SQL Solution center round-up – December 3rd, 2013 – auditing SQL Server data changes, PCI compliance, point-in-time restore and performance monitoring

In the latest SQL Solution center articles, we completed the series about methods for SQL Server database auditing, showed how to restore a database to a point-in-time, and wrote about PCI compliance, SQL Server traces, and SQL Server performance monitoring

Part 3 – Change Data Capture features describes another SQL Server feature for auditing data changes – Change Data Capture. We described characteristics of this feature and compared it to the Change Tracking feature

In In Part 4 – Change Data Capture set, we provided detailed steps on how to enable the Change Data Capture feature using the SQL Server Management Studio options and T-SQL statements. We described the system tables, functions and jobs created by the feature”>Part 4 – Change Data Capture set, we provided detailed steps on how to enable the Change Data Capture feature using the SQL Server Management Studio options and T-SQL statements. We described the system tables, functions and jobs created by the feature

Analysis and reading of the records stored in change tables are presented in Part 5 – analyzing and reading the Change Data Capture records. We described the system table valued functions that read captured data and gave queries that can be used to create reports

Another SQL Server auditing feature, introduced in SQL Server 2008, is described in Part 6 – the SQL Server Audit feature. Details are provided for auditing the server- level and database – level events, various target types – a binary file, Windows event log, and SQL Server event log, and components that have to be configured and enabled for auditing

Part 7 – the SQL Server Audit feature set up lists the requirements necessary for the SQL Server Audit feature, and explains how to set it up using the SQL Server Management Studio options and T-SQL statements

How to audit your auditing in SQL Server – tracking when triggers are disabled give details how triggers can be disabled, permissions needed to do that, the consequences when triggers are not fired, and methods that can be used to track trigger state changes

A new series of articles about using SQL Server traces for auditing:

Using SQL Server traces for SQL Server auditing – Part 1 – The default trace explains what SQL traces are, what information they can capture, how to use SQL Profiler to capture data, and how to enable the default trace

We showed how to use the fn_trace_gettable function to query the default trace in Part 2 – Querying a SQL Server trace. You can also see how to query for specific SQL Server trace events and how to create aggregate reports

In the last part of this series, we presented ApexSQL Audit, an out-of-the-box solution for SQL Server auditing based on SQL Server trace technology

PCI Compliance for SQL Server DBAs shows general requirements for the PCI compliance, security recommendations for SQL Server databases that hold cardholder and card payment information, and auditing recommendations

We described two methods to roll back a database to a specific point in time: a built-in SQL Server feature using SQL Server Management Studio options and T-SQL statements, and ApexSQL Log in Reverting your SQL Server database back to a specific point in time

The first article in our SQL Solution center about monitoring SQL Server performance is SQL Server Activity Monitor. We presented this native SQL Server feature, listed the information it can track, showed how to provide necessary requirements and use it

The SQL Server performance basics article explains how to determine what should be monitored, how often to collect performance counter data, and what monitoring goals are