A reader recently sent me a link to an article entitled 100 Microsoft Access Performance Tips. It includes some great advice like:

• Keep indexes as small as possible
• Take advantage of the cache
• Compact often to update statistics
• Use seek instead of find

For more, read the full article: Speed Up Your Access Databases

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) sets forth the security requirements for organizations that store, process and/or transmit credit or debit card transactions. These requirements stem from a series of significant security incidents affecting databases of consumer credit information over the past decade.

What does PCI DSS mean to you as a database professional? If you review the PCI DSS standard, you’ll find seventeen pages packed with detailed requirements for securing cardholder information. If your organization processes transactions, it’s a good idea to review the entire standard and ensure you’re meeting all of those requirements. That said, I’ll highlight a few salient points that pertain directly to database professionals.

Read the full article: PCI DSS for Database Professionals

In a recent forum message, Pat wrote:

"I work with a non-profit organization (dog rescue). I know nothing about databases. What we need is something to keep track of these details...What do you suggest?

1. Dog's name, sex, color, type
2. Date dog obtained, and where he came from
3. Date dog adopted
4. Name of person adopting, plus address, telephone number and e-mail address
5. Small medical history
6. Shots,worming, neutering dates
7. Microchip number
8. ID tag number
9. Dog's picture

Do you have any advice for Pat? Join the discussion in our forum!

The bulk-logged recovery model is a special-purpose model that works in a similar manner to the full recovery model. The only difference is in the way it handles bulk data modification operations. The bulk-logged model records these operations in the transaction log using a technical known as minimal logging. This saves significantly on processing time, but prevents you from using the point-in-time restore option.

Microsoft recommends that the bulk-logged recovery model only be used for short periods of time. Best practice dictates that you switch a database to the bulk-logged recovery model immediately before conducting bulk operations and restore it to the full recovery model when those operations complete.

Read more about the bulk-logged recovery model and other options in SQL Server Recovery Models.