EditorsBlog

November 2008 - Posts

• Solutions That Last

  I have spent the last few days training in Hobart, which is in Tasmania, the southernmost state in Australia. Today I took the day off to spend some time in Richmond, which is a 30-minute drive from the centre of Hobart. Richmond is famous because it is home to the oldest bridge in Australia. The bridge was constructed in 1833. Although the bridge is 175 years old, it is still being driven on. When this bridge was built cars were not even invented and the bridge would only have been used by horses and carriages. However, the construction was so good that it has been able to adapt with the changing needs. I often think that when a lot of software applications are devolved they are designed with a short-term focus. The average lifespan for software in just over five years; however, often applications are shipped without a solid foundation. So no matter what a company does to the application, they are simply building on top of a house of cards. When you design a schema, do you think about the fact that your database may still be in use in 10 years time? - Peter Ward Posted Nov 28 2008, 05:46 PM by shanetasker with 1 comment(s)

• Happy Thanksgiving

  One of the SQL Server forums that I often read had a joke today that I thought was appropriate considering tomorrow is Thanksgiving. A SQL query goes into a bar, walks up to two tables and says, "Can I join you". Thanksgiving is a traditional North American holiday and an opportunity for families to spend time together. However you plan on spending Thanksgiving this year I hope that it is a safe and happy holiday for you. - Peter Ward Posted Nov 26 2008, 06:22 PM by shanetasker with 1 comment(s)

• Data Ownership

  I was having a chat to several people today during a break in a training course and the question came up of 'who owns the data in a database?' I'm not sure if it was because I was talking to a group of Database Administrators but the overwhelming response was the DBA team. I on the other hand had a very different opinion. As a true consult my response is that it depends. I agree that a DBA has ownership of the management of the database server, but the owner of the actual data varies between each individual organisation. For example, the financial transactions of a corporation are owned by the stakeholders in the business. Whereas the patient records in a medical centre are owned by the individual patient. Any changes to the data should not be made without the approval of the owner of the data or a data custodian. In your organisation, who own the data? - Peter Ward Posted Nov 25 2008, 05:17 PM by shanetasker with 3 comment(s)

• Lodging Complaints

  There are times when you will visit a restaurant and the food is not up to scratch or perhaps the service was poor. When asked by the staff at the restaurant about the experience, people will often say that everything is fine. Likewise though, even if the restaurant was perfect in every way people will still respond with everything is fine. Unless the restaurant experience was extremely bad people will put up with it and not say anything. The problem with the feedback process is that it is an unknown quantity. As the manager may or may not respond to the complaint. The current Microsoft Connect process is very similar. As despite going to an effort to make a complaint and log a bug the process can be a similar black whole. When a bug is submitted to Connect a person has identified a problem and taken the time to fill in the bug submission process. However, unless feedback on the issue is provided the customer is never satisfied. What has your experience been using the connect process to log an issue with Microsoft? - Peter Ward Posted Nov 24 2008, 05:56 PM by shanetasker with 1 comment(s)

• Information Repository

  A question that I have been asked a lot this week while attending PASS is 'what are some good resources to find out more information about SQL Server?' The availability of online information on SQL Server is extremely prevalent; however, it can be a bit like a bag of liquorice allsorts sweets—some sources are better than others. The quality of some of the information that can be found using your search engine of choice is fairly poor and will often perpetuate myths about SQL Server. For example, if you have a database corruption you will often read that the first thing to do is detach and reattach the database. Although online resources are a great way to find out information about SQL Server one of the most important things is to verify the validity of the information. A bit like the television show Mythbusters you need to ensure that you test the procedure especially before trying it on production. I would be interested to know what resources you turn to and trust for information of SQL Server. - Peter Ward Posted Nov 21 2008, 08:32 PM by shanetasker with 1 comment(s)

• Keeping Up Pace

  At the moment a lot of DBA's appear to be struggling with the rapid pace of change with SQL Server. Although change is something that we are all used to in the IT sector, the release pace of SQL Server seems to be gathering momentum. Many organisations are only just starting to adopt SQL Server 2005 and already SQL Server 2008 has been released. Microsoft has recently announced that the SQL Server add-on release, which is currently code-named Kilimanjaro, will be available in the first half of 2010. Close on its heals will be the next release of SQL Server which will be approximately 36 months after the release of SQL Server 2008. Now we all know that release dates can and do slip; however, the fact that there will be three SQL Server releases in the space of four years is a lot of new skills for someone to learn. On top of this, there is the whole cloud computing initiative, which is now in CTP. Are you finding that it is hard to keep pace with the rapid release cycle for SQL Server? - Peter Ward Posted Nov 20 2008, 10:17 PM by shanetasker with no comments

• Which Conference to Attend?

  As a result of the current economic conditions many organisations are looking for any way they can to cut costs. One of the first places that organisations look to cut costs is the training budget. Rather than being able to attend several technical conferences a year many employees will be limited to attending one conference if they are lucky. These days there are a large number of SQL Server conferences to choose from. These range from events such as Tech-Ed and PDC to SQL Server specific events such as PASS and SQL Server Connections. As funding for training becomes harder to access organisations start to look a lot closer at the business benefits that attending a conference will provide. The biggest issue with this is that conferences often focus on the latest cutting edge technology; however, companies are not using the latest technologies. As a result management will often question the need for training when the technology has not yet been adopted. With all the conferences available how do you determine which conference to attend? - Peter Ward Posted Nov 19 2008, 08:28 PM by shanetasker with 1 comment(s)

• What Will Be Announced?

  Microsoft often uses large conferences as an opportunity to make significant new announcements. This year the lock note at Tech-Ed South Africa was used to announce SQL Server 2008 and the SQL Server BI conference was used to reveal plans for SQL Server 'Kilimanjaro'. The SQL Server PASS Community Summit is the world's largest SQL Server conference and is the perfect opportunity to make a big announcement. What do you think will be announced in the PASS keynote this year? Will it be more cloud computing initiatives or will this be the 'real' release of SQL Server 2008? - Peter Ward Posted Nov 18 2008, 11:36 PM by shanetasker with no comments

• Consistency in Flying

  A lot of people do not like flying for various reasons; this can be because of a fear of flight or maybe it is because of other reasons such as a dislike of the food (or lack thereof) served on flights. However, I think the biggest reason that people do not like flying is due to the inconvenience of airport security. In fact I know some people that will not fly unless there is no other transport alternative available. Although security is extremely important I think that the biggest issue is the inconsistency in security practices when flying. For example, some airports require belts and shoes to be taken off whereas other airports don't require these procedures to be followed. As a result of this inconsistency the security lines can often be chaos in an airport as people are unsure of what do to. This consistency is something that is not only important in airport security but also in a SQL Server environment. For example, if the maintenance jobs are named MAINT on one server and DBA on another server, then the same chaos can occur. It means that a database administrator is unsure of what the job does and needs to check what the procedure is. Do you have a standard nomenclature and build process that you use to ensure that each SQL Server instance in your environment is consistent? - Peter Ward Posted Nov 17 2008, 08:49 PM by shanetasker with no comments

• Heading to PASS

  I have just finished delivering a Reporting Services training course in Canberra today and I am writing this editorial from the QANTAS Club while waiting for my flight home to Brisbane. I will be home for about 12 hours before I head back to the QANTAS club to wait for my flight tomorrow to Los Angeles through to Seattle for the SQL PASS Community Summit. I have just finished chatting to a colleague who could not understand why I would want to head all the way to Seattle for a conference when you can now access so much content online. There are two reasons that I am attending the conference, the first is that I am presenting, but the second and most important reason is the opportunity to catch-up with people that I often communicate electronically with but only get to talk face to face with when at a conference. I think one of the most important components of communication is the 'face-to-face time' and the ability to share a beer with someone. So if you will be in Seattle at PASS next week make sure you look out for me, as I would love to buy you a beer especially if you are interested in writing an article for SQL-Server-Performance.com. - Peter Ward Posted Nov 14 2008, 09:59 PM by shanetasker with 2 comment(s)

• Software Testing

  I have been working with an organisation of late that develops shrink wrap software. Over the last few days they have been preparing for an upcoming major release and I have certainly had my eyes open to what I think is the best testing and release methodology that I have seen in a long time. All too often software is released that is not ready for production. I think the desire for companies to ship software before it is ready is a direct result of the influence that Web 2.0 has had on software engineering. Most Web 2.0 applications that are released are shipped extremely quickly and have a Beta label slapped on them in order to justify the reason that the application is full of bugs. The problem with this influence is that Microsoft appears to be taking a similar approach with the CTP release cycle. Rather than testing software using internal processes it appears that more and more responsibility for testing is being placed on people that download CTP software. It is not the responsibility of people that participate in the CTP release cycle to identify and log bug reports. The reason that people want involvement in the CTP programme is to test internal applications against new versions of software and not to test the software release. Do you think that more bugs are being released in SQL Server as a result of the CTP programme? - Peter Ward Posted Nov 13 2008, 05:53 PM by shanetasker with 1 comment(s)

• Interesting post and Interesting answer: modify_date in sys.objects from SQL Server 2005 onwards

  Direct reference to the subject ForumPost Posted Nov 13 2008, 10:27 AM by satya with no comments Filed under: master, object, recompile, sysobjects, sql server

• Remembrance Day

  No matter where you live in the world there are people in the community that make extraordinary sacrifices for others. These people might be the local scout leader or a volunteer at the local hospital. The one thing that they all share in common is that their contributions and personal sacrifices make a significant impact on the community. Many people consider that the ultimate sacrifice is for a solider to fight for their country and not return home. Veterans Day (Armistice or Remembrance depending on where you live in the world) is a time to remember the sacrifices made by members of the armed forces who have fought in conflict. This year Remembrance Day holds special significance as it is the 90th anniversary of the first Armistice Day that ended the First World War. So I ask that you take a minute to think about what the 11th of November means to you. - Peter Ward Posted Nov 12 2008, 08:06 PM by shanetasker with no comments

• What Does It Take to Be a DBA?

  A question I often see posted in forums and that I occasionally get asked is 'what does it take to be a DBA?' A DBA is not a role that is achieved by attending a course or by earning a qualification. The knowledge that a DBA has is something that comes from many years of experience. I often describe a DBA as someone that is both an IT professional and a developer. I think that to be a DBA a person must not only understand how a DBMS works with hardware and the operating system but also how applications interact with the database system. A quality that I think is important in a DBA is one that many people would term conservatism. However, I would not term it conservatism but rather caution, as at the end of the day a DBA is charged with managing the data of an organisation. I would be interested to know what you think it takes to be a DBA. - Peter Ward Posted Nov 10 2008, 07:26 PM by shanetasker with 2 comment(s)

• Do We Need Transactions?

  I was talking to a colleague today over lunch who was intrigued by the replay that he watched of the presentation Steve Ballmer made in Sydney yesterday. The presentation targeted a developer audience; hence, it showcased Visual Studio 2010 and Azure. Although the presentations were developer focused there was mention of the platforms that will support Azure including SQL Server Data Services. One of the points made was that SQL Server Data Services will not support Transactions. Now I am not sure if this is true or not as I have not listened to the presentation, so perhaps the persons I was having lunch with had a few too many red wines with dinner. It got me thinking though: what good is a database without transactions? Earlier versions of the MySQL database engine did not support transactions, which I think is why MySQL is often the first choice when designing Web sites. As many Web sites are read-only, they do not require transactions. When you think about it though, the revenue that Microsoft makes is through the sale of licences. If all of a sudden you can access SQL Server in the cloud for only a few dollars a day, why would you buy a SQL Server licence? By making a scalable version of SQL Server available at a very low price point it allows Microsoft to upsize from the cloud version to Standard and Enterprise editions. Where do you think SQL Server in the cloud fits in based on the existing SQL Server revenue models? - Peter Ward Posted Nov 07 2008, 04:43 PM by shanetasker with no comments