Ever try to troubleshoot something that doesn’t really exist?
I think this virtualization thing is here to stay, I really do, but the trouble I see people having with virtualization is that they don’t know where the bottleneck truly lies. There are so many layers involved that most standard troubleshooting techniques fall short. Just think for [...]
Since I wrote just last week about interview questions for a DBA, I came across this article and wanted to share it here also. I don’t believe that an interview should be a trivia contest. These questions aren’t about knowing a trivial piece of information. They are (probably) designed to illicit a response that helps [...]
In Seattle this week, so naturally coffee is on the menu and I felt the need to share the following information:
Caffeine is “technically” lethal, but you would have to drink an insane amount to have a 50% chance of death
There is no reason to ever stop drinking coffee because it is pure awesome
Caffeine helps improve your [...]
Because the answers might surprise you.
An interview should be a conversation, not a trivia contest. I’m not looking to stump someone during an interview. I don’t need for my DBA to know obscure facts such as database mirroring is only supported starting with SQL 2005 SP1.
Memorizing such facts does not mean that you will handle [...]
I’m normally not one to advocate the use of the Database Engine Tuning Advisor (DETA), a tool available inside of Microsoft SQL Server. (To be fair, I’m not a fan of the SQL Tuning Advisor from Oracle, either.) But I recently came across a little nugget of information that I wanted to share with you regarding [...]
“Signs point to yes.” – Magic 8-Ball prophecy
You have probably heard this line at one point, the one that says “the best DBAs are the ones you never see or hear?” I used to think that was a result of some sketchy personal hygiene choices and later on understood it to mean that if everything [...]