The problem with SQL Azure is that it’s not named SQL Azure. It used to be named SQL Azure, but in May of 2012 Microsoft announced that after 2 years of branding efforts they were going to put all their eggs into the Windows Azure basket. In doing so, SQL Azure became known as SQL Database. … Read more
I’m throwing my money away. I know I am, and yet I still do it. It’s not a lot of money though. See, I pay for a services bundle (phone, internet, cable television) from the one-and-only provider for my town and I’m certain that I am not using every possible feature. For example, I have … Read more
In 2013, right before I was helping to deliver a precon seminar at TechEd on Windows Azure SQL Database, Microsoft made available the ability for customers to use virtual machines running in Windows Azure. This allowed for users to run on-premises version of SQL Server but have the instance hosted in the cloud. The natural … Read more
I’ve written before about interviewing a Database Administrator (DBA) and general hiring techniques. I’ve talked about how an interview should be a conversation, not a trivia contest. I always describe the interview process as being a lot like being on a blind date. You shouldn’t be looking to stump someone during an interview. Memorization of obscure facts such … Read more
In my seven years as a production DBA I can count on one hand the number of times I have needed to restore the master database as a result of a disaster. With over 180 instances of SQL Server in our care I believe that is a large enough sample size making it safe to … Read more
You sit down at your desk. It’s 9:10AM and your coffee is still warm. There is a smell of bacon in the air. Suddenly your phone rings. The trading system is down. The time for quick thinking is now. Where would you begin to troubleshoot this scenario? A lot of people will reach for the biggest … Read more
