Featured Article(s)
The 1-2-3s of SQL Server and Your KPIs
How is your SQL Server is performing? This article will discuss setting up KPI’s that will help you answer that question.
Calling All SQL Server Accidental DBAs
(We’ve corrected the registration site issues – sorry for the troubles!)
We’ll be running our virtual workshop next week – and you can attend from the comfort of your desk, your home or… well, just about anywhere! I’ll be teaching the workshop and we’ll be going through things to know, things to monitor, things to do as an Accidental DBA, one that is asked to do the DBA work, but not on a full-time basis. I really have enjoyed doing this workshop, we’ve had such great response from all sorts of DBAs, those that are looking for where to start, those looking for a few tidbits on where to go next, etc.
I hope you’ll attend – and I’ll be there to take and answer questions, live. The workshop is on December 30, so while you’re winding down the year, you can kick back and relax and put together a plan for 2010 and your servers. We’ll also be adding a free month to everyone’s membership that attends. So, if you’re a member, we’ll extend it. If not, we’ll activate you.
Hope to see you there – register today to save your spot and you’ll be all set! There’s a quick video on the site about the workshop, and you can even download the outline and all sorts of other information. Check it out here.
Division of Labor – More on Application DBAs
David wrote in with his take on the splitting up of responsibilities for supporting applications and more traditional DBA duties.
"In our agency, there are two DBA teams.
One team focuses on the traditional technical DBA tasks of installing the software, configuring the storage, backing up the SQL-Server, managing security; while also getting pulled into other technical aspects of servers, communications, networks, etc.
The other team focuses on working with the application development teams to design and maintain database tables, indexes, stored procedures, triggers and their security settings. This team is responsible for consistent names and data definitions for columns and all database objects, and other data administration tasks.
When we purchase software from a vendor, and it comes with its own design for SQL-Server, that product is typically handled by the technical DBAs who install the database and keep anyone from messing with the vendor’s design.
This practice of having two teams in-house is changing because we are in a process of server consolidation. A different agency within the State will have all of the servers, all of the storage, and will install SQL-Server, Oracle, DB2. Because so many of the functions of our traditional technical DBAs are moving out to the other State agency because of server consolidation, our two in-house teams will probably merge and all of us will become proficient in the tasks that remain with our agency."
Featured Script
sp_MY_backup
Series of sp’s, scripts, and SQL jobs used to implement a consistent backup strategy across all our SQL servers. We use both… (read more)