SQL Server Migration Roll-Up

May 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

There are so many great tools out there for data professionals using Microsoft SQL Server.  I really like to see all of these great tools made free to the public.  On the other hand, I'm bummed that the tools are cast about in a very decentralized fashion. If you haven't done migrations before, you might want to start with these good white papers first. Here are a hand full of cool migration tools worth mentioning: Microsoft SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) for MySQL: Migrate from MySQL to SQL Azure or SQL Server with ease.  Plus, here are a few related Knowledge Base (KB) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Challenges, Databases, On-Line Resources, Performance, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication, Tips & Tricks, Tool Time, Transact-SQL Programming, Virtualization Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Business Intelligence Careers SearchSQLServer.com Interview

April 29, 2011 by 1 Comment

I had a very interesting conversation recently with a good friend of mine.  She's at the top of her game as a first class enterprise DBA in a major medical institution.  She was interested in my career advice because she'd recently received an unsolicited invitation for a higher paying job in the business intelligence (BI) field.  While I won't talk much more about the specifics of that conversation, it's not a unique conversation.  In fact, I gave an interview to SearchSQLServer.com a while back about how DBA career paths are more and more leading into an even better paying career in business … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Databases, Opinion, Professional Development, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , , , , ,

SQL People Interview

April 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Many thanks to Microsoft SQL Server MVP Andy Leonard (blog | twitter) for conducting a series of interviews of prominent SQL Server types, including me.  The interview found here. ~~~ Enjoy! -Kev Twitter at kekline More content at http://KevinEKline.com … [Read more...]

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

Toad for SQL Gets 5 Diamonds from SQL Server Magazine

April 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The Toad for SQL Server review that was recently conducted for SQL Server Magazine was published online – and we got 5 out of 5 diamonds! This is an improvement from the 4.5/5 stars Michael Campbell gave the product in a 2009 review. The review is very positive, with Michael citing the product’s highly customizable management and development solution, and writes that it “one-ups SSMS by including server, schema, and data comparison tools, a log reader, and a wide assortment of other options, capabilities, and utilities.” See the full review below or by clicking the link here: Toad for … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cloud, Databases, NoSQL, SQL Server, TCD blog post Tagged With: , , ,

Free Webcast Series: Patterns and Practices in Database Administration

April 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

SSWUG.ORG’s virtual webcasts will prepare the “Accidental DBA” for patterns and practices they will experience in their role as a database administrator. I will provide easy-to-understand insights and realistic examples for professionals who have not had any formal DBA training. By the end of our four-part series, you should have the information needed to get up to speed on database planning, administration and performance tuning basics. Session Descriptions In the first session, you will see what is needed to fulfill the role of a (Database Administrator) DBA by learning more about what … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Challenges, Databases, Presentations, Professional Development, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , , , , , ,

And the winner of the SQLBits8 Pub Quiz is… [drumroll please]

April 18, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Wow - what a great trip through Europe!  SQLBits8 was in beautiful and sunny Brighton, which everyone local to the area assures me that it's not usually either.  The crowd was large and enthusiastic. We did two rollickin' fun lunch time vendor sessions, one being the SQL Pub Quiz.  (I'll tell you about the other one tomorrow in a separate blog post).  We used a bingo pub quiz approach and, I have to say, a form of bingo I'd never before seen in my life.  We managed to extract quite a bit of fun out of it any way, presentation hiccups and all. Our giveaway winners were Mark Dodd (at top) … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conferences, Databases, Presentations, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , ,

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: , ,

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: , , , , ,

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: , , , , , ,
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