Do we want our CPU, for example, at 100% all the time? Logically it would make sense that you would use every last resource in some way, like a master chef who throws all is scraps into a stock pot instead of throwing them in the garbage like you might do at home.

And yet, it doesn’t make sense to be at 100% all of the time. So what number should we think about as a target? 80%? 90%?

What is the magic number for our consolidated servers and CPU usage? Does one even exist, or am I going to get back a bunch of adult diapers (“it Depends”) for responses?

The post How Much CPU Is Enough? appeared first on Thomas LaRock.

For same server restores you do not have this issue, but when restoring from prod to test, for example, you will find that the sid’s do not match and thus you either need to resynch the users or to drop/add.

Our solution right now is to capture the syslogins every night using OpsMgr and pump the data to a warehouse. We also do a sp_helplogins on each login and pump that information to our warehouse. So, if our objects are being given grants to database roles as opposed to users (and the roles have the same names in all environments), then our resynch is as easy as pressing a button.

With SQL2008 out as well as the use of Powershell these days I thought it might be time to revisit how resynchs are being done. I am thinking ours needs some updating.

The post User Resynch appeared first on Thomas LaRock.

Before I get started on a rant let’s focus on the question this week: What movie story would you like to see have a prequel? I often think about re-casting movies or casting television shows as movies, but I have only recently started to think about prequels. Here is my brief list:

• Star Wars, but this time done in a way that doesn’t leave me feeling empty inside
• The Karate Kid (imagine a young Mr. Miyagi growing up in Okinawa)
• Roadhouse (who wouldn’t want to see a young Dalton bouncing at a bar while in High School?)

If I am certain of one thing in life it is that whatever studio decides to make the Karate Kid prequel is the same studio that is going to be given a license to print their own money.

The post The Story Before the Story appeared first on Thomas LaRock.

The post Careful What You Go Looking for appeared first on Thomas LaRock.

But then I saw the date was from October, so chances are this was not Jenny but someone else that is slightly off-center.

And before I forget: Happy Birthday to Andy Leonard and Paul Randal. I’ll make sure to drop your cards in the mail today, so don’t call 911 just yet.

The post The Check Is In The Mail appeared first on Thomas LaRock.

The question I pose to you this week is quite simple: who do you trust the most when you are given statistics to back up an argument?

Consider the fine example to the left. While technically true, it really is useless, right? You have no other information or details to review. You are simply told that “statistics show” something, as if that should be enough for you to decide for yourself.

Another example that I see all the time is how public corporations will publish their earnings and compare themselves to the same quarter a years ago. So, you may see something like “earning were down 10% compared to a year ago”. But what you rarely ever see are some follow up facts, such as “a year ago earnings were through the roof and we made twenty billion dollars”. If you knew that a year ago the company was making record earnings you might not be worried about the 10% this time around.

So, how often do you ask for the finer details? And when listening to people give presentations or make arguments, how often do you follow-up on the facts? And when people are trolling through your databases, slicing and dicing their way in some data mining effort, how willing are you to trust their final analysis?

The post Statistics Versus Common Sense appeared first on Thomas LaRock.

So I looked out the window and did not see anything and then I started to think that maybe if someone did start Armageddon they probably would not bother to send out an email press release. I would think they would start by appearing on Fox News and then start the email chain going.

It has been several hours since I got the email and still no sign of the apocalypse. Todays question will therefore be: Did Armageddon really start and if so, why can I not see it?

The post Really? Because I looked outside my window and don’t see anything yet. appeared first on Thomas LaRock.