Machine Learning and the Microsoft Data Platform

October 24, 2017 by Leave a Comment

MACHINE LEARNING AND THE MICROSOFT DATA PLATFORM If you're into data and databases and you have not heard the term "machine learning," may I suggest that you're not reading enough? This technology is hot and hyped, largely because it is the secret ingredient in many successful Big Data projects. Learn more. READ MORE... Originally Posted January 07, 2016 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Business Analytics, Cloud, Cool Technologies, DBTA, On-Line Resources, SQL Server Tagged With: , , ,

The SQL Sentry forum for SQL Statement Tuning

February 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment

The SQL Sentry forum for SQL Statement Tuning Have you ever looked at our community site specifically dedicated to helping users tune their SQL queries, http://answers.SQLPerformance.com? You can easily upload an execution plan directly from our free Plan Explorer tool or from good ol' SQL Server Management Studio to the discussion forum.  Once uploaded, our internal team and forum members will provide plenty of tips and input on how to improve the plan and/or explain what the plan is actually doing.  The renown SQL execution plan expert, Paul White (b|t), is the moderator of the site. But … [Read more...]

Filed Under: On-Line Resources, Performance, SQL Server, SQLMag, Tips & Tricks, Transact-SQL Programming Tagged With: , ,

IT Pro Events & Free Stuff for the Central USA – Jan 2015

January 8, 2015 by 2 Comments

Central USA IT Pro Community News – Jan 2015 There are lots of free, in-person and virtual events happening in the central USA over the next few weeks. Don't miss out on training, ebooks, and other goodies! Upcoming Events Jan 10th – Kansas City – SharePoint Saturday Jan 14th – Online – A lap around Azure Websites Jan 15th – Detroit – BDPA Tech Meetup Jan 17th - Nashville - SQLSaturday #363 I'll be presenting two sessions at this event, along with many of the industry's leading experts. Come join us! Jan 19 – Detroit – Microsoft Web Camp Jan 19 – Chicago – Microsoft … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conferences, On-Line Resources, PASS, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication, TCD blog post Tagged With: , , , ,

DBTA – Tools to Evaluate Viability of Database Platforms

January 5, 2015 by 2 Comments

As the manager for enterprise architecture in a very large IT organization, the C-suite executives frequently posed the question, "What database platform is best for this application today and for the future?" Implicit in that question was the idea that some platforms, for the application and for the database, might be more than adequate today but be trending in a direction that didn't match with our executive's goals. So what's a person supposed to recommend under those dynamics? Read the rest of the article … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Challenges, Cool Technologies, Databases, DBTA, On-Line Resources, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication, TCD blog post Tagged With: , ,

What Are the Most Common Failures in Windows, SharePoint and SQL Server Alerting Systems?

September 22, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Since the introduction of IT alerting systems a couple decades ago, everyone followed a very simple template. You'd first define the metric or condition that the alerting system observes, followed by the response or action that the system should perform when the specified value of the metric is exceeded (sometimes called a threshold or trigger). When triggered, alert responses might include the execution of a program or the notification to a user via e-mail, Short Message Service (SMS), or some other method. The promise of alerting is that it makes it possible for people to keep up with the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Challenges, On-Line Resources

Third Party Applications and Other Acts of Violence Against Your SQL Server

August 12, 2014 by 3 Comments

I just got finished reading a great blog post from my buddy, Thomas LaRock (t | b), in which he describes a useful personal policy he used to track changes made to his SQL Servers when installing third-party products. Note that I'm talking about line-of-business applications here - your inventory management systems and help desk ticketing apps. I'm not talking about monitoring and tuning applications since they, by their very nature, need a different sort of access to your back-end server resources. (Full disclosure: both Tom and I currently work for different tools vendors. But we're both … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Databases, On-Line Resources, SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: ,

Top 10 DBA Mistakes on SQL Server

April 9, 2014 by 1 Comment

  Hear one of my most popular session via streaming media at SQLSentry.TV! Microsoft SQL Server is easier to administrate than any other relational database on the market.  But “easier than everyone else” doesn’t mean it’s easy.  And it doesn’t mean that database administration on SQL Server is problem free.  And since SQL Server is constantly growing from small, home-grown applications, many IT professionals end up encountering issues that others had tackled and solved years ago.  Why not learn from those who first blazed the trails of database administration, so that we don’t make … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Challenges, Contests, Databases, IO, IT Horror Stories, On-Line Resources, Performance, Presentations, SQL Server, SQLMag, Tips & Tricks, Video

Amazingly Useful SQL Server Articles on SQLPerformance.com

March 3, 2014 by 2 Comments

Me and Aaron Bertrand, SQL Sentry flagbearers. One of the things we've been working on at SQL Sentry is building up institutional knowledge for the SQL Server community. There are three main ways that we're doing that on-line: Hard-core tech articles on SQLPerformance.com, edited by long-time SQL Server MVP Aaron Bertrand ( b | t ). Helping tune tough SQL Server transactions on Answers.SQLPerformance.com for free. Streaming videos at SQLSentry.TV. In addition, our monthly eNews newsletter keeps you up to date on all the latest happenings on all of these websites. Please subscribe! … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Architecture, On-Line Resources, Performance, SQL Server, SQLMag, Transact-SQL Programming Tagged With: , , , , ,

Wait Statistics in SQL Server

October 9, 2013 by 3 Comments

When it comes to troubleshooting in relational databases, there's no better place to start than wait statistics.  In a nutshell, a wait statistic is an internal counter that tells you how long the database spent waiting for a particular resource, activity, or process.  Since wait statistics are categorized by type, one look will quickly tell the variety of problem that needs your attention, assuming you know meaning for Microsoft's lingo for each wait type. (As an aside, wait stats were implemented in the earliest days of relational database computing because the early RDBMSes ran on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Databases, On-Line Resources, Performance, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: , , , , ,

New Windows and SQL Azure Resources for the IT Pro

September 17, 2013 by 1 Comment

Thanks to Microsoft DPE for the Central Region, Keith Mayer (blog | twitter), for these great tips! Windows 8.1 RTM and Windows Server 2012 R2 RTM bits available on MSDN and TechNet subscription sites. This is the version I'm waiting for since it fully preserves the Start menu. Note that updates are expected between RTM, now, and GA, October 18th.  Be sure to check Windows Updates 2-to-3 times weekly if installing these bits.  I'm not saying they're unstable. But they are definitely changed frequently as the dev team makes final tuning and tweaking changes. New Virtual Labs on … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Cloud, Cool Technologies, On-Line Resources, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With:
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