Category Archives: Training
Don’t Know Much About Azure?
Everyone is talking about the cloud these days. Microsoft’s cloud offerings provide many amazing features including SQL Server. I have posted several links to begin you cloud journey. Enjoy and I hope this helps you get to your destination!
- Microsoft Windows Azure Platform | SQL Azure
- Windows Azure: a very difficult concept explained
- Comparisons: Microsoft Azure and Amazon EC2
- Cloud Datacenters: Microsoft Azure vs. Amazon EC2
- Windows Azure beats Amazon EC2, Google App Engine in cloud speed test
- Buck Woody, Microsoft Azure Guru
- Need to see some case studies?
- How much does it cost?
- Windows Azure Free 90-Day Trial
Tell Me A Story, Please
I read some great advice today while researching effective presentation skills in order for me to prepare my presentation for a future SQL Saturday. Being my first ever SQL Server presentation, I am doing research and everything. What was the advice you ask?
“People want to hear a story, not a PowerPoint!”
Wow, that is so profound and so true and yet so simple. Now to translate that into my presentation and that will be easier said than done.
Thinking about other presentations, I’ve seen some great ones and some not so great. I’ve seen simple ones and complex ones. However, the great ones, in my opinion, are engaging, sometimes humorous, and always humble.
So in order to be successful, let’s recap:
- I need to not read the PowerPoint
- I need to be funny and charismatic
- I need to be humble and not tell people they are wrong and stupid (this one may be hard to do)
- I need to have a relevant and interesting topic
- I need be knowledgable about the subject that I am speaking about
I think I figured it out, I need to hire someone to be me for the presentation. Enjoy 😉
How to Upload/Share with Google Docs
While working on the TribalSQL project and discussing Google Docs with other authors on the project, I thought there might be a need for a little handy Google Doc uploading guide.
Figure 1 - Press Upload
- Once your document is saved and ready to go, then log into Google Docs.
- Press the upload button (actually just an icon next to the create button) as shown in the Figure 1 and then select File.
- Browse and select your file that you wish to upload.
- In the Upload Settings caption box, do not worry about converting your documents, unless you need to. Press the Start Upload button.
- Unfortunately, once this is completing, you are not done. Now click on the ‘Owned by me’ link below the Create button as shown in Figure 1. This will show you all of your documents that have been uploaded.
- Now check the box next to your uploaded document as shown in Figure 2.
- Now press the Organize icon on the top row (the one that looks like a file folder) as shown in Figure 3.
- Choose the collection that you wish to upload the document into as shown in Figure 4. Now you are done with the upload. Enjoy!
Figure 2 - Select Document
Figure 3 - Choose Organize Button
Figure 4 - Choose Collection
Interview with the Resource Database
Recently I had a chance to catch up with the Resource Database, which is rare given his reclusive ways as of late. Today, I bring you the answers you demand.
Me: So mssqlsystemresource, can I call you Resource Database?
RD: Sure, just keep in mind I won’t return your queries.
Me: So Resource Database, what have you been doing with yourself lately? Where have you been? What have you been up to?
RD: Oh, just hanging out behind the scenes. I don’t like the limelight, I leave that to my friend, TempDB. Most administrators don’t even know I exist and I like it that way.
Me: Shouldn’t administrators know about you?
RD: NOOOOO! Next thing you know they will want to query me for data, try to change my settings, and next thing you know they will corrupt me! I’m not having that. This is all off the record, right?
Me: Ah, sure. So what secrets are you hiding?
RD: I mostly work by keeping all the secrets of the system objects, you know sys.objects, I keep all of that stored and sealed up.
Me: Wait a minute? We see those in the sys schema of every database. What gives?
RD: Logically you are correct but physically you are incorrect. They are mine. How else do you think you can upgrade SQL Server? By letting everyone mess with those objects? I don’t think so! This interview is over! I’m outta here!
Me: Well there you have it folks. The mysterious Resource Database remains mysterious. Enjoy!
Something Technical This Way Comes
To quote Ray Bradbury in Something Wicked This Way Comes: “Everything that happens before Death is what counts.”
Wow! How simple and profound. Do you live your life as if it counts for something? Do you have a passion? Are you living your life for that passion?
My passion is best practices for SQL Server and I am taking a step forward in my professional development by putting together a presentation that I will submit to SQL Saturday Orlando. I have struggled with this for sometime now and like most people I find it difficult to speak in front of audiences. That is really sad, because from 1999 through 2001 I was a travelling consultant that would teach classes and present in front of total strangers. As I moved away from that lifestyle, I became more of an introvert for some unknown reason and it is really difficult to break those chains. So if my presentation is accepted and you attend my class, keep that in mind. I welcome your advice and words of wisdom.
Enjoy!
Saturday SQL Schoolhouse
SQL Schoolhouse!
Today’s installment of the Saturday SQL Schoolhouse is brought to you by all of our fine friends who offer free eBooks for SQL Server. Below you will see a compiled list of free SQL Server eBooks available for your download. Enjoy!
- Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2012: PDF, ePUB, MOBI
- Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2: PDF, XPS
- Troubleshooting SQL Server: A Guide for the Accidental DBA : PDF
- SQL Server Statistics: PDF
- Brad’s Sure Guide to Maintenance Plans: PDF
- Protecting SQL Server Data: PDF
- SQL Server Tacklebox: PDF
- How to Become an Exceptional DBA: PDF
- SQL Server Stumpers Vol.5: PDF
- Mastering SQL Server Profiler: PDF
Enjoy!
Saturday SQL Schoolhouse in Honor of World Backup Day
SQL Schoolhouse!
Today’s installment of the Saturday SQL Schoolhouse is brought to you in honor of World Backup Day, a day every DBA should celebrate! However, DBAs know that World Backup Day should be practiced daily! Here are some great backup articles for you to peruse. Enjoy!
- Introduction to Backup and Restore Strategies in SQL Server by MSDN
- SQL Server Backup Best Practices by Michael Otey (Blog)
- Questions About SQL Server Backups | SQL Aloha by Brad McGehee (Blog | Twitter)
- Backup & Restore by Kimberly L. Tripp (Blog | Twitter)
- Backup Resources | Home Of The Scary DBA by Grant Fritchey (Blog | Twitter)
- In Recovery… | Backup/Restore by Paul Randal (Blog | Twitter)
Saturday SQL Schoolhouse
SQL Schoolhouse!
Today’s installment of the Saturday SQL Schoolhouse is brought to you by our fine friends across the pond, SQL Bits. One day I would like to attend this conference as I hear that it is quite an event! With the conference aside, this is an excellent SQL Server educational resource as there are all the previous presentations from the past years’ conferences and many of them contain video presentations! Take advantage of this excellent educational opportunity!
Enjoy!
Back In the Saddle Again
After spending a week at Paul Randal’s Immersion Event training, a week dedicated to standing up our new clusters, and then SQL Saturday this past weekend in Tampa, I am glad to get back to my SQL Servers. I missed them. Does anyone else ever feel like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, me neither. Now to get caught up on my various administrative duties that have queued up in the meantime. I am back in the saddle again!
I am going to be working on some blog posts for Best Practices this week after getting my new clusters all best practiced up! I am also working on some write ups for things I learned at SQL Saturday #110 in Tampa. I hope you enjoy!
Today is SQL Saturday Letdown Day!
SQL Saturday #110 in Tampa is in the books. Done. Finito. Over. The Sunday after SQL Saturday is the proverbial sugar crash for the weekend. What comes up must come down.
The build up for months of anticipation meets the pre-cons and then comes the big day SQL SATURDAY! Meeting all of the #SQLFamily, meeting local user group friends, meeting new peers and SQL rock stars makes for an excellent day, and oh yeah there was some amazing FREE training thrown in there, too.
Now we must face the reality: we have one year to wait until the next Tampa SQL Saturday! Well not really, as we are one of the lucky ones that has two events, our second one is for business intelligence held in the fall. And I won’t mention that we have one in Orlando in the late summer, early fall. Ok, I’ll admit that we are spoiled here, but I never get enough of these events.
I had planned this year to attend the events in Jacksonville and Atlanta, however I have exams on both of those weekends for one of my college courses. What a bummer! I may then have to expand out to South Florida or Pensacola to make up for the loss! See you there!
Enjoy!
SQL Swampland 