I don’t know if you’re planning to attend the PASS Business Analytics Conference. But you'll be missing a ton of great content especially for data, analytics, and business intelligence professionals. There's still plenty of time to register and, if you use my discount code – BABS2B – you'll get $150 off the conference registration fee. There will be more than 60 sessions at the event by BA/BI experts from Intuit, Microsoft, SurveyMonkey, Wells Fargo, and more. Last year’s inaugural event was quite the shindig, bringing in around 900 business analysts, data scientists, architects, and BI and … [Read more...]
Interested in Self-Service Analytics at the PASS Business Analytics Conference?
April 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Top 10 DBA Mistakes on SQL Server. (Now with Prizes for Participation!)
April 9, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The first big mistake I made as a DBA was coming to work with my zipper wide open. But I digress. 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 … [Read more...]
SUPER SECRETS of the SQL Server Illuminati — REVEALED!
April 1, 2014 by 3 Comments
It was a dark and stormy night as the secret conclave assembled upon the wind-blasted prairie lands of anonymous South Dakota. It could have been anywhere in North America, so non-descript and featureless was the place. Lightning flecked the darkened sky as they came, in ones and twos, wearing their long, charcoal colored robes, cowls covering their faces. Each one bearing in their left hand, the hand-calligraphed vellum scroll describing the exact details and protocols of the secret gathering. Reaching the place, they stood, silently and watchfully, all eyes upon the sole figure to wear … [Read more...]
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...]
One Preparation that makes SSMS Crash Dumps Easy to Survive
February 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment
Uh oh! So you're plugging along in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) when it suddenly goes belly up. Now you're staring at various dialog boxes telling you that SSMS crashed. Usually the first dialog box you get will ask you if you'd like to close OR the program. If you choose to close the program, you'll be presented with the opportunity to recover your lost SQL scripts once you reopen SSMS, as shown above. (Image above courtesy of Aalam Rangi). But let's say that closing the program represents a big issue for you due to lost time, productivity, etc. You want to go the other route - … [Read more...]
What Does a Good Mentor Do for You?
January 13, 2014 by Leave a Comment
These would be good mentors - me plus Adam Machanic, and Klaus Aschenbrenner Not long ago, John Sansom (Twitter | Blog) kicked off a SQL Community Project #DBAJumpStart by asking 20 successful and experienced SQL Server professionals this exact question: "If you could give a DBA just one piece of advice, what would it be?" I wrote up my Advice for the Aspiring DBA post here, while John collected the entire set of responses here within the DBA JumpStart collection. Part of my advice, indeed of several of the contributors, was to find and build a strong mentor-protege relationship. But … [Read more...]
