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What is SSL? And how can I use it?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. What this means in plain language is that when a Internet Browser connects to a server connected to the internet the transfer of data between the browser and the server is encrypted. The data is encrypted so no one who is possibly intercepting the data transfer between the two can read it. So while a person can intercept the data transfer they won’t be able to read the data because it will be gibberish to them.

To use SSL there must be several requirements met first. The first requirment is that the Internet Browser be cabable of handling SSL communications. This generally isn’t a problem with most of the commercially available browsers nowdays. The second requirement is that the server must be set up with a certificate which allows SSL communications. This SSL certificate is set up by the web site owner. SSL encryption comes in two versions 56-bit encryption and 128-bit encryption. The higher the number the better the encryption.

So where can you get a SSL certificate for a web site? You can get them in several places. First, the web site can just create their own certificate. There is nothing wrong with doing so, but in doing so when a person visits the web site the visitor might get a warning that the certificate isn’t trusted. This is because the person just created it and did not go through one of the commercial entities providing certificates, which are considered trusted. If a web site owner gets the certificate from a commercial entity (for a cost of course) these entities will verify the site owner and the warning will not generally appear.

To use the SSL encryption the person visiting the website must use the “https” protocol. Normally, if you look at a web site address you will see the address as “http”. This page’s address is “http://www.e3servers.com/articles/ssl.htm”. At the front of the address is http. If we were to use encryption for a web page we would use the https instead of https. The “s” stands for secure. It is only when you use https you know the web page you are viewing is encrypted with SSL. To see a SSL encrypted page go to: https://www.e3servers.com/articles/ssl.htm . With some browsers you might see a gold lock on the bottom of the browser indicating that the browser is viewing a SSL encrypted page. However, the absence of a gold lock or the presence of the gold lock DOES NOT absolutely mean that the page is SSL encrypted. ONLY if the address starts with https can you be sure of the encryption. This is because sometimes there are items written in the web page which indicate to the browser that the page isn’t encrypted when in fact it is.

SSL encryption is used primarily for e-commerce applications. While not all communications between a browser and server are intercepted you never want to take a chance when you are submitting to a web site information concerning your credit card, home address information and/or any personal information. Without SSL encryption every time you ordered something online you might be giving out your credit card number to a thief. Without SSL encryption there would be no e-commerce. A common question is that if a site uses SSL encryption is the information safe when data arrives at the server? No. SSL encryption only makes the data transfer difficult to read. Once the data arrives either at the browser or at the server it is no longer encrypted. That’s why there are firewalls and other items used to protect servers and computers attached to the internet. Protecting information on the net relies on several things and SSL encryption works only on the flow of information not the storage of information.

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I have had people asking me about SSH commands, and the basic commands, to at least get them going.

The list below is not meant to be a complete SSH guide, but more so a list of some of the basic commands and what they do, as well as the proper formatting for the command.

I’ll start with what I think is the most basic, and work my way up.

In this guide, I’ll assume you at least have some SSH software, if not, I’ll list a few of my favorites.

Command: cd
Format: cd /directory/you/want/to/go/to
This command is the most basic, and widely used.  The cd command is used to move to the directory you specify.

Command: cp
Format: cp /directory/you/want/to/copy /directory/where/you/want/to/copy/to
The cp command will copy the file or folder you specify in the first portion, to the location you specify in the second portion.

Command: mkdir
Format: mkdir /directory/you/want/to/create
mkdir creates the directory or folder you specify

Command: rmdir
Format: rmdir /directory/you/want/to/delete
The rmdir command deletes the directory or folder you specify.

Command: mv
Format: mv /directory/you/want/to/rename/or/move /new/directory/name/or/location
The mv command will rename or move the file stated in the first portion to the name or location stated in the second portion.

Command: rm
Format: rm filename.pl
The rm command will move the file specified.

Command: tar cvf
Format: tar cvf filename.tar.gz /directory/you/wish/to/archive
This command will tar zip the files in the directory specified in the second portion into a tar file specified in the first portion.

Command: tar -xvf
Format: tar -xvf filename.tar.gz
The tar -xvf will extract all files from the tarball specified into the directory you are currently in.

Command: zip
Format: zip yourfile.zip /file/or/folder/you/want/to/zip
This will create a zip file, with the name specified in the first portion from the file or directory listed in the second portion.

Command: unzip
Format: unzip yourfile.zip
This command will unzip or un pack the named zip file, into the directory you’re currently in.

Command: Ls
Format: Ls /directory/you/wish/to/list/files/
The Ls command lists files, and folders within the directory you specify

Command: Ls -f
Format: Ls -f /directory/you/wish/to/list/files/
This will add a forward slash to the directory names within the directory you specify

Command: Ls -a
Format: Ls -a /directory/you/wish/to/list/files/
This will show “hidden” files in the directory you specify

Command: Ls -l
Format: Ls -l /directory/you/wish/to/list/files/
This command shows detailed info about each file in the directory you specify.

Some suggested SSH software
As I stated earlier, I will give a few of my favorite SSH clients, and where you can obtain them.

• Putty
• SSH Secure Shell Client

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So it’s time to transfer your clients to a new datacenter? Want to minimize downtime, bounced emails, and dynamic data loss? Here is a handy walk-through for you if you are using WHM/CPanel, although the principles are the same and can be adapted for any control panel or none at all! Remember, this requires that you have root, or know your clients logins and passwords.

Several hours before you will be doing the actual site transfers, you will need to do the following for each account:

1. Login to your current WHM account. Under DNS Functions, choose “Edit a DNS Zone” Choose the account you want to prepare for transferring.

2. In the zone file you will see @ IN 14400 SOA, change the 14400 to 3600. The 14400 represents 4 hrs and we want to shorten this period to an hour.

3. Approximately ½ way down the page you will see a section called “Records” with several entries under the TTL (Time To Live) heading that have 14400 in them; you will need to change these to 3600 as well.

4. Update the serial number by one to show this is the newest update, save it, and repeat for each site.

Once you have done this for every account you want to transfer, go get some coffee or caffeinated beverage and take a break….. if you have a lot of clients, you are in for a long stretch!

Ready? Ok, login to your new WHM server and go the section titled “Transfers”. Under this heading will be several options, but we will only worry about the first 3.

The first option is available if you have root access on the original server and only need to copy one account, or only wish to copy one account at a time.* (this may be a wise decision if you have a limited number of clients, more on this later).

The second option is available if you do not have root on the original box, but you do know your clients password.

The third option is if you do have root on the original server and want to copy all your accounts over at once.

1. Determine whether the sites you are transferring is static or dynamic. Static meaning mainly html with no actively used database, and dynamic meaning an in use forum type of database. If it is a static site, you are ready to transfer, if it is a dynamic site, you will need to shut down the database for an hour until the site is redirected from the old server.

2. Choose the option you wish to use to transfer the account(s)

3. You will now need to fill in the original servers IP, username and password. You will also need to choose whether to give the site an IP on the new server, and what type of server you are transferring from. Click setup.

4. Your new server will attempt to login via ftp and package the account up with databases, and email accounts/passwords intact. It will then transfer and setup the account on the new server, and if all is correct, you will receive a message stating the transfer was successful.

5. Under DNS Functions, choose “Edit a DNS Zone” Choose the account you want to edit, (the one you just transferred) and change the nameservers information to reflect your nameservers, instead of the default nameserver values of the server, increase the serial number by one, save, and repeat for each account.

6. Now log back into your old server, and in the “Records” section again, change
all instances of the original IP to the new IP on the new server. Increase the serial number by one, save and close.

7. Repeat steps 1 – 6 for each account.

In about an hour, once the TTL cycles, the sites will be resolving on the new server……only one more step to do.  Go to your registrar and update the IPs of your nameservers to reflect your new IPs. That’s it! It wasn’t that hard, was it? Your clients would probably have never known you switched datacenters/servers if you wouldn’t have told them…you did tell them, didn’t you? You have minimized downtime (hopefully none), transferred them seamlessly, and have the sites live on the new server BEFORE the nameserver propagation has even went thru!

* Large sites/databases do not always transfer correctly, as well as multiple accounts transferring at once having had problems. Transferring accounts one by one, although a long, time consuming process, seems to avoid these issues.

One other thing you will need to check on the new server, is that the control panel skin you were using on the old server is actually available on the new server, or the /cpanel will not display. You will then need to choose a new skin for each account.

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The last few years have witnessed some exhilarating developments in the manufacturing of hard drives with the introduction of larger caches, quicker spindle speeds, greater data transmission speeds, and better reliability.

ATA hard drives (generally known an IDE drives) are the hard drive type mainly used by most end user computers. Introduced in 1986, the ATA standard has seen many modifications to improve the size and speed of the hard drive which it can support. ATA-7, unleashed in 2001, can maintain data transfer rates up 133MB/sec.ATA-7 is thought to be the last model for the parallel ATA standard.

In the year 2000, hard drive manufacturers came up with a new hard drive standard called Serial ATA, most popularly SATA. The SATA hard drives overcame all the limitation of ATA such as electromagnetic interference (EMI), signal timing, and other data integrity issues. Within no time, SATA has become the basic standard for most computer users.

The following description elaborates on the differences between ATA and SATA.

Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) is based on a 16 bit parallel interface and is generally used to control computer hard drives. Whereas, Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) is a single bit serial advancement of the Parallel ATA. SATA hard drives can easily be distinguished from ATA hard drives by the unique power and data connections used on the back of the hard drives.

When comparing ATA against SATA, SATA hard drives have performance benefits which set them apart from ATA hard drives. SATA drives are more suitable to install and draws less power. Another noted characteristic of SATA is the higher bandwidth that is possible. The latest models of ATA hard drives offer the highest data transfer rate of 133 MB/second. While the current SATA standard can provide data transfer of up to 150 MB/second.

According to Seagate, the performance of SATA drives over ATA drives can currently be expected to be about 5%. The developments in SATA technology will surely improve on that. The future of SATA bears great interest in computer users, the 600 MB/second SATA hard drives are expected around the year 2007, which will provide outstanding speed and performance.

When making a comparison of ATA hard drives and SATA hard drives, you may find SATA drives to cost more, but when considering the overall benefits of SATA drives over ATAs, it is worth spending a few extra dollars for SATA hard drives.

In short, the latest SATA hard drives provide noteworthy benefits over ATA hard drives when considering power consumption, convenience, and performance. Experts are in the process of creating more powerful SATA hard drives which will surely help hard drive developments to keep pace with other key system products to improve the overall performance of a computer system.

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Part 1: Managing multiple users with one IP Address

In choosing which software to use for managing the server-side of FTP, often time people don’t use Microsoft’s FTP program because they think that it’s too simple or they think that it doesn’t do what they want. I’m going to attempt to reveal some of the hidden but powerful features that exist with Microsoft’s FTP program. Understanding just a couple basic concepts and putting those concepts to good use will open up a new world of possibility.

I’m not trying to convert the many people that are using another FTP program or try to say that Microsoft’s is better. I don’t work for Microsoft and I’m not being paid to endorse their product. But for those that aren’t happy with their current solution, want to utilize Microsoft FTP better or are diving into this fresh, read on.

I’m assuming that you are somewhat familiar with using Microsoft IIS / FTP. The 10 second description for those coming in brand new is: For those running a version of Windows that includes IIS (Internet Information Services), you already have Microsoft FTP available to you. This is included in Windows NT/2000/2003/XP. Except for Windows NT, use the IIS snap-in found in Start -> Administrative Tools -> Internet Information Services. If you don’t have that installed, it can be installed from Add/Remove Programs in the control panel. For some people using Windows XP you won’t see Administrative Tools off your Start Menu. You can still find them in your control panel. For those wondering what FTP means, you’ve probably stumbled across the wrong article.

Let’s get started:

Rule #1: If (virdir name = user name) Then (path of virdir takes affect)

Now, what does that mean? Microsoft FTP, which I’ll call MS FTP after this, doesn’t have an interface like most of us would expect, where you can add a user and point to a particular folder. Instead, it has a strange way of handling this. If the Virtual Directory name is exactly the same as a Windows Users, then the Virtual Directory will “catch“ the user rather than the root FTP account.

Of course, if you have lots of IP addresses, you can assign one IP address per user and setup multiple sites and then rely on the NTFS permissions to grant or deny access to particular sites. (Note: Windows XP only allows 1 FTP site.) But, even if you do this, there may come a time when you want to use the same IP address for multiple users who will be destined for different locations. For those trying to run a web server with multiple sites and one IP address, you’ll benefit the most from this rule. Let me start with an example:

Let’s say you have this directory structure:
D:\domains\site1.com
D:\domains\site2.com
D:\domains\site2.com\graphics

And you have 3 users.
- Mike needs access to the root of site1.com
- Sue needs access to the root of site2.com
- Joe needs access to the graphics folder of site2.com

I’ll repeat myself because I feel this is important. The trick with MS FTP is that if the Virtual Directory name is the same as a Windows Username, the user will be “caught” by the Virtual Directory and directed to the folder specified in the Virtual Directory.

Example in MS-FTP

Behind the scenes, the “Mike” Virtual Directory is pointing to D:\domains\site1.com, Sue is pointing to D:\domains\site2.com and Joe is pointing to D:\domains\site2.com\graphics.

- If you logged in as Mike, then the Mike virdir would “catch” it and you would be dropped into the D:\domains\site1.com folder.
- Same with Joe or Sue. They would be caught by their corresponding Virtual Directories.

Now, let’s say you had another user called Jane. If you logged in as Jane then the settings on the “Default FTP Site“ will handle her because there isn’t a Virtual Directory to “catch“ her and direct her elsewhere.

Rule #2: The username used to log in needs List permissions to the root FTP site folder

Even if the Virtual Directory is pointing to a different location, the user that is logging in always needs List permissions to the folder specified in “Default FTP Site“. Yes, it seems strange, but even in IIS6, this is still the case.

So, each user must have read/write permissions, D:\domains\site1.com needs read/write for Matt. D:\domains\site2.com needs read/write for Sue. D:\domains\site2.com\graphics needs read\write for Joe. This is the obvious part.

The none obvious consideration is if the path of “Default FTP Site“ was D:\domains than that folder needs “List” permissions for all 3 users. Otherwise they won’t be able to log in at all.

Tip #1: Set the root FTP account to a dummy location if assigning multiple users

If the path of the “Default FTP Site“ is D:\domains then you have a fairly large security issue with this setup. If you log in as Mike for example, you’ll have the option to move up a folder (..) (well, most FTP programs will give you that option). If you do, you’ll be dropped into the folder of the “Default FTP Site” root. (d:\domains). As I just mentioned, you are forced to give List permissions for all users which means that every user can view the names of all the sites. If you ever slip up and give too many permissions at the NTFS level your users can potentially access other people’s sites.

Fortunately there is an easy solution. Just consider your Master FTP Site root a dummy location that isn’t meant to be used for anything practical. Point it to d:\ftproot\dummyfolder or something like that. (I call mine ‘deadend’). Give List permissions to the Everyone group on that folder and make sure it’s completely empty. Now, you’ve solved the security issue. If Mike connects with their FTP program and moves up a folder or does a chgdir to ‘\’ he will dropped into d:\ftproot\dummyfolder which is completely empty. You’ll never have to worry about users gaining access to d:\domains which is a folder that you want to keep your users out of.

And, in all this, don’t forget that every user that will be logging into your FTP account needs to have a Virtual Directory assigned or else they will immediately be placed into the dummyfolder location.

I’ve covered managing multiple users with a single IP address, required permissions for setting up FTP and given a tip on keeping users out of your confidential folders. There is more to come. In the following 3 weeks I plan to cover: IIS6 User Isolation; Managing Virtual Directories (why can’t I see the virtual directory that I created in my FTP program); and how to have a logged in user only see and access some, but not all, of the subfolders in a folder.

Part 2 – Managing Virtual Directory / Physical Directories
Part 3 – Coming soon
Part 4 – Coming soon

Scott Forsyth is Director of IT at ORCS Web, Inc. – a company that provides managed hosting services for clients who develop and deploy their applications on Microsoft Windows platforms.

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The DNS is a distributed, hierarchical database where authority flows from the top (or root) of the hierarchy downward.

When thinking of the structure of the DNS, imagine an inverted tree. Each branch of the tree is within a zone of authority; however, multiple branches of the tree can be within a single zone.

The software (Bind being the most common) that stores domain name information is called a domain name server. A single name server can be authoritative for multiple zones. All zones have a primary master and a secondary master name server that provides authoritative responses for their zones.

If you query a name server not authoritative for a particular zone, that name server will most likely have up-to-date information. This is because zone information propagates throughout the Internet at regular intervals, and name servers cache zone information for which they are not authoritative.

DNS Commands

There are three crucial commands that can put all the DNS information you need at your fingertips. The way to use this article is to try each of the commands listed on a domain name, so you can see what the output looks like. Learn by doing!

Zone file database records divide DNS information into three primary types: NS (Name Server) records, MX (Mail Exchange) records, and A (Address) records. NS records indicate the name servers. MX records indicate the hosts that handle e-mail delivery; the priority (pri) number indicates the order in which mail servers are used, with the lowest number receiving the highest priority. The A (Address) records map hostnames to IP addresses, the real names of machines.

host

This is the simplest of the DNS commands. It is a quick way to determine the IP address of a hostname:

: host www.your-domain-name.com

The -a option will return all of the DNS information in verbose format.

: host -a www.your-domain-name.com

Now that you know the IP address for www.your-domain-name.com, try a reverse lookup.

: host IP-ADDRESS

dig (domain information groper)

This command gathers and returns DNS information in a format the name server can use directly. You will find it easy to query specific name servers with dig.

You can quickly determine the Name servers of your host or any other host:

: dig ns your-host.com

Then you check your (or another) website against the host’s name servers:

: dig www.your-domain-name.com @ns.your-host.com

Dig can provide output that is in the same format as the zone file itself. Here is how to get the whole zone file:

: dig any your-domain-name.com

Here are the most useful dig query types: dig any (gathers all DNS information), dig ns (gathers name server information), dig mx (gathers mail exchanger information) and dig a (gathers network address information).

The dig command can also do reverse lookups with output formatted for the zone file:

: dig -x IP-Address

nslookup

You can use this tool as a single line command, or you can use it interactively, which distinguishes it from the other DNS commands. Once you have started nslookup, type set all to list the default options. As with dig you can choose the server (name server) you want to query, and you can decide the type of DNS information on which to focus.

Just as you can issue commands to nslookup interactively, you can also change the initial defaults by starting a .nslookuprc file. The format of the .nslookup is one command per line:

set type=NS
set domain=srvns.your-host.com
set timeout=10

Conclusion

These three commands can provide you with most of the information you need about your domain names. They are powerful tools, and this article should provide you enough information to get started or offer a quick refresher if you already use these commands.

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Sometimes you cannot log in locally to a SQL server, so you need to make a remote connection. Usually this is over the Internet using TCP/IP. Tools that you can use to connect to a remote SQL server are Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer, or even through code. Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer are part of the SQL Tools and can be found in the SQL Server installation disk. You can download an evaluation version of SQL Server from Microsoft’s web site. Once the trial period has elapsed the local database will no longer function, but the SQL Client tools will continue to operate fine.

Configuring SQL Connection Alias
Once you have installed the SQL Server Client Tools on your local workstation or server, you can find the tools under the Start menu (on your desktop)- Programs – Microsoft SQL Server. Select the option called Client Network Utility.

In the Networking Utility click on the ‘alias’ tab, then click ‘add…’. Below is a picture of the ‘Add alias window’.

Make sure TCP/IP is selected in the ‘Network libraries’. By default, the SQL 7.0 client tools use Named Pipes protocol. In the ‘Server alias’ field enter the fully qualified domain name or the IP address of the SQL server you are connecting to. The Connection parameters are filled in automatically. Click ‘OK’ to exit both of the opened windows.

Configuring Enterprise Manager
Now that the location of the SQL Server and the protocol to use has been configured, you are ready to configure your Enterprise Manager. Open Enterprise Manager, which is found under Microsoft SQL server in your Start Menu.

In the Tree view on the left side of the application window, expand Microsoft SQL Server. Right click SQL Server Group and select ‘New SQL Server Registration’. Click ‘next’. The next window is displayed below.

Select the alias that you just created and click ‘add’ and then ‘Next’. In the next window, select ‘SQL Server Authentication’ and click next. Enter your SQL server username and password and click ‘next’ twice and then ‘Finish’.

Enterprise Manager will then connect to the SQL server and authenticate your username and password. You also can now connect with Query Analyzer using the same connection alias you created for Enterprise Manager.

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A database move can be done a couple different ways, but when the database is updated frequently and the move needs to be completed with minimal downtime and no data loss, it is best to move it by detaching and then reattaching the database on the new server. The database will be offline during the move but it is better to have it offline than to miss transactions when backing up and then restoring the database on the new server.

In order to get the database moved with minimal downtime, be sure to complete as many tasks ahead of time as possible to move quickly during this process. Many times, a database move requires that the application that uses it to be offline and this time should be minimized as much as possible. These tasks include:

1. Identifying and opening all files that include connection string information to the database.
   
2. Open all necessary windows/applications to perform necessary tasks:
   
   
   
   1. Locate and make note of the path and the name of the database .mdf / .ldf files on both the current and new SQL server for the database.
      
      
   2. Identify all usernames and passwords for the database.
      
   3. Open Query Analyzer on the new SQL server to run SQL commands.
      
   4. Open Enterprise Manager on both the current and new SQL server to complete necessary tasks.
   
   
3. Read through instructions at least once to help the process go smoothly.

In summary, we’ll backup the database, detach it, and then reattach it on the new sever. This process can be completed with Query Analyzer, but these instructions will be done via Enterprise Manager. Let’s get started!

Backup Database

This is done as a precautionary step. This will allow us to have a good backup of the database up to the time of the move. (I actually do this before I make any changes to a database; you can never have too many backups!)

1. Open Enterprise Manager, and navigate to databases.
   
2. Right-click the database being backed up, select ‘All Tasks’ and then click ‘Backup Database…’.
   
3. Verify and make note of database name and the backup destination path. I usually change the destination path to ‘d:\temp\dbname.bak’. It isn’t necessary to change it, but ensure you can find it if you need it.
   
4. Under the ‘Overwrite’ section, select ‘Overwrite existing media’.
   
5. On the ‘Options’ tab, put a check next to ‘Verify backup upon completion’.
   
6. Click ‘OK’.

Detach the Database

1. Right-click the database, select ‘All Tasks’, and then click ‘Detach Database…’.
   
2. At this point the current number of connections to the database will be displayed. If there are any connections, they must be cleared before the database can be detached. Click ‘Clear’. You will then be prompted with ‘This will end all active transactions in this database which is required before the database can be detached. Is it OK to proceed?’ Click ‘OK’. The next prompt is regarding notifying users. It will ask ‘Do you want to notify the currently connected users that their sessions in the database will be ended?’ I always click ‘No’ for web applications. And then click ‘OK’ to detach the database.
   
3. At this point the database is detached (it will not appear in Enterprise Manager).

Next, you’ll need to copy the data file (.mdf) and transaction log (.ldf) file to the new server. By default, SQL server will create databases and put these files in the same directory (it’s usually \Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Data). However, for performance gains, this may be changed so the transaction log file is put on another hard drive. Be sure to check the new SQL server to see how it is setup. If the transaction log files are setup on a different hard drive, it should be copied there and the data file should be put in its appropriate directory. And, when attaching the database, be sure the paths to the files are correct.

Attaching the Database

1. Right-click the database, select ‘All Tasks’, and then click ‘Attach Database…’.
   
2. Navigate to the data file by clicking the button that has 3 dots on it (…).
   
3. Once you’ve selected the database .mdf file, you’ll see the data file path (which should be verified for both the data and transaction log file) and have the option to choose the database name and owner. Attach it as the database name, and ensure the owner name is ’sa’.
   
4. Verify the path for the transaction log file is correct. If the path isn’t correct, update it to the appropriate directory.
   
5. Click ‘OK’.

Note: If you didn’t move the transaction log file to the new server with the data file, you’ll be prompted to create a new one. If you choose to create a new one, it will be done for you automatically.

Orphaned Users

If the database user doesn’t exist on the new server, create it now. When creating it, you may receive an error that it already exists, but that’s ok, the work that needs completed by SQL Server to add the user account is done. After you receive the error that the user already exists, press cancel and continue on to the next user.

Moving the database to a new server will result in orphaned users. You will need to run a stored procedure that will map the user in the database to a user on the server. This stored procedure will change the relationship between a Microsoft SQL Server login and a SQL Server user in the current database. Basically, it changes the SID in the database to match the one generated by the local server, which allows all custom permissions to be retained – it remembers the access and permissions.

1. Open Query Analyzer.
   
2. Select the database in the drop-down box on the tool bar if it isn’t already selected.
   
3. For each database user, we’ll need to execute the command: “sp_change_users_login ‘update_one’, ‘db_username’, ‘db_username’*” (without the double-quotes).

*change the db_username to the actual database username in both places.

Now update any connection strings to point to the new SQL server (this could have been done while the database was moving between servers to utilize all available time) and test it well. Also, check any DTS jobs, Full-Text Indexes and Replication configurations to ensure that they are set up on the new server as they won’t fully move during this process. Now you should be set. Test it well and sit back, relax and reflect on a job well done.

Sources:
http://vyaskn.tripod.com/moving_sql_server.htm
http://www.databasejournal.com/features/mssql/article.php/2224361
http://vyaskn.tripod.com/troubleshooting_orphan_users.htm

Desirée Harris is a support specialist with ORCS Web – a company that provides managed hosting services for clients who develop and deploy their applications on Microsoft Windows platforms.

Post from: Cheap Web Hosting Directory for Affordable Hosting Services

Moving A SQL Server Database

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