Have You Heard About Project Lucy?

Quest Software's latest community initiative, Windows Azure-based Project Lucy, has debuted! Project Lucy is part infrastructure analytics, part social media experiment, and part performance data warehouse. The best things about Project Lucy include: It’s Free - just like our SQLServerPedia website, Project Lucy is free to anyone who wants to upload a trace file It’s 1oo% web-based - you don’t have to download or maintain anything and updates roll out seamlessly, all the time It really helps - just generate a SQL Trace on a SQL Server 2000, 2005 or 2008 instance, upload it on … [Read more...]

Cloud Evolving, SQL Server Responding

Brent Ozar (blog | twitter) and I did an interview with TechTarget’s Brendan Cournoyer at last summer's Tech-Ed, which as turned into a podcast titled “Cloud efforts advance, SQL Server evolves.” The podcast covers all the major trends at the conference (like BI), virtualization features in Quest’s products (like Spotlight), Brent’s new book and MCM certification, and more. Here’s a link to hear it, appearing on 6/11/10: http://searchsqlserver.techtarget.com/podcast/Cloud-efforts-advance-SQL-Server-evolves … [Read more...]

Azure, a Beautiful Color, and So Much More…

Windows and SQL Azure Resources Cloud computing is more than just the latest buzz word in the IT trade papers.  It is a remarkable paradigm shift with as much potential to "turn over the apple cart" of IT computing as client-server had for the world of mainframe and minicomputers.  If you're not spending time to learn about cloud computing, in general, and SQL Azure, in particular, then you're missing the boat in a big way.  (Ha! Two big metaphors in one afternoon. My high-school English teacher would be proud.) There are mountains, literally MOUNTAINS, of free and high-quality content … [Read more...]

DBTA: The NoSQL Movement- Hype or Hope?

If you spend any time at all reading IT trade journals and websites, you've no doubt heard about the NoSQL movement.  In a nutshell, NoSQL databases (also called post-relational databases) are a variety of loosely grouped means of storing data without requiring the SQL language.  Of course, we've had non-relational databases far longer than we've had actual relational databases.  Anyone who's used products like IBM's Lotus Notes can point to a popular non-relational database.  However, part and parcel of the NoSQL movement is the idea that the data repositories can horizontally scale with … [Read more...]

Quest Software announces Cassandra support in Toad for Cloud Databases and a partnership with Riptano.

My employer, Quest Software, Inc.  (QSFT 26.15, +0.68, +2.65%) today added Apache Cassandra, an open-source NoSQL database, to its list of supported NoSQL platforms with the second beta release of Toad(R) for Cloud Databases. Toad now supports data access and management for Apache Cassandra, Amazon SimpleDB, Microsoft Azure Table Services, Apache HBase, and any Open Database Connectivity-enabled relational database. Read the entire article here. … [Read more...]

Toad for Cloud Databases Community is now live!

Quest Software is proud to announce the launch of the Toad for Cloud Databases community site.  You can also get the free Toad for Cloud product here.  It's in beta, but definitely worth a try. If you've wondered what's over the horizon, I encourage you to take a look at this interview with Billy Bosworth, the head of Quest's database tools group.  (Yes, he's the guy who signs my checks).  We are now experiencing more disruptive technologies in the world of data than we have seen in nearly two decades. Perhaps your database is better suited for the cloud or maybe you want to investigate … [Read more...]

Google Wave is Dead. Long Live the Wave!

While enduring an endless series of flight delays and disgruntled passengers in the Baltimore airport that was my own personal travel hell on the evening of Thursday, August 5th, I came across this interesting and important article: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/google-kills-wave-its-collaboration-tool/?ref=technology Even if you don't read the article, you can see from the URL that Google has decided to put an end to the collaboration experiment known as Wave.  Wave will be available through the end of the year and most of its major components are now available as open … [Read more...]

Briefly: Significant Personnel Moves Inside of Microsoft Azure

Briefly: Dream Team Forms Around Azure If you're wondering whether to hedge your long-term bets on cloud computing, this should help you solidify your thinking. Microsoft has been building a dream team for Azure, including the patriarch of Windows (and father of Windows NT) Dave Cutler.  Tweets from several Microsofties reveal that another revered technologist, Mark Russinovich of SysInternals fame has also joined the team.  When almost all of the heavy hitters in a company like Microsoft go to work on a single exciting new technology, you can easily tell which direction the wind is … [Read more...]

Windows Azure Boot Camp

I'm sorry that I got this out a bit late, but there are still a city or two where you can join in on these great free, 1-day classes on Windows Azure provided by Neudesic.   Atlanta, for example, is set for July 28th. You'll get a deep dive program that will prepare you to deliver solutions on the Windows Azure Platform. The region's best Azure experts will teach you how to work in the cloud through training, discussion, review of real scenarios, and hands on labs. Snacks and drinks will be provided; however, you're advised to bring an extension cord and to you to make your own lunch … [Read more...]

Live! TechNet Radio: Microsoft Cloud Services – SQL Azure

Just wanted to let you know that a TechNet Radio episode and interview I did about cloud computing is now live on TechNet Edge. It was the featured spot on Thursday, June 3rd and is also featured on the TechNet homepage. I've been trying to wear more of an analyst's hat these days, so this webcast has a lot of my "deep thinking" on issues related to cloud computing - hopefully at a higher level of quality that Jack Handy. A salient point that I think many analysts are overlooking is the changing nature of data as it exists in the cloud.  For decades, data has primarily been about people … [Read more...]