Pulling real-time data from Twitter using StreamInsi​ght and Other Scandinavian Treasures

May 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

On my recent trip to SQLBits with subsequent visits to Dublin, Cologne, and Malmo (southern Sweden), I enjoyed a chance to meet several SQL Server MVPs, including Peter Larsson and Thomas Ivarsson. Among them, I enjoyed Johan Ahlen's article on Pulling real-time data from Twitter using StreamInsi​ght.  You can Find Johan's blog here.  I also enjoyed several other conversations, such as the one I had with Feodor Georgiev (blog).  I particularly enjoyed Feodor's guest post on SQLAuthority.com about waits in the round-trip loop from client to server back to client available HERE. There's a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Administration, Challenges, Databases, Presentations Tagged With: , , ,

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: , , ,

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: , ,

SQLBits and Events in Dublin, Koln, and Malmo

April 5, 2011 by 1 Comment

SQLBITS One of the top highlights of my year is when I get to visit the great cities of Europe and meet with the great IT professionals there.  Last October, I was able to visit several cities in Europe, including my first ever stop in Stockholm and Malmo, Sweden.  Last year's SQLBits event was in the lovely city of York, England. This spring, in fact the next two weeks, I'll be on a whirlwind junket.  In just a few hours, I fly out to London and then drive down to Brighton for a couple days of SQLBits.  SQLBits has a great lineup of speakers and content this spring. I'm looking … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conferences, PASS, SQL Server, SQLMag, SQLServerPedia Syndication 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: , , , , , ,
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