At Redgate Software, we've been trialing Copilot from GitHub with our developers. I managed to get access for this experiment and have tried a few things, though I'm not sure I've found it very useful. I'll continue to work with Copilot, but for now, I just don't find Copilot AI helping me with the types of tasks I do. However, our chief of technology, Jeff Foster, was  interviewed about how he sees AI and Copilot in Redgate. It's a good read, and I found a few fascinating things in the piece. First, I was worried about this a bit, as we have explicit guidelines in developers that say we can't take the output from an AI and put it in our codebase. We worry about legalities since we sell software. How does that work with Copilot? Read the rest of  We're Not Faster with AI

At Redgate Software, we've been trialing Copilot from GitHub with our developers. I managed to get access for this experiment and have tried a few things, though I'm not sure I've found it very useful. I'll continue to work with Copilot, but for now, I just don't find Copilot AI helping me with the types of tasks I do. However, our chief of technology, Jeff Foster, was <a href="https://www.red-gate.com/blog/software-development/the-promise-and-the-perils-of-github-copilot" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> interviewed about how he sees AI and Copilot in Redgate</a>. It's a good read, and I found a few fascinating things in the piece. First, I was worried about this a bit, as we have explicit guidelines in developers that say we can't take the output from an AI and put it in our codebase. We worry about legalities since we sell software. How does that work with Copilot? Read the rest of <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/editorials/were-not-faster-with-ai" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> We're Not Faster with AI</a>

We're Not Faster with AI

I heard a joke years ago that went something like this. When a developer gets a pull request for code review that's 100 lines long, they will open the file(s), look at the code, and ensure standards are being followed. They might run some code, they'd walk through the algorithm in their mind, and spend 10, 20, or more minutes examining how the change is built. If you give them a code review of 1000 lines, they'll just assume it's great and approve it in seconds. I know that many developers don't find that funny. Often I meet people that think they're professional and they spend the time needed to examine the changes and ensure they work. I'm sure that many people do this often, and some people are very meticulous about their evaluation of the change. However, everyone gets busy and I know that often depending on who submitted the PR and how busy the reviewers are, the joke does reflect reality. The longer the PR, the less likely someone will either a) spend the time to carefully review it, or b) catch small mistakes. Read the rest of Large PRs are Bad

I heard a joke years ago that went something like this. When a developer gets a pull request for code review that's 100 lines long, they will open the file(s), look at the code, and ensure standards are being followed. They might run some code, they'd walk through the algorithm in their mind, and spend 10, 20, or more minutes examining how the change is built. If you give them a code review of 1000 lines, they'll just assume it's great and approve it in seconds. I know that many developers don't find that funny. Often I meet people that think they're professional and they spend the time needed to examine the changes and ensure they work. I'm sure that many people do this often, and some people are very meticulous about their evaluation of the change. However, everyone gets busy and I know that often depending on who submitted the PR and how busy the reviewers are, the joke does reflect reality. The longer the PR, the less likely someone will either a) spend the time to carefully review it, or b) catch small mistakes. Read the rest of <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/editorials/large-prs-are-bad" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Large PRs are Bad</a>

Large PRs are Bad

I was working with a customer recently that has a development process that both made me cringe and struck me as very creative. In this case, the customer has software they have written when spawning a few databases for each new project that is created. There are three types of databases created for each project, with unique names for the project. The DDL and DML to create these initial databases are stored in a central database as a set of rows in a table. To make changes to their software, developers create a project (with new databases) and then alter the application and the database to meet the requirements. These changes then need to be captured and applied to a development template database. There is a template for each of the three different databases created for projects. Changes made to these are processed and then added to the central database for new projects, and to upgrade existing ones. Read the rest of Creative Development

I was working with a customer recently that has a development process that both made me cringe and struck me as very creative. In this case, the customer has software they have written when spawning a few databases for each new project that is created. There are three types of databases created for each project, with unique names for the project. The DDL and DML to create these initial databases are stored in a central database as a set of rows in a table. To make changes to their software, developers create a project (with new databases) and then alter the application and the database to meet the requirements. These changes then need to be captured and applied to a development template database. There is a template for each of the three different databases created for projects. Changes made to these are processed and then added to the central database for new projects, and to upgrade existing ones. Read the rest of <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/editorials/creative-development" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Creative Development</a>

Creative Development

Most of the code I've written for various employers was something that lived inside the organization. This was for internal use and no one outside of the organization ever used it. It was almost always code I'd written, so I wasn't ever worried about the provenance of the code (where it came from). However, I'm sure I've copied code from somewhere online and used that in some way. I might have taken this function from Jeff Moden and dropped it on a production server where it was used to process a string. I'm sure I've taken code from various places and used it in administrative functions, like Ginger's code to manage a log file. Read the rest of A Paste Policy

Most of the code I've written for various employers was something that lived inside the organization. This was for internal use and no one outside of the organization ever used it. It was almost always code I'd written, so I wasn't ever worried about the provenance of the code (where it came from). However, I'm sure I've copied code from somewhere online and used that in some way. I might have taken <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/tally-oh-an-improved-sql-8k-%e2%80%9ccsv-splitter%e2%80%9d-function" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this function from Jeff Moden</a> and dropped it on a production server where it was used to process a string. I'm sure I've taken code from various places and used it in administrative functions, like <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/sql-log-file-too-big" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ginger's code</a> to manage a log file. Read the rest of <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/editorials/a-paste-policy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Paste Policy</a>

A Paste Policy

One trend for many organizations is to be data-driven. This means using data to make decisions at all levels, or at least support those decisions. This was popularized by many companies, and

One trend for many organizations is to be data-driven. This means using data to make decisions at all levels, or at least support those decisions. This was popularized by many companies, and

HIPPO vs. Data

I live on a working horse ranch. My wife boards, trains, and trims horses and has employees. Occasionally I have to help out with chores, or more often, fixing things. I was talking with a coworker recently and showing some pictures. He was asking why I do things like tap a bolt instead of hiring someone to do it. I caught this excerpt from a book on cooking, which got me thinking. I don't love the flow here, as it wanders between cooking, economics, politics, social justice, and more. However, the core ideas of specialization and taking on a task was what I got out of the piece. Read the rest of  The Value of Doing Something

I live on a working horse ranch. My wife boards, trains, and trims horses and has employees. Occasionally I have to help out with chores, or more often, fixing things. I was talking with a coworker recently and showing some pictures. He was asking why I do things like <a href="https://voiceofthedba.com/2023/04/28/learning-and-building-skills/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">tap a bolt</a> instead of hiring someone to do it. I caught <a href="https://medium.com/@michaelpollan/cooked-a-diy-manifesto-f767d50796c1" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this excerpt from a book on cooking</a>, which got me thinking. I don't love the flow here, as it wanders between cooking, economics, politics, social justice, and more. However, the core ideas of specialization and taking on a task was what I got out of the piece. Read the rest of <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/editorials/the-value-of-doing-something" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> The Value of Doing Something</a>

The Value of Doing Something

At the first job I had as a DBA, I had to build a new server. This was in the days of SQL Server 4.2, and I was combination DBA, sysadmin, and general help desk at a small company. With a software developer consultant, we ran some tests on various machines and then ordered a collection of parts from Compaq. Back in this time, they would only customer parts of the server. We unpacked our boxes with the server, extra drive bay, various SCSI drives, and extra RAM. We assembled and tested the machine and eventually put it into production. In the years since then, I got out of the hardware business and left that to others. For awhile I worked in organizations with IT staff dedicated to building machines, but at some point we stopped doing that. The growth of VMWare and other hypervisors changed the paradigm for most organizations. For more than a decade, all the servers I've connected to are virtual machines running on hardware that my employer or a cloud provider owns and manages as a node in a cluster. Read the rest of Bare Metal

At the first job I had as a DBA, I had to build a new server. This was in the days of SQL Server 4.2, and I was combination DBA, sysadmin, and general help desk at a small company. With a software developer consultant, we ran some tests on various machines and then ordered a collection of parts from Compaq. Back in this time, they would only customer parts of the server. We unpacked our boxes with the server, extra drive bay, various SCSI drives, and extra RAM. We assembled and tested the machine and eventually put it into production. In the years since then, I got out of the hardware business and left that to others. For awhile I worked in organizations with IT staff dedicated to building machines, but at some point we stopped doing that. The growth of VMWare and other hypervisors changed the paradigm for most organizations. For more than a decade, all the servers I've connected to are virtual machines running on hardware that my employer or a cloud provider owns and manages as a node in a cluster. Read the rest of <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/editorials/bare-metal" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bare Metal</a>

Bare Metal

Are you ready to get a new job? I'm not talking about you deciding you want a new job and working towards that goal, but rather getting surprised by a layoff or termination today. If your boss called you into his/her office in the next 10 minutes and told you that you were being terminated today, are you ready for that? Kendra Little wrote a nice post recently asking who might be prepared. Most of us aren't. In fact, in my branding presentation, one of my slides has a screenshot of a post from LinkedIn. A friend noted that they walked into work and found out his company had been purchased. It wasn't a good day because they were also notified they were being laid off, hence the post on LinkedIn letting others know of their need to find one. Read the rest of  Planning for a Bad Day

Are you ready to get a new job? I'm not talking about you deciding you want a new job and working towards that goal, but rather getting surprised by a layoff or termination today. If your boss called you into his/her office in the next 10 minutes and told you that you were being terminated today, are you ready for that? <a href="https://littlekendra.com/2023/05/23/career-planning-styles-in-times-layoffs/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kendra Little wrote a nice post</a> recently asking who might be prepared. Most of us aren't. In fact, in <a href="https://voiceofthedba.com/2013/03/18/branding-yourself-for-a-dream-job-the-modern-resume/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">my branding presentation</a>, one of my slides has a screenshot of a post from LinkedIn. A friend noted that they walked into work and found out his company had been purchased. It wasn't a good day because they were also notified they were being laid off, hence the post on LinkedIn letting others know of their need to find one. Read the rest of <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/editorials/planning-for-a-bad-day" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Planning for a Bad Day</a>

Planning for a Bad Day

Read the rest of  Securing All Your Connections

Read the rest of <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/editorials/securing-all-your-connections" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Securing All Your Connections</a>

Securing All Your Connections

I saw a great question on Twitter from Frank Pachot, a developer advocate of Yugabyte. He wrote: Without thinking how your preferred database deals with it, what do you expect if:  session 1 starts to reads table T session 2 drops table T session 1 continues to read  The choices in his poll were: session 2 waits, session 2 fails, session 1 fails, both fail. My first thought was SQL Server and the default need for session 2 to get an exclusive lock. In that case, session 2 would wait. Most people answered that same way, but then Frank posted a follow-up with a link to his blog. The answer for Yugabyte is that session 1 fails as it gets the message that the table was deleted. Read the rest of  Concurrency Challenges Around Schema Changes

I saw <a href="https://twitter.com/FranckPachot/status/1662494921402601473" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a great question on Twitter</a> from Frank Pachot, a developer advocate of <a href="https://www.yugabyte.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Yugabyte</a>. He wrote: Without thinking how your preferred database deals with it, what do you expect if: <ul> <li>session 1 starts to reads table T</li> <li>session 2 drops table T</li> <li>session 1 continues to read</li> </ul> The choices in his poll were: session 2 waits, session 2 fails, session 1 fails, both fail. My first thought was SQL Server and the default need for session 2 to get an exclusive lock. In that case, session 2 would wait. Most people answered that same way, but then Frank <a href="https://twitter.com/FranckPachot/status/1663649014431006724" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">posted a follow-up</a> with a link <a href="https://dev.to/aws-heroes/drop-table-while-being-read-wait-or-wound-57l5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">to his blog</a>. The answer for Yugabyte is that session 1 fails as it gets the message that the table was deleted. Read the rest of <a href="https://www.sqlservercentral.com/editorials/concurrency-challenges-around-schema-changes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Concurrency Challenges Around Schema Changes</a>

Concurrency Challenges Around Schema Changes

A series of episodes that look at databases and the world from a data professional's viewpoint. Written and recorded by Steve Jones, editor of SQLServerCentral and The Voice of the DBA.

I look forward to hearing Steve&#39;s podcast each week on what DBA/IT people are going and how the industry is evolving. Balance technical with business goals is always a never-ending opportunity.

Sr. Systems Engineer

Steve is great at providing information for the Database Administrator. I am a &#39;part time&#39; DBA. And I get a lot out of this podcast and SQL Sever Central.

Excellent Podcast

Voice of the DBA

Most of us have managers that are picked from the ranks of our technical staff. Often the most talented technical person, or most willing technical staff member, is promoted to manager, given a few hours of training on the various tools that he or she will use to deal with the administrative paperwork a manager fills out, and then cut loose to "manage" a group of people. And they stink at it. Most of them are bad. Not only are they bad managers, they are often bad leaders, and many find their technical skills suffer as they split their time with managerial tasks. That certainly puts them in a bad mood and creates worry about their future. It's not even just in the technology industry, as we find that many managers are bad, yet still languish on for years. This despite the fact that research shows they are costing their companies profit.

Most of us have managers that are picked from the ranks of our technical staff. Often the most talented technical person, or most willing technical staff member, is promoted to manager, given a few hours of training on the various tools that he or she will use to deal with the administrative paperwork a manager fills out, and then cut loose to "manage" a group of people. And they stink at it. Most of them are bad. Not only are they bad managers, they are often bad leaders, and many find their technical skills suffer as they split their time with managerial tasks. That certainly puts them in a bad mood and creates worry about their future. It's not even just in the technology industry, as we find that <a href="http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/03/why-good-managers-are-so-rare/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">many managers are bad</a>, yet still languish on for years. This despite the fact that research shows they are costing their companies profit.

Managers

Big Data is constantly in the news. We've been asked at SQLserverCentral to try and develop some articles, perhaps even a stairway to explain what Big Data is and how we might use it. I'm still trying to grasp the concepts myself, and unlike the amorphous cloud, I'm still looking for some good examples of what Big Data really is. When I ran across this piece warning that Big Data isn't the final solution to all our questions in the world, I wasn't surprised. The piece notes that Google Flu hasn't been very accurate in its predictions of outbreaks. At first glance, this gives lots of credence to the idea that the good, solid data analysis and mining techniques we've used for years are just as good as any new Big Data fad.   Read the rest of "Problems with Big Data" at SQLServerCentral. 

Big Data is constantly in the news. We've been asked at SQLserverCentral to try and develop some articles, perhaps even a stairway to explain what Big Data is and how we might use it. I'm still trying to grasp the concepts myself, and unlike the amorphous cloud, I'm still looking for some good examples of what Big Data really is. When I ran across<a href="http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/03/researchers-warn-against-the-rise-of-big-data-hubris/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> this piece</a> warning that Big Data isn't the final solution to all our questions in the world, I wasn't surprised. The piece notes that <a href="https://www.google.org/flutrends/us/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Google Flu</a> hasn't been very accurate in its predictions of outbreaks. At first glance, this gives lots of credence to the idea that the good, solid data analysis and mining techniques we've used for years are just as good as any new Big Data fad. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/108528/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Problems with Big Data</a>" at SQLServerCentral.

Problems with Big Data

The Connect system from Microsoft doesn't work that well, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to press Microsoft for change. Read the rest of "Lobbying for Change" at SQLServerCentral. 

The Connect system from Microsoft doesn't work that well, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to press Microsoft for change. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/108526/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Lobbying for Change</a>" at SQLServerCentral.

Lobbying for Change

A friend recently was asked to give a presentation on their career to a group of 12 year olds. It was a challenge to engage the students, and my friend was surprised that very few of the kids were interested in technology. I was disappointed as well since I think this is a great career choice, and worth a little investigation, especially at that age. It's hard to convince people to enter this business if they don't have any interest, but if they do, I'm wondering what you might tell them. Today I'd like you to think about your words of wisdom to someone interested in your job. Read the rest of "Advice for Newcomers" at SQLServerCentral.

A friend recently was asked to give a presentation on their career to a group of 12 year olds. It was a challenge to engage the students, and my friend was surprised that very few of the kids were interested in technology. I was disappointed as well since I think this is a great career choice, and worth a little investigation, especially at that age. It's hard to convince people to enter this business if they don't have any interest, but if they do, I'm wondering what you might tell them. Today I'd like you to think about your words of wisdom to someone interested in your job. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/107922/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Advice for Newcomers</a>" at SQLServerCentral.

Advice for Newcomers

If you pay attention to security issues in software, you've probably heard about man-in-the-middle attacks. These can occur more frequently than you expect, though inside of a company, it's more unlikely that you'll experience one if you have some fairly basic security controls on your network. However, if you invite someone inside of your network, such as a consultant of some sort, you should be more vigilent. There's a great post showing how someone can execute a MITM attack against SQL Server. It's in depth, showing exactly how packet captures lead to the ability to hijack a session and create a new login. Read the rest of "Track Your Consultants"

If you pay attention to security issues in software, you've probably heard about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-in-the-middle_attack" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">man-in-the-middle attacks</a>. These can occur more frequently than you expect, though inside of a company, it's more unlikely that you'll experience one if you have some fairly basic security controls on your network. However, if you invite someone inside of your network, such as a consultant of some sort, you should be more vigilent. There's <a href="https://blog.anitian.com/hacking-microsoft-sql-server-without-a-password/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a great post showing how someone can execute a MITM attack against SQL Server</a>. It's in depth, showing exactly how packet captures lead to the ability to hijack a session and create a new login. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/139367/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Track Your Consultants</a>"

Track Your Consultants

 The march to the cloud is inevitable. No, I don't think all your services will be run from a cloud service, but I do think that some of them will be. Maybe 10% for your company, maybe 90%, but likely somewhere in between. In the efforts to reduce costs, and maybe more likely, the idea of shifting costs to expenses, I would bet that most organiztions will take serious looks at the cloud in the next decade for a significant portion of all new services. They might not move most applications, but they'll think about it.  I saw  a note recently on Geekwire that Azure is estimated to exceed  Amazon Web Services (AWS) by 2019. Most of us might not care about the race between these two tech giants to build large cloud infrastructures, but their capital expenditure is based on the idea that your organizations will want to use some of those services. They have good reasons to think this with surveys and conversations with many of their customers. Read the rest of "The Relentless Cloud"

The march to the cloud is inevitable. No, I don't think all your services will be run from a cloud service, but I do think that some of them will be. Maybe 10% for your company, maybe 90%, but likely somewhere in between. In the efforts to reduce costs, and maybe more likely, the idea of shifting costs to expenses, I would bet that most organiztions will take serious looks at the cloud in the next decade for a significant portion of all new services. They might not move most applications, but they'll think about it. I saw <a href="http://www.geekwire.com/2016/azure-rising-microsoft-will-largest-infrastructure-service-vendor-2019-says-new-morgan-stanley-survey/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> a note recently on Geekwire</a> that Azure is estimated to exceed  Amazon Web Services (AWS) by 2019. Most of us might not care about the race between these two tech giants to build large cloud infrastructures, but their capital expenditure is based on the idea that your organizations will want to use some of those services. They have good reasons to think this with surveys and conversations with many of their customers. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/144089/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Relentless Cloud</a>"

The Relentless Cloud

 I was reading through a list of links for Database Weekly and ran across  this script from Pinal Dave, looking for tables where the clustered index isn't the PK. It struck me that this is one of those facts I consider to be so simple, yet I constantly see people confusing. If you click the Primary Key icon in the SSMS/VS designers, or you specify a PK like this: "The Clustered Index is not the Primary Key"

I was reading through a list of links for Database Weekly and ran across <a href="http://blog.sqlauthority.com/2016/04/26/sql-server-identify-table-clustered-index-not-primary-key/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> this script from Pinal Dave</a>, looking for tables where the clustered index isn't the PK. It struck me that this is one of those facts I consider to be so simple, yet I constantly see people confusing. If you click the Primary Key icon in the SSMS/VS designers, or you specify a PK like this: "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/140968/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Clustered Index is not the Primary Key</a>"

The Clustered Index is not the Primary Key

 I saw a note from someone that had a database set up in a High Availability (HA) configuration for production. This person had received an 823 error on the primary server, but a failover hadn't occurred. This wasn't a critical error, but one that noted some anomolies in a few pages, which potentially could be fixed by the automatic page repair in SQL Server.   In this case, the individual would have liked to have had the system fail over, just in case there were a chance this would impact production. To make this happen, an alert on the error would be needed, which then forced a failover. This wasn't part of the native SQL Server configuration, and this individual was concerned. However, there are certainly cases where a failover might not be warranted when there is some sort of reaction such as Automatic Page Repair.  Read the rest of "Failover"

I saw a note from someone that had a database set up in a High Availability (HA) configuration for production. This person had received an 823 error on the primary server, but a failover hadn't occurred. This wasn't a critical error, but one that noted some anomolies in a few pages, which potentially could be fixed by the automatic page repair in SQL Server.  In this case, the individual would have liked to have had the system fail over, just in case there were a chance this would impact production. To make this happen, an alert on the error would be needed, which then forced a failover. This wasn't part of the native SQL Server configuration, and this individual was concerned. However, there are certainly cases where a failover might not be warranted when there is some sort of reaction such as Automatic Page Repair.  Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/144417/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Failover</a>"

Failover

Would you post your password on a wall in your office? Of course not, because other employees, the cleaning crew, even guests walking around your office would be able to access your system with your account. When I read Brian Kelly's post on passwords in files, that's what I thought of. Sticking credentials in a file, where they're subject to any kind of search, is a bad idea. However this happens all the time. Combine this with a few other "common practices" like using sa to connect to a database and building dynamic SQL, and you might as well just set blank passwords and invite someone to have fun with your database. It's sad that we continue to see these types of software development practices in 2014, and especially poor to see them from companies that sell software.   Read the rest of "Good Practices for Software Development" at SQLServerCentral.

Would you post your password on a wall in your office? Of course not, because other employees, the cleaning crew, even guests walking around your office would be able to access your system with your account. When I read <a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/databases-infrastructure-security/2014/04/02/encrypt-usernames-and-passwords-stored-in-files/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Brian Kelly's post on passwords in files</a>, that's what I thought of. Sticking credentials in a file, where they're subject to any kind of search, is a bad idea. However this happens all the time. Combine this with a few other "common practices" like using sa to connect to a database and building dynamic SQL, and you might as well just set blank passwords and invite someone to have fun with your database. It's sad that we continue to see these types of software development practices in 2014, and especially poor to see them from companies that sell software. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/109392/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Good Practices for Software Development</a>" at SQLServerCentral.

Good Practices for Software Development

With SQL Server 2014 released, there's the temptation to upgrade for many DBAs. However the licensing costs and debatable improvements in the product will temper the DBA's enthusiasm with the reality of the ROI seen by management. While reading about the licensing changes, I also saw this note from Tom LaRock, where he wrote about the features most of us aren't using. It made me think about upgrades, and perhaps the strategy Microsoft is employing. As Tom mentioned, the features not being used are Enterprise Edition features. This prevents many of us from upgrading to use them because Enterprise Edition is so expensive. Actually, even Standard Edition is expansive these days, given the per-core licensing, and I suspect lots of companies with SQL Server 2008, 2005, even 2000 are debating whether or not the upgrade is really worth the cost.   Read the rest of "The Subtle Push to the Cloud" at SQLServerCentral.

With SQL Server 2014 released, there's the temptation to upgrade for many DBAs. However the licensing costs and debatable improvements in the product will temper the DBA's enthusiasm with the reality of the ROI seen by management. While reading about the <a href="http://www.brentozar.com/archive/2014/04/sql-server-2014-licensing-changes/?utm_source=SQLServerCentral" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">licensing changes</a>, I also saw <a href="http://thomaslarock.com/2014/03/top-5-sql-server-features-arent-using-and-why/?utm_source=SQLServerCentral&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this note from Tom LaRock</a>, where he wrote about the features most of us aren't using. It made me think about upgrades, and perhaps the strategy Microsoft is employing. As Tom mentioned, the features not being used are Enterprise Edition features. This prevents many of us from upgrading to use them because Enterprise Edition is so expensive. Actually, even Standard Edition is expansive these days, given the per-core licensing, and I suspect lots of companies with SQL Server 2008, 2005, even 2000 are debating whether or not the upgrade is really worth the cost. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/109393/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Subtle Push to the Cloud</a>" at SQLServerCentral.

The Subtle Push to the Cloud

 I've been working through some of the GDPR legislation, trying to find ways to explain this more clearly to customers and ensure that our products make sense in light of this law taking effect. Redgate is focused in this area and not only do we need to ensure we are compliant, but we also want to ensure we are building tools that help ensure you are compliant.  In article 14, there's this text: "the controller shall provide the data subject with the following information... the existence of automated decision-making, including ... meaningful information about the logic involved." That sounds a little concerning for those of us that work with data. It's not always easy, but we can explain how a SUM or AVG function works, even with a complex OVER() clause and lots of joins and criteria.   Read the rest of An AI Loophole

I've been working through some of the GDPR legislation, trying to find ways to explain this more clearly to customers and ensure that our products make sense in light of this law taking effect. Redgate is focused in this area and not only do we need to ensure we are compliant, but we also want to ensure we are building tools that help ensure you are compliant. In <a href="https://gdpr-info.eu/art-14-gdpr/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">article 14</a>, there's this text: "the controller shall provide the data subject with the following information... the existence of automated decision-making, including ... meaningful information about the logic involved." That sounds a little concerning for those of us that work with data. It's not always easy, but we can explain how a SUM or AVG function works, even with a complex OVER() clause and lots of joins and criteria.  Read the rest of <a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/168373/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">An AI Loophole</a>

An AI Loophole

 A few years ago, I had a keyboard die. At the time, I needed something quickly and ended up with a Logitech wireless model that included a mouse. I'm not sure of which model, but I've ended up getting two or three more Logitech devices over the years. I think I go through a keyboard every 18-24 months, though the mice seem to last longer. For me, having devices available without cords is more important for the mouse than the keyboard, but since Logitech will bundle them, I get both at the same time. I'm currently with a  K350 keyboard and an M510 mouse, both of which seem to hold up well.  However, I'm at home, usually working alone, so I haven't been concerned much about security. In corporate environments, I remember playing jokes by moving someone's mouse to my desk, and giving them a disconnected replacement, trying to mimic their movement. Or doing the same with a keyboard. That's a great typing challenge if you ever try it.  I thought about those times when I read  this piece on the security of wireless keyboards, or maybe the lack of security. Apparently a relatively simple device can intercept and replace, or just record, keystrokes made on a variety of keyboards. These devices use their own dongles, not a Bluetooth connection, and security is non-existent. Perhaps I'll take one to the Redgate office this fall and see who's actually vulnerable.  Read the rest of "Keyboard Hardlines"

A few years ago, I had a keyboard die. At the time, I needed something quickly and ended up with a Logitech wireless model that included a mouse. I'm not sure of which model, but I've ended up getting two or three more Logitech devices over the years. I think I go through a keyboard every 18-24 months, though the mice seem to last longer. For me, having devices available without cords is more important for the mouse than the keyboard, but since Logitech will bundle them, I get both at the same time. I'm currently with a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003VAHYNC?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=redgatsof-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=B003VAHYNC" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> K350 keyboard and an M510 mouse</a>, both of which seem to hold up well. However, I'm at home, usually working alone, so I haven't been concerned much about security. In corporate environments, I remember playing jokes by moving someone's mouse to my desk, and giving them a disconnected replacement, trying to mimic their movement. Or doing the same with a keyboard. That's a great typing challenge if you ever try it. I thought about those times when I read <a href="https://www.wired.com/2016/07/radio-hack-steals-keystrokes-millions-wireless-keyboards/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> this piece on the security of wireless keyboards</a>, or maybe the lack of security. Apparently a relatively simple device can intercept and replace, or just record, keystrokes made on a variety of keyboards. These devices use their own dongles, not a Bluetooth connection, and security is non-existent. Perhaps I'll take one to the Redgate office this fall and see who's actually vulnerable. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/144934/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Keyboard Hardlines</a>"

Keyboard Hardlines

 The cloud is a term that's full of hype. We hear from various media outlets all the time: the cloud is the answer, the cloud is cheaper, the cloud is the way of the future, the cloud handles your DR, the cloud managers availability, and more. Microsoft has been pushing the message of "cloud-first" (and mobile-first), which has many SQL Server professionals confused, concerned, or  even angry. There are also plenty of professionals that dismiss the idea of cloud anything when it comes to data.  I've felt similar emotions, and certainly I have been skeptical of the cloud versions of databases. I remember the first cloud service, a key-value store, which seemed woefully inadequate for most purposes. Since they I've seen the Azure SQL Database grow, and many other products get released. Across that time, I've become more and more impressed with what Microsoft has done, and as Visual Studio Team Services has expended, I've come to really embrace and get excited by the cloud. It's still not something I'd always recommend, but I would always start there. Read the rest of "The Cloud is Just a Tool"

The cloud is a term that's full of hype. We hear from various media outlets all the time: the cloud is the answer, the cloud is cheaper, the cloud is the way of the future, the cloud handles your DR, the cloud managers availability, and more. Microsoft has been pushing the message of "<a href="https://news.microsoft.com/2014/03/27/satya-nadella-mobile-first-cloud-first-press-briefing/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">cloud-first</a>" (and mobile-first), which has many SQL Server professionals confused, concerned, or  even angry. There are also plenty of professionals that dismiss the idea of cloud anything when it comes to data. I've felt similar emotions, and certainly I have been skeptical of the cloud versions of databases. I remember the first cloud service, a key-value store, which seemed woefully inadequate for most purposes. Since they I've seen the Azure SQL Database grow, and many other products get released. Across that time, I've become more and more impressed with what Microsoft has done, and as Visual Studio Team Services has expended, I've come to really embrace and get excited by the cloud. It's still not something I'd always recommend, but I would always start there. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/152806/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Cloud is Just a Tool</a>"

The Cloud is Just a Tool

 My employer licenses software to users. Many of you might have SQL Compare, SQL Prompt, or one of our other handy products. If you do, you might have noticed that we have a Redgate login for you that shows your licenses and lets you activate/deactivate them. This was surprisingly a big project across the last year to streamline and smooth our licensing process.  Early on, I realized this was an issue in one company I where I worked. This was during the 1990s and I started working at a small company with a fancy imaging system. We had purchased software to receive all our faxes as images and file them in a digital system. I'm sure we had one of the smallest (and cheapest) installations of this software, which one of our executives had managed to negotiate. However, the exec had left the company and a few months into my tenure, I needed support. Read the rest of "Who's Licensed?"

<a href="http://www.red-gate.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">My employer</a> licenses software to users. Many of you might have <a href="http://www.red-gate.com/products/sql-development/sql-compare" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SQL Compare</a>, <a href="http://www.red-gate.com/products/sql-development/sql-prompt/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SQL Prompt</a>, or one of our other handy products. If you do, you might have noticed that we have a Redgate login for you that shows your licenses and lets you activate/deactivate them. This was surprisingly a big project across the last year to streamline and smooth our licensing process. Early on, I realized this was an issue in one company I where I worked. This was during the 1990s and I started working at a small company with a fancy imaging system. We had purchased software to receive all our faxes as images and file them in a digital system. I'm sure we had one of the smallest (and cheapest) installations of this software, which one of our executives had managed to negotiate. However, the exec had left the company and a few months into my tenure, I needed support. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/160166/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Who's Licensed?</a>"

Who's Licensed?

This is what you build to juggle 6,000 tweets a second. That's the headline that caught my eye and it's about the challenges of Twitter and the data that they handle. Twitter definitely has a tough problem, one that few of us have, but perhaps they can help us learn to better deal with our own data from their experiences on an edge case. The story is journalistic, not so technical, but it is interesting. Twitter has struggled with a blend of data that is partially crucial and must be consistent now (usernames) and other data that can be a bit out of date (tweets). They also have lots of unstructured data (photo/video) that is combined with more traditional, structured data. They've used a few different database platforms to store this data and assemble it with their application. That's the same things that most of us also do when we deal with many different types of data. Read the rest of "One Database To Rule Them All" at SQLServerCentral.

<a href="http://prod.wired.com/2014/04/twitter-manhattan/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This is what you build to juggle 6,000 tweets a second</a>. That's the headline that caught my eye and it's about the challenges of Twitter and the data that they handle. Twitter definitely has a tough problem, one that few of us have, but perhaps they can help us learn to better deal with our own data from their experiences on an edge case. The story is journalistic, not so technical, but it is interesting. Twitter has struggled with a blend of data that is partially crucial and must be consistent now (usernames) and other data that can be a bit out of date (tweets). They also have lots of unstructured data (photo/video) that is combined with more traditional, structured data. They've used a few different database platforms to store this data and assemble it with their application. That's the same things that most of us also do when we deal with many different types of data. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/108968/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">One Database To Rule Them All</a>" at SQLServerCentral.

One Database to Rule Them All

It's 2014. SQL Server 2000 is 14 years old, but there are still quite of you managing instances. SQL Server 2005 is 9 years old, and I'm sure more of you still deal with that version. I know because I work for a software vendor and I'm constantly asked if our software will run against those two versions of SQL Server. For many of you, however, if you're managing a SQL Server 2000 instance, it might only be 9 or 10 years old. Your company might still have been installing SQL Server 2000 in the year 2005. The same is true for SQL Server 2005. I wouldn't be surprised to find companies still installing 2005 instances in 2008 or even 2009. Read the rest of "How Long Before You Upgrade?" at SQLServerCentral.

It's 2014. SQL Server 2000 is 14 years old, but there are still quite of you managing instances. SQL Server 2005 is 9 years old, and I'm sure more of you still deal with that version. I know because I work for a software vendor and I'm constantly asked if our software will run against those two versions of SQL Server. For many of you, however, if you're managing a SQL Server 2000 instance, it might only be 9 or 10 years old. Your company might still have been installing SQL Server 2000 in the year 2005. The same is true for SQL Server 2005. I wouldn't be surprised to find companies still installing 2005 instances in 2008 or even 2009. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/108529/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How Long Before You Upgrade?</a>" at SQLServerCentral.

How Long Before You Upgrade?

I saw this post recently about security and preparing for a data breach. The title caught my eye because it implies that we're all doomed. Do the rest of you think that? Is it a question of when we'll have a security breach not if? Given the headlines, the news we find out about companies not disclosing security issues, the back doors and poor code in much software, is it any wonder that people think it's a "when" and not an "if"? Given the lack of realization from many companies that suffer incidents that they were even attacked, perhaps that's an assumption worth making.   Read the rest of "If or When?" from SQLServerCentral.

I saw <a href="http://www.informationsecuritybuzz.com/prepared-data-breach-matter/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">this post recently about security and preparing for a data breach</a>. The title caught my eye because it implies that we're all doomed. Do the rest of you think that? Is it a question of when we'll have a security breach not if? Given the headlines, the news we find out about companies not disclosing security issues, the back doors and poor code in much software, is it any wonder that people think it's a "when" and not an "if"? Given the lack of realization from many companies that suffer incidents that they were even attacked, perhaps that's an assumption worth making. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/108527/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">If or When?</a>" from SQLServerCentral.

If or When?

 Every few years, or every year now, we see a new version of SQL Server proclaimed as the best ever. A few weeks ago, I saw a number of people leaving hte MVP Summit, rating it as the best ever summit. At SQL Bits or the PASS Summit every year, there's no shortage of people posting about that event being the best conference.  Is this a human view, that the latest one is often the best one ever if we enjoyed it? Perhaps we learn something and we're excited about the latest new SQL thing and so we're excited to proclaim it the best?  Read the rest of The Best Ever

Every few years, or every year now, we see a new version of SQL Server proclaimed as the best ever. A few weeks ago, I saw a number of people leaving hte MVP Summit, rating it as the best ever summit. At SQL Bits or the PASS Summit every year, there's no shortage of people posting about that event being the best conference. Is this a human view, that the latest one is often the best one ever if we enjoyed it? Perhaps we learn something and we're excited about the latest new SQL thing and so we're excited to proclaim it the best? Read the rest of <a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/170186/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Best Ever</a>

The Best Ever

Throughout my career I've been looking to consolidate SQL Servers when I find them. The typical employer I've had usually grows their IT infrastructure over time and many projects look like this:  Build or buy a software package Buy a new server Install SQL Server and one database for the application  Over time this means I find lots of individual servers running at much less than full capacity. That's something that DBAs like, because it means that we can handle the inevitable spikes in resource usage that our workloads will encounter. However that's not what the rest of the business, especially the financial management, wants. Underused resources mean money that isn't spent well. Read the rest of "Consolidation Matters" at SQLServerCentral.

Throughout my career I've been looking to consolidate SQL Servers when I find them. The typical employer I've had usually grows their IT infrastructure over time and many projects look like this: <ul> <li>Build or buy a software package</li> <li>Buy a new server</li> <li>Install SQL Server and one database for the application</li> </ul> Over time this means I find lots of individual servers running at much less than full capacity. That's something that DBAs like, because it means that we can handle the inevitable spikes in resource usage that our workloads will encounter. However that's not what the rest of the business, especially the financial management, wants. Underused resources mean money that isn't spent well. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/108969/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Consolidation Matters</a>" at SQLServerCentral.

Consolidation Matters

I often talk with people about building their brands and finding a way to ensure they are a highly desirable employee. One of the ways that I think people can do this is with a technical blog about their career. Having a technical blog allows someone to show off their skills in a particular area. The blog doesn't have to be ground breaking work or extremely innovative solutions to complex problems. While employers need those people, they also need people that do solid work every day on regular problems. An interview isn't a great way to find good employees. Many of us have had experience with either (or both) side of the interview table and realize that interviews aren't necessarily that helpful. If we bothered to track the impressions we make of candidates and compare that to the actual work they accomplish over the first year or two, I suspect we'd find that we have no evidence that we were making great decisions. The success of employees seems to be a bit hit and miss and not based on our choices in interviews. Read the rest of "Due Diligence" at SQLServerCentral.

I often talk with people about building their brands and finding a way to ensure they are a highly desirable employee. One of the ways that I think people can do this is with a technical blog about their career. Having a technical blog allows someone to show off their skills in a particular area. The blog doesn't have to be ground breaking work or extremely innovative solutions to complex problems. While employers need those people, they also need people that do solid work every day on regular problems. An interview isn't a great way to find good employees. Many of us have had experience with either (or both) side of the interview table and realize that interviews aren't necessarily that helpful. If we bothered to track the impressions we make of candidates and compare that to the actual work they accomplish over the first year or two, I suspect we'd find that we have no evidence that we were making great decisions. The success of employees seems to be a bit hit and miss and not based on our choices in interviews. Read the rest of "<a href="http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/109389/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Due Diligence</a>" at SQLServerCentral.

Due Diligence

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