first task you must complete to establish your new dev/test lab network is to create a Domain Name Services (DNS) server and an Active Directory Domain Services domain controller to serve as the root of your new AD Forest.

To install the DNS Server role on a Full Server Installation follow these steps:

Start the Server Manager, right-click Roles, and then select Add Roles from the action menu.
Next, select the DNS Server role, and then click the Next button
After the DNS Server role installation has been successfully completed, create one Primary Forward Lookup Zone for the contoso.local domain, and three Primary Reverse Lookup Zones; one for each of the three internal subnets you created earlier (192.168.2.x, 192.168.3.x, and 192.168.4.x). Allow both non-secure and secure dynamic updates.
Next, from each of your new server machines, register their IP Configurations with the DNS server by openning a command prompt dialog and typing:

ipconfig /registerdns
Finally, open the DNS Manager on your new domain controller and confirm that each of your servers appear in the domain catalog.

Install the Active Directory Domain Services Role

After the DNS role has been successfully installed and configured we must next install the Active Directory Domain Services role and create the Contoso.local domain as the first domain in a new forest.

To install the Active Directory Domain Services role on a Full Server Installation follow these steps:

Start the Server Manager, right-click Roles, and then select Add Roles from the action menu.
Next, select the Active Directory Domain Services role, and then click the Next button.

To install the DNS Server role and the Active Directory Domain Services role on a Server Core Installation follow these steps:

If you ran a Server Core Installation then you cannot use the Active Directory Domain Controller Installation Wizard (Dcpromo.exe). This is especially true since DC01 will be the first server introduced into your new environment, and as a result, there will be no other Windows Server 2008 machine that can be used to host the remote server administration tools. In this case installing DNS and Active Directory must be accomplished via the command-line interface using Dcpromo.exe. It's easies to use an unattend file to install or remove the domain controller role and the DNS role as an integrated part of the process. You could run dcpromo.exe on another computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 to create an unattend file that you can then use on the server running Server Core installation, but the syntax really isn't all that complex so here we will simply create one in-place on the server using Notepad.

To create the unattend file open a new Notepad document by typing the following command at the command prompt.

Notepad

Next, type the following commands, striking ENTER after each line:

[DCINSTALL]
InstallDNS=yes
NewDomain=forest
NewDomainDNSName=contoso.local
DomainNetBiosName=contoso
SiteName=FirstSiteName
ReplicaOrNewDomain=domain
ForestLevel=4
DomainLevel=4
DatabasePath=%systemroot%\NTDS
LogPath=%systemroot%\LOG
RebootOnCompletion=yes
SYSVOLPath=%systemroot%\SYSVOL
SafeModeAdminPassword="Your_Secure_Password"

When your finished, simply save the file to the root of the C:\ drive by clicking File | Save As, supplying the name ad_unattend.txt, clicking the c:\ folder, and then clicking the OK button to finish.
Then, to install the DNS and Active Directory Domain Services roles on a Server Core instance of WIndows Server 2008 R2, run the following command:

dcpromo /unattend:C:\ad_unattend.txt

Series: Building a SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Virtual Lab

Jon Tupitza — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:34:00 GMT

Overview

In this series of posts I will share how to build a virtual development & test lab for the purpose of experiencing the process of implementing the new SQL Server 2012 "Denali" high-availability and disaster recovery features. What's more, this lab can then be used to explore some of SQL Server 2012's other other new features. Since many of us do not have our own rack full server hardware, including storage area network (SAN) devices, I will demonstrate the process of hosting the entire lab in a Windows 2008 R2 Hyper-V host Boot-to-VHD server environment. For the purpose of enhancing its reusablility I will break the process of creating this lab into the following separate posts:

What You Will Need

In order to complete the exercises described in this series you will need the following software.

Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 Evaluation
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd459137.aspx
SQL Server 2012 RC0 or newer
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/hh225126.aspx
Optionally you could choose to experiment with SQL Server 2008 R2 Evaluation
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/ee315247.aspx
Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3
https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=19867

Of course, if you have an MSDN or TechNet Subscription, you could choose to download the software from those sources instead.

Assumptions

This series will assume the reader commands at least a basic familiarity with the following technologies:

Windows Server 2008 R2 administration and configuration
Hyper-V Administration
Networking concepts, tools and procedures
Domain Name Services (DNS)
Active Directory Domain Services (AD-DS)
iSCSI Software Target 3.3
iSCSI Initiator
Failover Clustering (WSFC)
SQL Server Administration

Although detailed step-by-step instructions will be provided for each activity, and the reader will develop skills using many of the above technologies, certain gaps will inevitably ocurr that cannot be foreseen.

Summary

This series of posts has demonstrated using a broad suite of technologies to help you build your own virtual labs. The process featured implementing Windows 2008 R2's "Boot-to-VHD" capability to make maximum use of underlying hardware resources, using Windows 2008 R2's Hyper-V role to host a virtual network, using Windows Storage Server's capability to simulate iSCSI storage in a virtual lab, implementing a Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Cluster, installing a SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn high-availability cluster, and configuring SQL Server 2012's AlwaysOn Availability Groups (AGs).

Improve the Performance of Reporting Services Parameterized Reports

Jon Tupitza — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 04:55:00 GMT

Summary

If you've ever developed SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 R2 reports with more than a just few parameters then you may be aware that those reports may take a while to load. This post will reviel a few tricks and work-arounds I've discovered while delivering similar reports. The information reflects not only my own experience, but the collective experience of SSRS product group members, and other consultants at Microsoft.

Problem Statement

SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services reports experience performance degradation as greater numbers of parameters are added to the report design. The degradation appears to center around the rendering of the parameter display panel wherein the default “cascading” behavior of the parameter panel appears to play a major part in the unacceptable performance. What’s more, the performance degradation appears to occur on the client machine rather than on the server. During report execution resource consumption on the data source server barely registers with the results of queries returning instantaneously. However, on the client machine CPU consumption spikes dramatically.

Solution Alternatives

Server Configuration:

Use Cumulative Update 7 (CU7) for the RS Add-in for SharePoint: It has been observed that the best performing configuration for SharePoint/Reporting Service integration indicates the use of Cumulative Update 7 (CU7) for the Reporting Services Add-in for SharePoint. Any subsequent attempt to upgrade RS Add-in to Service Pack 1 (SP1) results in the return of the unacceptable performance degradation.
Ensure the use of a 64-bit platform: Installing SSRS on 64-bit server platforms enable the access of far greater amounts of memory than 32-bit platforms. Memory in SSRS 2008 is used more efficiently at the data structure level. Under intensive workload pressures, it uses a file system cache in order to reduce memory utilization. By being more efficient and writing to disk, it can process more report executions (even large reports) successfully. The administrator uses settings to determine when SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services starts to use the file system cache and how aggressively the cache is used. The administrator should consider configuring memory settings for the SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services to optimally use their computer resources. Fine-tuning these settings can provide an increase in performance under intensive workload over the default configuration.
Use cache execution wherever reports do not require live execution. By enabling the cache execution setting, a temporary copy of the report is cached in memory; thus, preventing the re-execution of report queries each subsequent time the report is executed.
Scheduled Execution can be used to cause a report execution snapshot to be stored in the RS database. This can be scheduled for non-peak hours that remain synchronized with the refresh interval of the data source. This ensures that unnecessary report executions do not occur by using the report snapshot to render the report for the calling user rather than the report itself.
Prepopulate the Report Cache by Using Data-Driven Subscriptions for Parameterized Reports: For large parameterized reports, performance is improved by prepopulating the report cache using data-driven subscriptions. Data-driven subscriptions enable easier population of the cache for set combinations of parameter values that are frequently used when the parameterized report is executed. Note that if you choose a set of parameters that are not used, you take on the cost of running the cache with little value in return. Therefore, to identify the more frequent parameter value combinations, analyze the ExecutionLog2 view. Ultimately, when a user opens a report, the report server can use a cached copy of the report instead of creating the report on demand.

Report Design:

Control the size of reports by designing them with fewer numbers of parameters.
Cache the results of parameter dataset queries in the form of text-strings on the RS server’s local file system, and then pass those text strings to populate the UI controls rather than re-executing queries. This should reduce the amount of data being passes across the network.
Consider developing an ASP.NET Report Display Page featuring its own parameter control panel that can be optimized to handle parameter datasets and values using finer-grained controls than are available via the Reporting Services ReportView control.

How to Disable the "Cascading" Behavior of Multiple Parameters

When designing reports with multiple parameters the default behavior is to create a dependency between each of the parameters. This causes each parameter to be refreshed when any of the other parameters is configured at run-time. This causes each parameters dataset to be refreshed; thus causing additional latency. This behavior should be disabled for any parameters that do not actually require filtering by the other report parameters.

Double-click the dataset for the parameter under the "Datasets" folder in the "Report Data" pane to open the "Dataset Properties" dialog.
Next select the "Parameters" item in the left-hand pane then select each parameter in the list and click the "Delete" button to remove the parameter.
Select the "Query" item in the left-hand pane, and then click the "Query Designer..." button to open the query designer dialog.
Delete the references to the parameters that are present in the "FROM" clause of the MDX query.
Execute the query to verify that it returns the appropriate values.
Click "OK" to close the query designer and close the dialog.

This should remove dependencies between parameters; thus disabling the "cascading" behavior.

How to Replace a Date Dimension DropDownList Parameter Control with a DateTime Picker

Double-click the Date dimension Parameter under the "Parameters" folder in the "Report Data" pane to open the "Report Parameter Properties" dialog.
On the "General" tab change the data type for the parameter to Date/Time in the "Data type:" dropdown list.
Click the "Available Values" item in the left-hand pane and select the "None" radio button in the "Choose the available values for this parameter" dialog.
Click the "Default Values" item in the left-hand pane, click the "Specify values" radio button, and then click the "Add" button to create a default value. Next click the expression button next to the new default value, and type an expression that resolves to a valid DateTime value; e.g., "=Today", or "=DateAdd(DateInterval.Day, -Today.Day, Today)".
Next, double-click the dataset for the report body under the "Datasets" folder in the "Report Data" pane to open the "Dataset Properties" dialog.
Click the expression button next to the "Parameter Value" dropdown list for the DateTime parameter whose value you need to specify, and then enter an expression that uses the parameters' DateTime value to concatenate a string that resolves to a valid member expression for the Date dimension that is specified in the the MDX query for the dataset.

From Date – Click the expression button next to the appropriate parameter and enter an expression in the following format

=“[Start Date].[FriendlyDate].&[“ + CDate(Parameters!StartDate.Value).Year.ToString() + “]&[“ + IIF(CDate(Parameters!StartDate.Value).Month <= 6, “1", “2") + “]&[“ + DatePart(DateInterval.Quarter, CDate(Parameters!StartDate.Value)).ToString() + “]&[“ + CDate(Parameters!StartDate.Value).Month,ToString() + “]&[“ + Format(CDate(Parameters!StartDate.Value), “s”) + “]”

To Date – Click the expression button next to the appropriate parameter and enter an expression in the following format

=“[End Date].[FriendlyDate].&[“ + CDate(Parameters!EndDate.Value).Year.ToString() + “]&[“ + IIF(CDate(Parameters!EndDate.Value).Month <= 6, “1", “2") + “]&[“ + DatePart(DateInterval.Quarter, CDate(Parameters!EndDate.Value)).ToString() + “]&[“ + CDate(Parameters!EndDate.Value).Month,ToString() + “]&[“ + Format(CDate(Parameters!EndDate.Value), “s”) + “]”

Notice that the only difference between the two expressions is the parameter value being used; the from date uses Parameters!StartDate and the to date uses Parameters!EndDate. Remember that these values must reflect the names being used in your OLAP database since Date and Time dimensions often serve as role-playing dimensions and may have a very different name. The purpose is to build a string representation of a dimension expression that may resemble the following format:

[End Date].[FriendlyDate].[Year].[Semester].[Quarter].[Month].[2011-11-22T00:00:00]:

The italicized values need to be resolved using the values supplied by the Date/Time picker control in the Reporting Services Report Viewer user interface.

To derive the Year:

CDate(Parameters!ParamName.Value).Year.ToString()

To derive the Semester:

IIF(CDate(Parameters!ParamName.Value).Month <= 6, “1", “2")

To derive the Quarter:

DatePart(DateInterval.Quarter, CDate(Parameters!ParamName.Value)).ToString()

To derive the Month:

CDate(Parameters!ParamName.Value).Month,ToString()

To derive the Member Date:

Format(CDate(Parameters!ParamName.Value), “s”)

How to Replace a Boolean Dimension Attribute DropDownList Parameter Control with a Checkbox Control

Double-click the parameter under the "Parameters" folder in the "Report Data" pane to open the "Report Parameter Properties" dialog.
On the "General" tab change the data type for the parameter to Boolean in the "Data type:" dropdown list, and then check the "Allow null value" checkbox.
Click the "Available Values" item in the left-hand pane and select the "None" radio button in the "Choose the available values for this parameter" dialog.
Click the "Default Values" item in the left-hand pane, and then click the "No default value" radio button.
Click the "Advanced" item in the left-hand pane, and then click the "Never refresh" radio button.
Next, double-click the dataset for the report body under the "Datasets" folder in the "Report Data" pane to open the "Dataset Properties" dialog.
Click the expression button next to the "Parameter Value" dropdown list for the boolrsn parameter whose value you need to specify, and then enter an expression that uses the parameters' value to concatenate a string that resolves to a valid member expression for the dimension that is specified in the the MDX query for the dataset.

=”[Dimension Name].[Attribute Name]” + IIF(IsNothing(Parameters!ParameterName.Value), “.[All Members]”, IIF(CBool(Parameters!ParameterName), “.&[Yes]”, “.&[No]”))

How to Replace a DropDownList Parameter Control with a Textbox Control

Double-click the parameter under the "Parameters" folder in the "Report Data" pane to open the "Report Parameter Properties" dialog.
On the "General" tab change the data type for the parameter to Text in the "Data type:" dropdown list, and then check the "Allow blank value" checkbox.
Click the "Available Values" item in the left-hand pane and select the "None" radio button in the "Choose the available values for this parameter" dialog.
Click the "Default Values" item in the left-hand pane, and then click the "No default value" radio button.
Click the "Advanced" item in the left-hand pane, and then click the "Never refresh" radio button.
Next, double-click the dataset for the report body under the "Datasets" folder in the "Report Data" pane to open the "Dataset Properties" dialog.
Click the expression button next to the "Parameter Value" dropdown list for the boolrsn parameter whose value you need to specify, and then enter an expression that uses the parameters' value to concatenate a string that resolves to a valid member expression for the dimension that is specified in the the MDX query for the dataset.

="[Dimension Name].[Attribute Name]” + IIF(Parameters!ParameterName.Value.ToString() = "", “.[All Members]”, ".&[" + Parameters!ParameterName.Value.ToString() + “]”)

Part 1: Create a Hyper-V Host Using Boot-to-VHD

Jon Tupitza — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 07:58:00 GMT

Introduction

The advent of Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 brought with it a fantastic new capability that greatly enhances our experience with creating lab and test environments: Boot to Virtual Hard Disk (Boot-to-VHD). Unlike VirtualPC virtual machines, "Boot to VHD" VM's utilize underlying hardware resources directly rather than via emulation, and this translates into improved performance. The virtual hard disk file can host the operating system and all its contained resources in one easy-to-manage container. Using "Boot to VHD" you can create a Windows Server 2008 R2 host server that runs the Hyper-V role that, in turn, can host an extensive environment made up of multiple guest systems that mimic an entire domain. This approach eases the creation of development and test environments and can leverage most of the services and capabilties that would be found on a production network: Active Directory Domain Services, DNS, Certificate Authorities, File and Print Servers, Datababase Management Servers, Web and Application Servers, SharePoint 2010 Servers; the list goes on! What's more, an entire lab environment can then be backed-up atomicly just by backing-up a single file. Using this approach snapshots can be created that capture your lab environment at critical states simply by backing-up a single VHD file at strategic points during its development.

How to install a VHD-Boot machine

First, format a USB thumb drive (4GB minimum) using Windows Server 2008 R2, and then copy the contents of a Windows Server 2008 R2 ISO file to that USB stick.

If you don't have a tool to open an ISO file, you can burn the ISO file to a DVD, and then copy its files to the USB stick.
Optionally, you can boot directly from the WIndows Server 2008 R2 DVD.

Next, boot the system using either the setup DVD or the USB Stick created in step 1.
At the setup screen, instead of choosing “Install Now”, press “Shift-F10” to enter into the preboot command line mode.
Type DISKPART and then press ENTER to start the disk partitioning utitlity.
Create a new VHD file by entering:

CREATE VDISK FILE=”X:\path\to\VHDImageFile.vhd” TYPE=expandable MAXIMUM=maxsizeInMegabyte
To create a differencing virtual hard disk file you'll need to add the following additional parameter to the "CREATE VDISK" statement:

PARENT=”X:\path\to\ParentVHDImageFile.vhd”.
Now you can select the newly created VHD and attach it as a physical disk.

SELECT VDISK FILE=”X:\path\to\VHDImageFile.vhd”
ATTACH VDISK
Proceed the normal setup, but make sure you install to the correct disk (normally the last one), ignore the “Windows cannot install to this disk” warning!!
At next startup, you’ll see your new "Windows Server 2008 R2" in the boot menu!

Also, you can manually add an existing VHD to the boot menu by using a command-line tool called BCDEdit, you just need to copy an existing boot menu entry and set some parameters:

First you must type the following command in order to make a copy of an existing boot entry. Typically this will either be the {current} entry or the {default} entry (it's the same if only one entry exists):

BCDEDIT /copy {current} /d "Windows 2008 Server R2"
When the command completes it will return a GUID. Copy that GUID (Including the curly-braces).
Execute the following commands, replacing {newguid}with the GUID that was returned in the preceding step.

BCDEDIT /set {newguid} device vhd=[D:]\filepath\VHDImageFile.vhd
BCDEDIT /set {newguid} osdevice vhd=[D:]\filepath\VHDImageFile.vhd
BCDEDIT /set {newguid} detecthal on

NOTE: When supplying the drive letter where your VHD file resides, you must retain the square brackets; e.g., vhd= [D:] \filepath\VHDImageFile.vhd