SQL Server, This Is What I Do

Today is the first monday of the Month which makes it Meme Monday. The assignment for March from SQL Rockstar is:

List out all the little things you do as a DBA, since the term DBA means so many different things in each shop.

I’m more of a Development DBA these days so I’m guessing my list will be quite different. Some of these may be specific to what I am working on now, but I think they are typical of how I spend my days. These are in no order of frequency of importance, but just as they came to mind.

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Ready for the RAID

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives 2, Chapter 5

Storage Design Considerations – by Denny Cherry (B|T)

I’ve really enjoyed reading all of the chapters on design, but I believe I learned more new things reading this chapter than all of the others combined. Probably because I was particularly ignorant of the subject before I started. As I’ve stated before I am not a hardware guy. Scarily enough I have been responsible for multiple servers and choosing the storage used for SQL server databases without really knowing what I was using. I stuck to typical set ups and got advice when I needed it. When that wasn’t enough I brought in someone I trusted to take over and figure it out for me. It worked out well for the most part and I knew enough to swap out a failed drive when I needed to on a RAID 5. After reading Mr. Cherry’s chapter on storage I believe I could hold my own in a conversation with the operational DBA’s and the SAN administrators. The chapter starts out with a discussion of the different RAID types.

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Big Plans, Phase 1

In addition to my Deep Dive reviews, I am planning on adding some technical content to the blog. Towards that goal I have started researching what I need to set up at home for a testing environment. At the same time I am looking at what level of laptop I can afford to start doing some presenting.  I am a software geek at heart and while I can usually figure out the hardware side of technology, I don’t enjoy that particular puzzle as much. I spent more time thinking about computer hardware this weekend than I have in a long time.

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Louis’s Law

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives 2, Chapter 4

Characteristics of a Great Relational Database – by Louis Davidson (B|T)

I believe chapter four of Deep Dives 2 should be required reading for all non-database developers. It is not only a great overview of what makes up a good database design, but speaks to why it is best to design things in a relational way. Data architects don’t sit around plotting how to make life difficult for developers (that is just a side benefit), but they design a SQL Server database to make the best use of the relational database engine. Davidson lists out seven criteria for good database design with the added requirement that “it works.” “It works” is sort of the bare minimum for a database and it needs to be kept in mind or all of the effort of designing the database is meaningless. When I read chapter four I was reminded of the Boy Scout Law listing the characteristics scouts strive for. I took Davidson’s criteria and wrote it out as Louis’s Law.

A Relational Database is Coherent, Normal, Fundamentally Sound, Documented, Secure, Encapsulated, Well Performing, and it works.

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Don’t Plan to Fail

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives 2, Chapter 3

Architectural Growth Pains – by Chris Shaw (B|T)

One of the things that struck me after I finished this chapter was how readable each topic has been. I realize this is only my third review, but I’ve read ahead a bit and it holds true for at least six of the MVP authors and I am guessing it will be true for all sixty. Chris Shaw pulls you into the possibly dry topic of database design with an anecdote of his days training to become a United States Marine. I grew up a military dependent (aka a Brat) so I related to Mr. Shaw’s story quite well. Even if he is a Jarhead. (Sorry Mr. Shaw, but my dad was a pilot in the US Air Force. Marines will always be Jarheads in my worldview.) Continue reading →

Are You Missing LinkedIn?

I’m late to the game with Meme15, but when I saw this month was going to be about LinkedIn I was glad to join in on the conversation.  In my experience LinkedIn is sort of the step-child of the social media world; the slightly standoffish, well-behaved step child who has a really good job. Which is what LinkedIn is about, jobs and careers. It is the place to be for professional networking and I lived there 24/7 for a couple of weeks back in October 2011 after getting laid off. Continue reading →

We Are All Individuals

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives 2, Chapter 2

“Yes, we are all individuals” A look at uniqueness in the world of SQL – by Rob Farley (B|T)

After realizing that the chapter title was based on a quote from Monty Python’s Life of Brian I was expecting a lot from chapter 2. I was not disappointed. It is perhaps not quite as entertaining as hearing Rob give a PASS Lightning Talk about collation, but it was easy to read and I learned a lot. I learned random things like, a unique constraint shows up as a blue key in the object explorer. And I learned cool things like, combining a unique index with a filter to create unique pockets of data. I’m not sure when I would use that , but it is cool to know that I could. The example in the chapter is that you could enforce a rule stating all products which are red must have a different name, but there can be duplicate names among other colors. Continue reading →

SQL Smackdown

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives 2, Chapter 1

Where Are My Keys? by Ami Levin (B|T)

The first Deep Dive is a no holds barred write-up by Ami Levin on the controversial subject of Natural keys vs Surrogate keys. Which was a great read for me because the first thing I learned was that there is a controversy in the database world over the use of natural keys vs. surrogate keys. The chapter starts out explaining what the difference is between the two and then outlines the benefits (and limitations) of each one. Continue reading →

SQL Server MVP Deep Dives, Volume 2

As the tagline of the blog suggests, I am still learning. I am smart and able to solve problems quickly, but my knowledge of SQL Server is entirely self-taught. I have never sat in a classroom learning about SQL Server, but I read a lot and I’m the master of the Google search. I learn quickly and I am a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist for both SQL Server 2008 Database Development and SQL Server 2008 Implementation and Maintenance, but there are gaps in my knowledge. Also there are some things you only learn by doing. While I learn new things every day in my job as a Database Developer  this year I decided I would also pick a book and work my way through it Continue reading →

Hello, Join!

When I got a job as a database developer in 2002 I found out afterwards that the reason they hired me was because I gave a good answer to the question,

What is the difference between an inner and outer join?

Having just received a technology degree with a course in database design I thought this was a pretty softball question. Fast forward to my 2011 job search. This same question was a part of my technical interview about half of the time. I still think it is an easy question, but it’s good to know that some things don’t change in the technology world.

Simply put, an inner join includes everything in both tables where they match on a column (or columns) and an outer join Continue reading →