[dba-SQLServer]Is it just me?

>http://www.w2knews.com/index.cfm?id=434&search=sp4

OK, so I've signed up for ANOTHER ezine.  But the ones I already take
weren't blaring any headlines.  And to quote YOUR ezine:

***

W2K SP4 Anecdotal "Unfixes"

"Second, do not see this as an attempt to knock SP4 and tell you to not
deploy it. This SP has hundreds of important security fixes, so it is
important. The main thing I am emphasizing is that you need to TEST, TEST,
and TEST in a non-production environment FIRST."

***

So there you have it.  HUNDREDS of important security fixes which you are
not installing.

And no, I don't have the time to TEST, TEST, TEST.  The man is talking to
professional system admins, not the lonely developer sitting at his home
office trying to get some work done.  And any relevant problems aren't
likely to just jump out and grab me by the throat in any case.

So you are sitting at SP2, refusing to install the HUNDREDS of important
security fixes that SP3 provided, never mind SP4.

Again, I don't care whether you do, just knock it off with the "Mr. Windows
update" crap.  I respect you opinions very highly, but that stuff annoys the
hell out of me.

John W. Colby
www.colbyconsulting.com

-----Original Message-----
From: dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
[mailto:dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com]On Behalf Of
Francisco H Tapia
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2003 1:50 PM
To: dba-sqlserver at databaseadvisors.com
Subject: Re: [dba-SQLServer]Is it just me?


John Colby wrote:

> Hmmmm...
>
> I will be running IIS, just haven't gotten around to re-installing it.

Seems like a perfectly good reason to install SP4, but only after going
through Sql Server install, and I'd even look at installing IIS before
the SP


>
> AFAIK I can't "roll it back" though.

When you Install SP4 you are asked if you would like to backup the
critical files so you can roll back the installation.  You simply visit
Add/Remove programs and run the Roll back from there.


> I can just do a reinstall of Windows.  This is a clean install from last
> weekend, nothing else but SQL Server installed yet.  I install the latest
SP
> just to avoid all the bajillions of files the Windows update wants to
> install if you don't apply the service packs.  So is SP5 on the way to fix
> the SP4 issues?  ;-)

Not an SP5 per se, but I've heard rumors that an SP4a or 4b will be
making rounds to fix the Sql Server connectivity problems, (AFAIK).

> <rant mode on>
>
>>MR WindowsUpdate ;o)
>
>
> I have never made any claim that SPs don't cause new problems, only that
it
> isn't generally worth my time to spend the weeks required to understand
the
> issues re what the fixes are, what gets broken, what gets fixed, whether
the
> fixed outweighs the broken etc.  My job is to write databases, not spend
my
> life researching SPs.

I never implied otherwise... I don't like to spend time researching SP's
and whether they or any other critical update file is going to fix or
break my pc.  I like a stable OS... which is why I run Win2k Pro on SP2

> It seems ludicrous to me that a company the size of Microsoft would spend
> their time fixing bugs, tell me that I should install the SPs so that
> whatever bugs they have found and fixed are taken care of, then I either
> refuse (and don't get the bugs fixed) or spend my life researching whether
> or not to trust them.  Of course they screw up, so do I (VERY
occasionally).

oh c'mon John ;o)


> But I can't spend my time being paranoid that they have screwed something
up
> in fixing their original bugs or spend my life being paranoid that because
I
> haven't applied the bug fixes something nasty is going to happen.  With
all
> the nasty viruses floating around, it seems that applying service packs
just
> makes sense.  And I haven't seen ANY dire warnings not to apply any given
> Win2K SP in all of the MANY EZines that I scan over the average week!


sure there has.. win2kNews.com
http://www.w2knews.com/index.cfm?id=434&search=sp4



> I really don't much care whether you apply the SPs, but having been in
this
> business as long as I have, I certainly expect MY customers to apply MY
> service packs!  And if they refuse... it's on their heads.  Your head is
> your business.  I'm applying the damned service packs!
>
> And I truly get annoyed when it's implied that I'm being silly (or stupid)
> in doing so.

Not implying your are silly or stupid in doing so, I did question your
loyalty before, for trusting Windows Updates so dearly.  And you are
talking about 2 diffrent types of updates... first, your sp to YOUR
customer is much more customized and YOU will respond much quicker than
a large organization like MS.  Please bear in mind I dont' HATE
microsoft, I just beleive that they have reached a point where they are
soooo big that your request is lost in the midst of MILLIONS of emails.
      Ceratain errors that you see and someone else does not, is not
easly addreasable by the company because there are either more pressing
problems or they are willing to accept that x% of the pie is having
problems and that's just the way it's gonna go.  MS's OSes support about
the widest range of hardware than any other OS out there (I realize
linux supports most hardware too but if that hardware hasn't been
written for it'll probably be hard to find).

So SHOULD you blindly install an SP given to you by MS w/o TESTING it
first?  NOOOOOOooo, test it on another system, or join a newsgroup and
find out if they are having any issues w/ that SP... if so then you'll
know before you install, should you do this? YES, because SP's DO cause
problems.  Some are more worth it than others is all.

> <rant mode off>
>
> John W. Colby
> www.colbyconsulting.com
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com
> [mailto:dba-sqlserver-bounces at databaseadvisors.com]On Behalf Of
> Francisco H Tapia