At Microsoft Build in 2023 the world first heard about a new offering from Microsoft called Microsoft Fabric. Reactions to the announcement ranged from “meh” to “what is this?” To be fair, this is the typical reaction most people have when you talk data with them. Many of us had...
Book ReviewsData AnalyticsProfessional Development
Imagine you conceive an idea which will save your company millions of dollars, reduce workplace injuries, and increase sales. Now imagine company executives dislike the idea because it seems difficult to implement, and the implementation details are not well understood. Despite the stated benefits of saving money, reducing injuries, and...
The most popular feature in any application is an easy-to-find button saying "Export to CSV." If this button is not visibly available, a simple right-click of your mouse should present such an option. You really should not be forced to spend any additional time on this Earth looking for a...
This is one of those posts you write as a note to "future you", when you'll forget something, do a search, and find your own post. Recently I was working inside of Azure ML Studio and wanted to browse the sample datasets provided. Except I could not find them. I...
I am happy, honored, and humbled to receive the Microsoft Data Platform MVP award for the fifteenth (15th) straight year. Receiving the MVP award during my unforced sabbatical this summer was a bright spot, no question. It reinforced the belief I have in myself - my contributions have value. Microsoft...
After many months of editing, revising, and writing, my new book Pro SQL Server 2022 Wait Statistics: A Practical Guide to Analyzing Performance in SQL Server and Azure SQL Database is ready for print! You can pre-order here: https://amzn.to/3fQr7hz I thoroughly enjoyed this project, and I want to thank Apress...
A common software development practice is to take data from a production system and restore it to a different environment, often called "test", "development", "staging", or even "QA". This allows for support teams to troubleshoot issues without making changes to the true production environment. It also allows for development teams...
No Satya, thank you. And you're welcome. Let's do lunch next time I'm in town. This past week I received another care package from Satya Nadella. Inside was my Microsoft Data Platform MVP award for 2021-2022. I am happy, honored, and humbled to receive the Microsoft Data Platform MVP award...
My life changed twenty years ago, this very month. I was a developer, working for a small software company outside of Boston. Our product was a warehouse management system, built with PowerBuilder on top of Oracle. We had a handful of large customers helping to keep the lights on, but...
Last week I was reviewing an article and found myself needing information on the use of NOCOUNT as a standard for writing stored procedures. A quick internet search found this old post of mine, written back when I used to work for a living. Apparently, I was once asked to...
It's been a year, people. A full year of remote meetings. And honestly, it's as if you have learned nothing in that time. Remote meetings have a different dynamic that in-person meetings. I was hopeful the past year you would all come to understand this and adjust your habits accordingly. ...
Data AnalyticsDatabase DesignMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
There’s something you should know about relational databases. They were designed to store data efficiently, protecting the quality of the data written and stored to disk. I’ve written before about relational engines favoring data quality and integrity, and how relational databases were not designed for the reading of data. Of...
At this point I believe we all have a "burner" email account or two. An email account we use when an email address is required from us, but we do not trust the person making the request. In addition to using email accounts that are 20+ years old, we can...
Each year, I try to find a good book to bring with me to the beach. A few months ago, I came across Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in a Data-Driven World while doom scrolling Twitter one night. I ordered the book and did not wait for the beach...
When the initial lockdowns were starting in late March, life was a bit confusing as we adjusted. As I felt reality and routine slipping away, I reached out to the one person I knew would help make sense of it all. That person wasn't available, so a week later I...
Ask three DBAs about their preferred performance tuning methodology and you will get back seven distinct answers. I bet a pound of bacon one of the answers will be “it depends”. Of course, it depends! But on what does performance tuning depend? Context. Most performance tuning methodologies focus on tuning...
As an admin, you often get requests from developers asking for elevated permissions on servers and systems. Inside of SQL Server, this is called 'sysadmin' access. As you can imagine, it is not a good idea to give this level of access to just anyone. I thought I would write...
“We recognize and value your exceptional contributions to technical communities worldwide.” This past week I received another care package from Satya Nadella. Inside was my Microsoft Data Platform MVP award for 2020-2021. I am happy, honored, and humbled to receive the Microsoft Data Platform MVP award for the twelfth straight...
AWSAzureDatabase DesignMSSQLSQL AzureSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
There are many methods available for optimizing the performance of SQL Server. One method in particular is examining your plan cache, looking for query plan warnings. Plan warnings include implicit conversions, key or RID lookups, and missing indexes to name a few. Each of these warnings is the optimizer giving...
AzureData Security and PrivacyMSSQLSQL AzureSQL MVP
I've written before about using sqlmap to perform sql injection testing against a website. It is also possible to use sqlmap to connect directly against a database. In this post I will show you how to use sqlmap to connect directly to Azure SQL Database. Once connected you can enumerate...
At SQL Server Live last November, I demonstrated enabling SQL Audit for Azure SQL Database. During the class discussion I explained you must use Powershell to modify SQL Audit for Azure SQL Database. So, that's my post today, showing you how it is done. By default, SQL Audit for Azure...
AWSAzureCloud ComputingMSSQLSQL Server Performance
Last October I wrote a review of the Gigaom SQL Transactional Processing Price-Performance test. That post references the original data warehouse test also published by Gigaom. I believe both Gigaom reports were funded by Microsoft. I found the first report on data warehousing to be of good quality. The SQL...
For years I have written a year end post about things that didn't happen to me for the previous twelve months. This year I've decided to pivot that theme. Instead of a post all about me, it's now a post about you. Well, you and all the stupid and horrible...
My final event of the year will be Black Hat Europe in London, the first week in December. This will be my second Black Hat event; the first was this past August when me and 20,000 of my closest security professional friends invaded Las Vegas. I know it may seem...
Earlier this month Microsoft and GigaOM announced a new benchmark study comparing AWS RDS to Azure SQL Database. This study was authored by the same people that wrote the previous GigaOM data warehouse benchmark last year. I enjoyed the data warehouse study. I found it to be fair and thorough...
I've already written a post about how dashboards are a horrible way to communicate. I'm here today to remind you that your dashboards still suck. Let's start with the most recent example. This image is a useless piece of information. I'm certain somewhere there is a developer proud of how...
SQL Server performance objects are found inside the Performance Monitor tool, also known as perfmon. If you are using Performance Monitor for gathering resource metrics for SQL Server then you are familiar with a screen such as this one: You can see I have navigated to the SQL Server Plan...
Late last Friday night, Microsoft announced that it was retiring the Microsoft Professional Program. The reaction from many was a general “WTH is that anyway?” Frequent readers of this blog will recognize the program where I earned certifications in Data Science, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence. I was also just...
[caption id=”attachment_19215” align=”aligncenter” width=”600”] “We recognize and value your exceptional contributions to technical communities worldwide.”[/caption] This past weekend I received another care package from Satya Nadella. Inside was my Microsoft Data Platform MVP award for 2019-2020. I am happy, honored, and humbled to receive the Microsoft Data Platform MVP award...
AWSAzureData Security and PrivacyDatabase DesignMSSQLSQL MVP
SQL injection is a common form of data theft. I am hopeful we can make SQL injection protection more common. The 2018 TrustWave Global Security Report listed SQL Injection as the second most common technique for web attacks, trailing only cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks. This is a 38% increase from...
Building upon my earlier post, today I want to share with you the updated graphic and links for the analytics and big data services offered by Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. It is my hope that this post will be a starting guide for you when you need to...
Last year I wrote a post comparing the data services offered by both AWS and Microsoft Azure. Well, there’s been some changes since, so it was time to provide an updated graphic and links. Since both Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services offer many data services, I thought it worth...
Data Security and PrivacyDatabase DesignMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server 2017
Not a day, week, or month goes by without news of yet another data breach. And the breaches aren’t the result of some type of Mission Impossible heist. No, it’s often an unprotected S3 bucket, maybe some SQL Injection, or files left behind when relocating to a new office. Silly,...
The 28th of January is Data Privacy Day. Originally started as Data Protection Day in Europe in 2007, Data Privacy Day started here in the USA in 2008. The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) leads the effort in making this a recognized day each year. You don’t need me to...
The conservation of quantum information theory states information can neither be created nor destroyed. Stephen Hawking used this theory to explain how a black hole does not consume photons like a giant cosmic eraser. It is clear to me that neither Stephen Hawking, nor any quantum physicist, has ever worked in...
SQL MVPSQL Server 2016SQL Server 2017SQL Server Performance
At VMworld in Barcelona this year there arose a question regarding SQL Server Standard edition and if it is NUMA aware. I was certain the answer was "yes", but it was pointed out to me that the documentation says otherwise. Sure enough, here is the relevant piece of information from...
During his keynote at AWS re:Invent, Andy Jassy made some statements that seemed…questionable. Well, questionable to me, at least. Not surprising, the questionable statements focused on databases, data services, and storage. If you are interested in watching the keynote for yourself, you can see it here: https://youtu.be/ZOIkOnW640A [embed]https://youtu.be/ZOIkOnW640A[/embed] The keynote...
“Too many secrets.” – Martin Bishop One of the pivotal moments in the movie Sneakers is when Martin Bishop realizes that they have a device that can break any encryption methodology in the world. Now 26 years old, the movie was ahead of its time. You might even say the...
I’m 98% confident if you ask three data scientists to define Artificial Intelligence (AI), you will get five different answers. The field of AI research dates to the mid-1950s, and even earlier when you consider the work of Alan Turing in the 1940s. So, the phrase “AI” has lasted for...
AWSAzureCloud ComputingSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
I don’t want to alarm you, but your cloud is infested with vampires. No, not the kind who wear fashionable cloaks. I’m talking about vampire resources. These are the cloud resources you’ve created but are no longer used. Over-provisioned VMs, orphaned disks, load balancers, and whatever else you forgot about....
Cloud ComputingData Security and PrivacyDatabase DesignSQL AzureSQL MVP
The hype around blockchain technology is reaching a fever pitch these days. Visit any tech conference and you’ll find more than a handful of vendors offering blockchain. This includes Microsoft, IBM, and AWS. Each of those companies offers a public blockchain as a service. Blockchain is also the driving force...
The internet provides everyone the ability to access data at any time, for any need. Unfortunately, it does not help guarantee that the data is valid, or clean. In the past year I have earned certifications in three areas: Data Science, Big Data, and Artificial Intelligence. Those studies have provided...
Database DesignMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server 2017SQL Server Performance
First, a quick definition and example for those that don’t know what deadlocks are inside of a database. A deadlock happens when two (or more) transactions block each other by holding locks on resources each of the transactions also needs. For example: Transaction 1 holds a lock on Table...
Everyone’s pegging quantum computing as the next big thing in enterprise technology. Quantum computing is becoming as overhyped as Blockchain, if such a thing is possible. And while quantum computing does open fascinating possibilities for businesses, bringing it to reality will take some time. When that happens, quantum computing will...
I ignored the weight gain for years. I mean, I knew it was happening, I just did nothing. My clothes stopped fitting. I missed wearing my favorite shirts. But I wasn’t motivated to make a change. It was embarrassing, too. A healthy lifestyle is important to me. So important I...
Your database design is awful. The reason nobody has told you this yet is for one of two reasons: ignorance or apathy. They either don’t know it’s bad, or they don’t care. Well I care about bad designs, as I typically bear the burden of having to make queries run...
Data AnalyticsMSSQLProfessional DevelopmentSQL MVP
Frequent readers of this blog may recall last year I earned a certificate in Data Science through the Microsoft Academy and edX. I followed up with a certificate in Big Data earlier this year. Today I am happy to tell you that I am now certified in Artificial Intelligence, giving...
[caption id=”attachment_19215” align=”aligncenter” width=”600”] “We recognize and value your exceptional contributions to technical communities worldwide.”[/caption] This past weekend I received a care package from Satya Nadella. Inside was my Microsoft MVP award for 2018-2019. I am happy, honored, and humbled to receive the Microsoft MVP award for the tenth straight year. I...
A short time ago a colleague asked me where he could find a “Databases 101” guide for the non-technical professional. As it turns out, the internet is littered with information, and mis-information, regarding data and databases. This makes it difficult for someone entering the field of data and databases to...
Last week Microsoft bought GitHub and there was a flood of “the sky is falling” from the anti-Microsoft trolls as well as the typical knee-jerk reactionary type folks we find in the tech industry. It reminded me of the time four years ago when SolarWinds bought Pingdom. The day the...
(27-May-2029) “Hey Cortana, restore the Clinic database to 10:43 AM yesterday.” I don’t remember when humanity gave control to the machines. It was a gradual takeover, like black mold inside your walls. It was slow. You didn’t notice until it was everywhere you look. But here I was, a former operational...
In the past year, you may have heard me mention my certificates from the Microsoft Professional Program. One certificate was in Data Science, the other in Big Data. I’m currently working on a third certificate, this one in Artificial Intelligence. You might be wondering why a database guy would be...
SQL Server 2017 allows for the use of Python scripts called as an external script. SQL Server comes with some Python packages by default. Today I wanted to talk about adding Python packages to SQL Server 2017. To get started with Python in SQL Server 2017 we must enable the...
Just a quick note today to brag about my company, SolarWinds, and their approach to GDPR. I’m proud to work alongside a team that was able to rise to the challenges of GDPR compliance. I’ve seen companies try to ignore GDPR, pretending the rules won’t apply to them. I’ve seen...
This week at the Microsoft Build conference a new provisioning option for Cosmos DB was announced. The new option, to provision throughput for a set of containers, is a wonderful new feature. However, this meant I needed to take some time to understand Azure Cosmos DB pricing compared to DynamoDB...
For decades, a pain point for SQL Server administrators has been determining when the last known DBCC CHECKDB was run against a database. Microsoft has not exposed this information in an easily digestible format. You can find a handful of options available online for returning this information. My favorite was...
Last week, Stack Overflow acknowledge their culture issues with this post. I’m glad to see them talking about these issues publicly, and they are actively looking to make things better. Admitting you have a problem is a good first step. That post reminded me that I’ve been meaning to explore...
Data Security and PrivacyDatabase DesignMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server 2017
I noticed some MSDN forum posts regarding SQL Audit not showing the full SQL statement. To the end user, it appears that SQL Audit is truncating of SQL statements. I decided to write a quick post to help clear up the confusion for large SQL statements and how they appear in SQL Audit. No, it’s...
Data AnalyticsData Security and PrivacyMSSQLSQL Server 2017
The ability to gather meaningful data is as important as the insights the data can generate. Those insights, the end result of any data collection, is what people see and judge. The #hardtruth here is that bad data leads to bad decisions. Thus it is important to take the time...
After completing the Microsoft Professional Program for Data Science last year I made up my mind to dive into the Big Data certification next. The end of the year snuck up on me though. Time doesn’t stop. You either make time to get something done, or you don’t. When 2018 started...
If you have ever wanted to hide an instance of SQL Server, this is the post for you. Read on. When you launch SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), you see the option to connect to an instance. If desired, you have the ability to browse instances running on your network....
The conversation came out of nowhere, lasted only a few seconds, but impacted me deeply. “What do you think made him so good?” “He was very quick, and he was also very generous.” That line. That sentence fragment. It hit me. Hard. Right in the brain. And it came from an...
From Strata last year, Kurt Brown from Netflix gives a wonderful talk on how Netflix get’s the most out of their data platform. The video is 37 minutes long and worth your time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8ildV3lmoo The list is specific to Netflix, but if you want you could make your...
[UPDATED: Happy April Fool’s day folks, there is no such thing as SQL Server Buzzfeed. I do hope you were able to get a laugh or two from the headlines.] After months of work, I am excited to announce the launch of SQL Server Buzzfeed! Like any other blogger, I enjoy...
Today I wanted to detail Azure SQL Data Warehouse costs vs AWS Redshift. This post is meant to follow up on two earlier posts (Azure vs. AWS Data Services Comparison and Azure vs AWS Analytics and Big Data Services Comparison), where I outlined the different services offered. In both of those posts, you will...
Last week I wrote a post that helped visualize the different data services offered by Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS. This week I’m writing about the Azure vs. AWS Analytics and big data services comparison. This comparison took a bit longer because there are more services offered here than data...
Many people (and companies) say they are “data-driven”. Unfortunately, what that means is ”hey, I think this is true, go get the data that supports my idea. No, not that data, get the other data.” This is the common definition I see on a regular basis. If this describes you (or your company), then you are not data-driven....
Building on yesterday’s post, Azure vs. AWS Data Services Comparison, today I want to write about the Azure Cosmos DB costs vs DynamoDB and Neptune. I’m going to give an example today comparing only the NoSQL services offered by Azure and AWS. For Azure, the NoSQL service offered is Azure Cosmos DB....
Both Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services offer a lot of data services. So many services that it can be hard to comprehend how the compare without a scorecard. So, that’s what I did here, I put together a quick image to help you make sense of all the offerings current available...
I wanted to like Slack, I really did. I have been a user for years before it became mainstream somewhere around 2014 it seems. These days everyone has a Slack community. (Well, I know of one company that insists upon using Yammer, but that’s a different blog post for another...
Hey everyone, gather ‘round. We need to talk about dashboards. For C-level executives, dashboard reports are essential. Executives don’t have time to review details for every decision they make, they just want to consume a report that has red, yellow, and green to help them make decisions for the day....
Data Security and PrivacyMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server 2017
Today I was attending the Microsoft Virtual Security Summit, and they posted this poll: As you can see, 22% of the respondents believe that their organization is not impacted by the GDPR. I think that many of that 22% have their head in the sand, something I’ve written about before. I’ve seen an uptick in...
MSSQLSQL AzureSQL MVPSQL Server 2017SQL Server Performance
There I was, talking about upgrading to SQL Server 2017 at SQL Konferenz last month. Despite the title of the talk, I was not expecting such a question. But there it was: “Is SQL Server 2017 stable enough to use?” I stopped. I wanted to laugh. And scream. And cry....
Last week while I attended the Microsoft MVP Summit, I had the honor to attend sessions delivered by Pedro Lopes (blog @SQLPedro) and his Tiger team. The SQL Server Tiger team are engineers that work with customers to solve their biggest issues and will help build and deploy patches as necessary....
We’ve all been there, sitting in our cubicle, trying to migrate data from one server to another. Most of the time everything works as expected. But sometimes data migrations don’t work at all. That’s because there is more to a data migration than just the data, or database. Being able...
Data Security and PrivacyMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server 2017
The new version of SQL Server Management Studio (v17.5) brings with it a new feature: SQL Data Discovery and Classification. You might recall that in SSMS 17.4 the Vulnerability Assessment feature was added. So, that’s two new features in the last two releases. This is the beauty of de-coupling SSMS...
SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) does not offer the ability to do a schema compare between two databases. Therefore, you have two options to do a schema compare for SQL Server databases. The first is to use Visual Studio. The other is to use a 3rd party tool. However, there...
Data Security and PrivacyMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server 2016SQL Server 2017
Last month I noticed this tweet from @SQLPrincess on #sqlhelp, asking if there was a way to find out what happened to a linked server: https://twitter.com/SQLPrincess/status/956939134236426245 The short answer is that SQL Server does not track this information by default. You need to be auditing linked servers for modifications before they happen....
The Data Migration Assistant (DMA) is a great tool made available by Microsoft. Successor to the SQL Server Upgrade Advisor, the DMA will perform an assessment of your database against a target version. The DMA can also perform the migration of both schema and data, if desired. The other day...
Database DesignMSSQLSQL Server 2017SQL Server Performance
Introduced with SQL Server 2008, page and row compression are turning ten years old this year. In that time, the internet became littered with posts describing both features, how they work, the performance gains, etc. Despite digesting all of that information, a colleague asked me a very simple question those...
Data Security and PrivacyDatabase DesignMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server 2016SQL Server 2017SQL Server Performance
I love movies. I don’t know if I qualify as a movie buff, but I know I have spent a good chunk of my lifetime watching films. One of my favorite films is The Magnificent Seven. (We won’t talk about the awful remake; I like to pretend it never happened.)...
On the 25th of May of this year, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law will come into force. While many are hearing about GDPR for the first time, it has roots as far back as 1981. Named the “Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing...
Not enough people know about the Audit and Threat Detection feature in Microsoft Azure. So, I’m hoping to help spread the word today. I decided to write a post to help explain the Microsoft Azure Threat Detection types. First, you should know that it is crazy simple to enable Audit and Threat...
Data Security and PrivacyMSSQLSQL MCMSQL MVPSQL Server 2016SQL Server 2017SQL Server Performance
Last week I wrote about the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities. Today I want to show you how to check if your database server is protected against Meltdown and Spectre. Since last week I’ve seen a lot of scare tactics and knee-jerk reactions to Meltdown and Spectre. My post last week was...
The Data Migration Assistant (DMA) offers you the ability to perform a feature assessment against your SQL Server database. Built as the successor for the SQL Server Upgrade Advisor, the DMA is a valuable tool for migration projects. I’ve written before about upgrades and the use of DMA as part...
Data Security and PrivacySQL MVPSQL Server 2016SQL Server 2017SQL Server Performance
[UPDATE: I’ve written a related post on this topic that you may find useful: How to Check if Your Database Server Is Protected Against Meltdown and Spectre] You may have heard about the latest security issues with CPUs that affect Intel, AMD, and ARM processors. The attacks, named Meltdown and...
It’s that time of year again. The time when we find many “year 2017 in review”, “what to expect when you’re expecting 2018”, and “resolutions you will not follow in 2018” articles littered about the series of tubes known as the internet. It’s only natural for folks to wax nostalgic...
Last week we learned that the forum at https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/Feedback for SQL Server product feedback was being closed. Launched in 2005, Connect was the primary website for the general public to use for feedback. This was where we went to file features requests and bugs. I’m not going to tell you...
Data Security and PrivacyMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
The SQL Vulnerability Assessment (VA) feature in now available in SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio)! I blogged about this feature in Azure recently, and hinted that SQL Vulnerability Assessment Available in SSMS would be coming soon. Well, today is that day! Go here to download the latest version of SSMS. You...
Data Security and PrivacyDatabase DesignMSSQLSQL AzureSQL MVPSQL Server PerformanceVirtualization
Recently, while settling in to watch television with my family, we were treated to an amusing advertisement for a credit card company. This particular commercial showed men dressed as Vikings asking questions about the contents of my wallet. My son laughed then turned to me and asked the obvious question, “Papa,...
I’ve had a busy few months of travel. This has cut into my blogging time as well as time to play with new things. One of those things was getting started on restoring a SQL Server database on Linux using SQL Operations Studio. With the short Thanksgiving week, I set...
Last week at the annual PASS Summit I served as emcee for the Speaker Idol contest. I was a last-minute addition to the program, stepping in for Denny Cherry (blog @mrdenny) who was not able to attend. As a result, this was the first time I would attend all four Speaker...
MSSQLPASSProfessional DevelopmentSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
Every DBA wants to become an expert in query performance troubleshooting. Not every DBA is willing to put in the time and effort it takes to become an expert. The #hardtruth here is that to become an expert in anything you need a combination of two factors: experience and knowledge. You...
“Would you like a comp for the European Summit?” Lynda Rab was on the other end of the phone, offering me a free registration to the 2006 PASS European Summit in Barcelona. Lynda was on the PASS Board of Directors and could not attend the event. She was offering it...
Data Security and PrivacyMSSQLPASSSQL AzureSQL MVP
You may have noticed my recent articles have had a security focus. I wrote one about using SQL Server Audit to track changes made to jobs inside of SQL Agent. And another on the SQL Vulnerability Assessment feature in Azure. Today I’m going to write a bit about a third tool, sqlmap, an open-source penetration testing project that will help test websites for SQL injection vulnerabilities....
I don’t see a lot of questions or discussions around the use of SQL Server Audit. To me, SQL Server Audit is one of those features that doesn’t get enough love and attention. That’s why I’ve decided to take the time today to show how to use SQL Server Audit...
Last month there were a plethora of announcements coming out of Microsoft Ignite. So many announcements that it was hard to keep up with everything. James Serra (blog @JamesSerra) did a good job detailing the data platform announcements here. However, that list is only data platform announcements. Ignite had many more,...
For years The Stack was inside a desk drawer in my cubicle. It followed me from cube to cube. Consultant, programmer, developer, analyst, and then as a DBA, The Stack was there. I first met The Stack at the end of my years in Pullman, WA. I was finishing my...
This post isn’t really for you. It’s for Future Tom. A note for me to find again when I need to reset OneDrive. The other day OneDrive stopped working on my Surface Book. I bounce between my SB and my iMac throughout the day for various tasks. It was easy...
At least once a week I read or hear the familiar refrain, “SQL Server is a memory hog,” or “SQL Server uses all the memory.” If you, or anyone you know, are saying these things, I am here today to tell you something. No. Just no. Stop. Saying. This. It’s...
Book ReviewsDatabase DesignMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server PerformanceVirtualization
My friend David Klee (blog @kleegeek) recommended that I add the book VMware vSphere 6.5 Host Resources Deep Dive to my bookshelf. (Wait. Did you know I have a bookshelf? Well, now you do. It’s filled with lots of good database-centric reference material that I’ve collected over the years. Have...
I will be speaking again this year at SQL Server Live in Orlando. The event is at the Royal Pacific Resort from 12th-17th of November. It’s a great location for an event, and good for families, too. Our family spent the week there a few years ago and managed to...
As you may have heard, last week I finished the capstone project for the data science course offered through Microsoft Academy. I learned a lot of things while taking the course. Some of these things are probably not new to you. For example, I didn’t know you could select a...
I received the book Code Warriors: NSA's Codebreakers and the Secret Intelligence War Against the Soviet Union as a gift last Christmas and it ended up buried on my desk under a pile of papers, forgotten until June. When I found it again I decided to take the book with me to the beach and read while on vacation....
Data AnalyticsMSSQLProfessional DevelopmentSQL AzureSQL MVP
To be fair, it is more a case of me re-learning data science, as the concepts are familiar already. With an MS in Mathematics, I have dabbled in statistics for more than 30 years now. So when Microsoft announced they were partnering with edX to offer a certificate in Data...
The latest DB-Engines Database Rankings are available, and it shows that Microsoft continues to gain ground on Oracle/MySQL: I’ve been following the DB-Engines ranking for a few years and would encourage you to do the same. The rankings are not an exact science. You can read for yourself how...
I am happy, honored, and humbled to receive the Microsoft MVP award for the ninth straight year. I can still recall my first award and how it got caught in the company spam folder. Good times. I do my best to help others. I value people and relationships over money. I...
At some point in your career as a data professional you will need to change the default database file locations in SQL Server 2016. The default locations are set upon installation of SQL Server. During the installation process you will see the Database Engine Configuration screen: This is the best...
There are many articles available today that help data professionals prepare for job interviews. I have also written my share of articles on the subject. What I don’t see are articles that tell you how to be a good data professional once you have landed the job. That’s my goal...
Cloud ComputingSQL AzureSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
It was over three years ago that Microsoft introduced the concept of Database Transaction Units (DTUs). To those of us familiar with SQL Server and SQL Database we all had one question: what the hell is a DTU? The DTU would calculate the resources consumed and use that number to...
Data Security and PrivacyMSSQLProfessional DevelopmentSQL MVP
Last week the WannaCry ransomware made the rounds through Europe until it was inadvertently killed by a researcher. You can read more about what happened with the attack from Troy Hunt who provides a nice summary. For the past week, there has been a lot of finger-pointing about who was...
For many SQL Server professionals, emotions run deep for SQL Profiler. Ask five SQL Server professionals their thoughts about SQL Profiler versus Extended Events and you’ll get seven different opinions. If you are looking for some fun, and happen to be in a group of SQL Server professionals, just ask...
I recently finished reading The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why it Matters by Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom). I enjoyed the book and wanted to share some thoughts with you. (Or with y’all, depending on where y’all from). Frequent readers of this blog know a few things about me....
“Why are you people so miserable?” The thing about Rob Collie is that he has a way of asking the most direct questions possible in the nicest way possible. The year is 2010, and I am at TechEd in New Orleans. It’s my first day on the job for Confio. We are...
Earlier this year I received an email from Chris Yates (blog @YatesSQL). If you don’t yet know Chris or follow him on Twitter, you should. He’s a wonderful example of what I believe represents the very best of a PASS member. Chris had a very simple question: "I was hoping...
In the last post, we reviewed the options for upgrading SQL Server 2016. After upgrading SQL Server you need to perform a series of tasks to verify the databases are ready. You want to do this before the server is handed over to the end users for further testing. This post will...
In the last post, I mentioned that when upgrading SQL Server 2016 you have two options: in-place or side-by-side. With in-place upgrades, there is no need to worry about the transferring of data to a new server. Side-by-side upgrades require you to move data from one server to another. For...
In our previous post on upgrading to SQL Server 2016 we talked about the reasons you might have for wanting to upgrade. For this post, we will look at the pre-upgrade checklist items you should consider before upgrading to SQL Server 2016. After you have decided that upgrading is something you...
When discussions about upgrading to SQL Server 2016 are brought up the usual first question is this: “Why should we upgrade?” Someone, somewhere, wants to know why they should take a perfectly good system that runs just fine and make a bunch of changes. There exist many valid reasons to...
Database DesignMSSQLSQL AzureSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
I’ve talked before about examining the contents of a DACPAC using the built in ‘Unpack…’ command as shown here: Unpacking the DACPAC will allow for me to see the contents: Until recently I did not think it possible to view the contents of a BACPAC file. Last month at SQL Bits an attendee reminded me about...
There are a lot of moving parts to any application system. One such moving part is the creation and dependence upon the use of linked servers inside of SQL Server. These linked servers give users the ability to write queries as if the data was local by referencing a four-part...
Data Security and PrivacyFeaturedMSSQLSQL AzureSQL MVP
Last week while at SQLBits I attended a session titled SQL Server/Azure Engineering Model given by Conor Cunningham from Microsoft. During the talk, Conor announced that there was an update to the SQL Server 2016 privacy statement. Conor is hoping that this update will help clear up any confusion for...
Last week I found this question about KPIs on #sqlhelp Anyone have any good KPI's for DBA's? Our director wants us to come up with some Key Performance Indicators. Any articles? #sqlhelp — SS7 (@sqlsurfer7) February 28, 2017 It’s a great question, and there is no right answer here. I...
One time, at a company I heard about, there was a development team having issues connecting to one of the SQL Server database servers. The DBAs were called to investigate, they reviewed the instance and found nothing different than any of the hundreds of SQL Server instances they managed. The developers...
You shouldn’t be running unpatched versions of SQL 2000. That’s what you need to know. First reported back in 2002, the SQL Slammer virus caught fire in January of 2003, and spread worldwide. It wasn’t much more than a nuisance—it propagated itself and brought networks to a crawl. The worm...
MSSQLProfessional DevelopmentSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
What does a DBA do all day? It is clear to me that no one, except for database administrators, has any idea: What do DBAs do — SwiftOnSecurity (@SwiftOnSecurity) April 21, 2016 I’ve read many articles over the years that help people understand tasks involved for the DBA role. I’ve written a few...
This Tuesday will mark the 45th anniversary of the day that Jerry Neal Schneider became a household name. Wait, you’ve never heard of him? OK, let me recap events for those of you that may not be old enough to remember everything that led to Schneider’s arrest on February 8th,...
Data Security and PrivacyDatabase DesignMSSQLSQL AzureSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
All too often, we data professionals are our own nemesis when it comes to handling data and data management. Many data professionals and system administrators fail to recognize that the danger in our own habits increases the risk that the business will fall short of its goals. The danger may not...
I will be presenting at SQL Konferenz in Darmstadt, Germany next month, marking my fourth consecutive trip to Germany. I enjoy the event and visiting Darmstadt, home of the European Space Agency. (Canada is a member despite not being in Europe and they say Americans are geographically challenged but whatevs). This...
Data is the most critical asset that you, or any company, owns. Without data, your company would cease to exist. All that hardware you bought? Yeah, that’s just there to help data get from one place to another faster. It’s all about the data, so you’d better treat it right....
It’s that time of year again. The time when we find many “year 2016 in review”, “what to expect when you’re expecting 2017”, and “resolutions you will not follow in 2017” articles littered about the series of tubes known as the internet. It’s only natural for folks to wax nostalgic...
Last year I blogged about a script that Karen López (blog @datachick) and I wrote together to help you determine if you were running out of SQL Server identity values. In the past year we have shared the script with attendees of our many sessions on database design. Along the way we have...
Last week at SQL Live I gave a talk “Configuring SQL Server like a Microsoft Certified Master”. It’s a session Tim Chapman (blog @chapmandew) and I built previously and I’ve made an effort to keep updated. I remember we wanted to call it “Configuring SQL Server Like a Boss”, but thought it boring...
I've written before about how databases are like a car engine, and DBAs are like a car mechanic. That's been the traditional view for production DBAs for, well, forever I think. And that analogy may have been true at one time, and may still be true for some DBAs. But the...
This past Wednesday at Microsoft Connect(); Scott Guthrie announced the public preview of SQL Server on Linux. I was fortunate enough to have access to the early bits of SQL Server on Linux during the private preview phase, and was also given a tour of SQL Server vNext during the Microsoft MVP...
So, here we go again, it’s time for the annual Microsoft MVP Summit. Well, I said ‘annual’, but sometimes we do it twice in a year, but it’s OK because we just put an R2 at the end of the event name to avoid confusion with the other annual Summits....
[caption id=”attachment_17523” align=”aligncenter” width=”479”] Crosstown traffic, all you do is slow me down. And I got better things on the other side of town.[/caption] Rush hour traffic. We have all, at one point in our lives, been stuck in car traffic. For many of us this happens during rush hour, that...
One of the shiny new features in SQL Server 2016 is Always Encrypted. I think Always Encrypted is a great addition to SQL Server (and Azure SQL Database) and a step in the right direction for data security. The last data security feature added to SQL Server was Transparent Data...
The past two years I have noticed a development trend for monitoring tools. Vendors are starting to market their tools as using predictive analytics in order to make our workdays a bit easier. Many of these predictive analytic monitoring designs are based upon machine learning algorithms that have become readily accessible. Machine...
You may think you're cool, but you'll never be 'Steve McQueen driving a Ferrari at Le Mans' cool. Last week I received an email from my friend Mike Walsh (blog | @mike_walsh), who commented on the look and feel of this blog as well as the general content. Mike and...
The IT industry has a long-term memory disorder. This disorder is the result of IT workers getting on in years and suffering from other common memory disorders. I say these things because I see how IT likes to recycle the same ideas every ten years or so. I’ve also noticed that these...
Cloud ComputingMSSQLSQL AzureSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
I’ve been working with Microsoft Azure SQL Database on and off for more than six years now. Over that time a mistake I continue to see with Microsoft Azure SQL Database deployments is how users don’t think of it as a distinct platform from SQL Server. They view Microsoft Azure SQL Database as any other...
A database disaster is going to happen to everyone at some point. If you haven’t had one yet, just give it time. I am here today to share my FOOLPROOF method that allows you and your business to SURVIVE any database disaster: Have backups. This isn’t rocket surgery folks. The key to surviving...
With the release of SQL Server 2016 there will be a wave of upgrades happening over the next twelve months. I’ve written before about upgrading SQL Server and today I wanted to talk about something special to consider when upgrading. Trace flags. Trace flags change the default behavior for queries inside of...
I like having a routine. Most people do, I suppose. There’s some comfort in knowing what lies ahead, what comes next. This is also true for when you need to restore the master database in SQL Server 2016. The same holds true for restoring the master database in SQL Server...
Today is the day that SQL Server 2016 will officially launch. I’ve been using SQL 2016 since some of the early CTP builds last year and I love the direction that Microsoft is headed with their entire data platform. I’m not just saying that because I’m a fanboi, either. I...
It all started with a simple question. “What’s a table?,” my nine-year-old daughter asked me during a session I was giving at SQL Saturday #184. Now, being my daughter, I know that she has the innate ability to ask questions just for the sake of being difficult. But in this...
Years ago Red Auerbach was asked which player he would draft first, Bill Russell or Larry Bird. Red thought it over and decided that Russell was the better choice because “he would get you the ball”. Then, after thinking a bit more about this decision, Red added “then I’d trade...
[caption id=”attachment_17355” align=”aligncenter” width=”500”] Image courtesy of Michael J. Swart: http://michaeljswart.com/[/caption] The Internet is an angry place. Lots of angry people, arguing with strangers over useless topics, or blaming former executives about things that they cannot fix. So many people trying to show that they are the smartest person in...
I see the phrase ‘accidental administrator’ and even ‘accidental architect’ often in our industry. At some point in our career we get put in charge of things we don’t own at first much in the same way as when your neighbor goes on vacation and asks you to look after...
I am happy, honored, and humbled to receive the Microsoft MVP award for the eight straight year. Having April 1st as your renewal date is a mixed bag. I can still recall my first award and how it got caught in the company spam folder, meaning I didn’t get my...
Last week Microsoft had their #datadriven event to kick off the launch of SQL Server 2016. If you haven’t heard about the announcements such as ”data is the new electricity” and SQL Server on Linux then I can only imagine you are either (1) living in a shack in Montana or...
Database servers have a lot of moving parts, as do the applications built on top of any database platform. That’s why when it comes time to rebuild a server, or migrate systems to use new servers, it can be difficult to get everything correctly configured the first time through. As...
At some point in our lives we have lost or misplaced our car keys. It seems to be a right of passage for most and a daily ritual for others. But at the end of the day we know that, if needed, we can get a new key made. The...
I’ve been working with SQL Server since what seems like forever ++1. The truth is I haven’t been a production DBA in more than 6 years (I work in marketing now, in case you didn’t know). That means I will soon hit a point in my life where I will be...
Many a system administrator has been faced with the task of rebooting a server during the middle of the working day. This timing is the least desired option, as server reboots are often done during off-hours and weekends. But there are times when reboots are needed during the day. Reboots during the...
Last week while building out some labs for my upcoming session at SQL Saturday Austin, I noticed this screen during the installation of SQL Server 2016 CTP3 (the green markers are mine, obviously): Seeing this got me all kinds of excited! Enabling ‘perform volume maintenance’ is one of the post-install...
I love how Azure SQL Database keeps adding new features on a frequent basis. And while they maintain a good list of new features being added, every now and then something slips under the radar for me. Here’s an example of something I came across for Azure SQL Database V12...
It’s that time of year again. The time when we find many “year-2015-in-review”, “what-to-expect-when-you’re-expecting-2016”, and “resolutions-you-will-not-follow-in-2016” articles littered about the series of tubes known as the internet. It’s only natural for folks to wax nostalgic as 2015 fades into the sunset one final time. I, however, have never been one...
The movie Elf came out in 2003 and every time I watch it I enjoy it more and more. It’s one of those movies where everything just works. It’s a silly story, brought to life by silly people, and told in a silly way. I can’t help but smile when...
When I am delivering my session “Database Design: Size DOES Matter” at events around the world I will ask about the use of SQL Server identity values. My question comes in two parts, the first being “Do you use identity values” followed by “do you know how many you have left”? Many people...
MSSQLProfessional DevelopmentSQL MVPSQL Server Performance
Four years ago I wrote about the DBA Plate, which was a reference to the food plate that replaced the food pyramid right about the time the U.S. Congress declared pizza to be a vegetable. I had every intention of keeping the plate updated annually but never got around to...
As I mentioned yesterday, during the PASS Summit keynote I held up a placard that said #SQLFamily on one side and ‘Hug Me’ on the other. I suddenly realized that this was creating a hug bottleneck of sorts because (1) there is only one sign (and it’s mine, don’t bother asking)...
Well, here we are, another PASS Summit behind us. Each Summit is special to me, in different ways. It’s like having children; you love each of them but for different reasons and in different ways. This year marked my second, and final, year as PASS President. Along with the usual...
Earlier this week I saw this post from Chris Webb (blog | @technitrain) regarding a session he is delivering at the upcoming PASS Summit. When I read the abstract there was one section that jumped out at me (emphasis mine): If you’ve been to PASS Summit before, you know that social...
The air is getting colder, I’m seeing pumpkins on the front steps, and the PASS Summit is happening at the end of the month. Together that can mean only one thing: It’s time for the PASS Summit preview! In less then three weeks I will head to Seattle to attend my twelfth consecutive PASS...
Database DesignMSSQLSQL MVPSQL Server PerformanceVirtualization
I’ve stated before that great database performance starts with great database design. So, if you want a great database design you must find someone with great database experience. But where does a person get such experience? We already know that great judgment comes from great experience, and great experience comes...
Today I want to officially announce the IS [NOT] NULL newsletter. You may have seen me mention the IS [NOT] NULL newsletter on Twitter and Facebook in previous weeks but today I want to show off the shiny new landing page, built by the Business Betties. I’ve mentioned before that...
I wanted to take a moment to give you some updates on a few things related to this blog. First up, you may have noticed things look a bit different here. The blog has been redesigned. In fact, it’s not really a blog anymore. It’s a real website that just...
DBAs get paid for performance but we keep our jobs with recovery. Being able to recover data is the most important job function you have as a DBA. If you can’t recover your data because database backups are missing, or corrupt, then you should consider a new line of work. The...
Did you know table and index statistics are the most important piece of metadata for your database? The reason for this has to do with how SQL Server (and other database engines) build query execution plans. The query optimizer builds an execution plan based upon the statistical data available at...
Last week I was visiting the SolarWinds home office in Austin and hanging with my fellow Head Geeks. Our conversations often cover a wide range of topics and at times even turn into teaching lessons for each other. I get to learn about networks, storage, virtualization, monitoring, etc. and I...
As a parent of two soon-to-be-asking-for-the-car-keys tweens, I came across this post the other day and found it struck a chord with me. I’ve gotten the eye-rolls from my daughter for everything on that list by now. My son is younger but I am certain he will also hit a point where everything on...
I had a question come up last week from someone that wanted to know a few basic facts about their SQL Server backups for audit purposes. The facts they wanted were straightforward: Who took the backup? When was it taken? Where was it written? Simple questions that are answered with a...
Friction. It’s all around us. You might say friction is what makes the world go ‘round. A constant battle between irresistible forces meeting immovable objects. In the end, something gives. Here in New England we see examples of friction each winter in the form of ice dams on the edge...
I wrote a post recently about troubleshooting connectivity for endpoints on Microsoft Azure VMs. The day the post went out I was greeted with this tweet: http://t.co/Ww3MyYjwPu right on time context post for me @SQLRockstar tx sir. Need to see on ports for my #linux vms with #mysql running :) —...
Last week was the inaugural Microsoft Ignite conference, or as I like to call it: Microsoft TechEd R2. It took place in Chicago and I was fortunate enough to have my company (SolarWinds) send me to work our booth on the exhibit hall floor. I won’t bother you with a...
In just a few weeks’ time I will travel to Vancouver to attend a PASS Board of Directors meeting. During that meeting the Board will hold our biennial officer elections. I wanted to take a brief moment of your time today to discuss these elections. I will spare you the...
It was a simple enough question, or so I thought. One I felt should be either a simple “yes” or “no”. “Do we block remote desktop connections here?” Sure enough, I got back the quick and simple answer I expected, along with a question for myself. “Nope. We don’t block...
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend Enterprise Data World in Washington DC. I was not just at EDW as an attendee, I was also presenting two sessions. Since it was my first EDW that meant I had no idea what to expect either as an attendee or as a presenter. On...
This week I will be attending Enterprise Data World in Washington, DC. I’m excited to have been given the opportunity to present not one but TWO sessions at the premiere data management conference in the world. On Wednesday, April 1st, I will be presenting a session titled “Designing For Performance or How...
For years I have found myself often needing these three pieces of information with regards to SQL Server: When was the last time the server was restarted? When was the last time the SQL instance was restarted? When was the last time the SQL Server wait stats were cleared? If the server itself...
When you create a database in SQL Server and do not specify a file location for your data and log files SQL Server will rely on the default database file locations as defined in the server properties. You can see these properties for yourself by right-clicking on the instance name...
I love learning new things. I feel like a kid again at times, my eyes get wide as I imagine new possibilities using whatever things it is I have found. This is how I felt last week when I came across a feature of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) that...
I found this question over at DBA StackExchange the other day and it left me shaking my head. How is it possible that there is no way to automatically recycle, or reset, the SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) error log in a similar manner to SQL Server? After all, it’s...
Microsoft SQL Server comes with a boatload of additional components. One component is the SQL Agent service. The purpose of the SQL Agent is to serve as a job scheduler. Many experienced DBAs use jobs running inside the SQL Agent to perform routine tasks such as backups, updating statistics, and rebuilding...