Archives for March 2011

March 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

SQL Server auditing slides and recording now available at http://ping.fm/BK9yp … [Read more...]

https://kevinekline.com/15191-2/

Filed Under: Uncategorized
March 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

So much travel ahead. After sqlsat 63 in Dallas, I've got two weeks in Europe >> SQLBits >> Dublin >> Cologne >> Malmo. … [Read more...]

https://kevinekline.com/15192-2/

Filed Under: sqlbits, sqlsat

How Do You SKU?

March 25, 2011 by 3 Comments

I’d like your opinion here. Follow my logic here for a moment as I walk through a couple rhetorical questions.  Have you ever had a friend developed an application entirely on SQL Server Developer Edition?  (Not that YOU would ever do such a thing, but maybe you know someone who has. Right?) And has your friend’s IT department actually deployed said application only to discover that they’re only licensed for Standard Edition in their production environment?  And then was your friend’s IT management team is horrified to learn that they’ve either got to go through the very expensive process … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Databases, Opinion, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , , ,

How Much Data is a Lot of Data?

March 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It's always interesting to see the guestimations of the big brains about figures and facts that are hard to verify.  Here's an example - how much data is computerized today?  I'm not talking about ancient stuff, like the Codex Synaticus (which, incidentally IS on-line at www.codexsinaiticus.org).  I’m talking about the new and really important stuff, like the fourteen pictures that my step-daughter posted on her FaceBook account from our recent trip to Rock City. Well, IDC figured that overall digital data was up to 1.2Zb (Zetabytes!)  at the end of 2010.  My mind is boggling.  Ok, so that's … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Databases, NoSQL, Opinion, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication, Trends Tagged With: , ,

Innovation and Invention: Whose Method Is Best?

March 22, 2011 by 1 Comment

There are a lot of reasons why I love The Economist magazine and pay over $100 per year for a subscription.  First of all, it summarizes all of its news articles, big and small, in the first 4-5 pages of the magazine.  Don't have time to read the entire issue?  No problem, how does 20 minutes work for you?  Second, it reports news from around the world as if the rest of the world actually matters, whereas every American news magazine I read looks at the rest of the world as an afterthought.  You probably know me well enough to know that I travel internationally at least a couple times each … [Read more...]

Filed Under: On-Line Resources, Professional Development, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , ,

Wednesday Quest: Power GUI Integration

March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Two tools that I really like are PowerGUI, a tool to take all the hard work out of PowerShell scripting, available in both free and paid versions from Quest Software.  You can also get PowerGUI extensions for Visual Studio for free from CodePlex. Another tool I really like is PowerWF.  PowerWF is a really cool visual workflow builder that creates PowerShell scripts for you.  Turns out that it integrates with PowerGUI! This video shows 2 different ways that PowerWF Workflows can be run from within Quest Software's PowerGUI tool. Watch the Video - Download PowerWF Enjoy! -Kev … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cool Technologies, Opinion, Tips & Tricks, Tool Time Tagged With: , ,

Wednesday Quest: Exciting New Community for Users of Toad for SQL Server

March 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Join the Toad for SQL Server Community! I was just bragging about how Toad for SQL Server keeps getting better.  In that post, I also pointed out a lot of great resources you can put to work immediately on improving your skills with this great tool.  (Incidentally, there's a freeware version without all of the features, but it's still quite useful.  And you can always use the beta product, if you want all of the features and many new features that are undergoing community testing.) One of the reasons that Toad is so good is that it's always been a community-driven product.  Back when I … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cool Technologies, Databases, On-Line Resources, SQL Server, Tool Time Tagged With: , , , , ,

Wednesday Quest: New Product Training and Documentation

March 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Product documentation and product training are two areas where our customers consistently press us to improve...and one we take if very seriously. Bold Claims One of my favorite tools in the Quest Software toolbox for SQL Server (and Oracle) DBAs is called Foglight Performance Analysis, or more commonly, PA.  This product can do things that no other tool or amount of customized scripts can ever reproduce.  I am dead serious about this claim. To find out more, navigate to www.quest.com/foglight-performance-analysis-for-sql-server and click on "Key Product Documents".  You'll then be taken … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Cool Technologies, Performance, SQL Server, Tool Time Tagged With: , , ,

Integrating Workload Replays into Database Change Management

March 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I would like to make you aware of a recently written paper by Bert Scalzo.  The paper focuses on how DBAs can rely on the Toad and Benchmark Factory to perform database workload replays, ensuring that changes to the databases do not degrade the user experience. White Paper: Integrating Workload Replays into Database Change Management I encourage you to read the paper and make workload replay a part of your database change management practices.  As I’ve been saying for years, if you don’t have quantitative evidence of what normal is for your database, how can you know what is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Challenges, Cool Technologies, Databases, Opinion Tagged With: , , , , , ,