Opinion - Category Archive
The following is a list of all entries from the Opinion category.
DBAs and the Career-Life Balance
DBA Career,Opinion | January 20, 2012 | 11:37 amReprinted from my editorial in Database Weekly. I know a lot of DBAs who make SQL Server the focus of their life. In many ways, if you want to be an exceptional DBA, and stand out from the crowd, you don’t have a lot of choice about devoting a lot of time to your career. ...read more
Does the Role of the DBA Need to Evolve?
Opinion | December 14, 2011 | 12:51 pmThis editorial was originally published in Database Weekly. The November 2011 edition of Popular Science magazine was devoted to data. In fact, the special issue was called “Data is Power: How Information is Driving the Future”. The focus of the issue was how we can use data to transform the world. According to the magazine, ...read more
What SQL Server Books Do You Recommend?
Opinion | August 8, 2011 | 11:20 amReprinted and amended from my editorial at Database Weekly. For nearly 11 years now, one of the most common questions people e-mail me about is what SQL Server books do I recommend for the novice DBA. A decade ago, there were many, many titles available, and it was easy for me to recommend books. I ...read more
Where Do You Go for Authoritative SQL Server Best Practices?
Opinion | June 27, 2011 | 11:36 amReprinted from my editorial in Database Weekly. In early 2000, I started a new DBA job with a large organization, as their first full-time SQL Server DBA. My first job was to clean up the mess left by several accidental DBAs who had gone before me, and who had implemented several SQL Server instances without ...read more
100% Microsoft?
Opinion | May 10, 2011 | 12:08 pmReprinted from my editorial in Database Weekly. When I was a junior DBA many years ago (even before the company I work for now, Red Gate Software existed), I ran across some third-party software for SQL Server that I thought could really benefit my productivity and save my organization money. I presented my case, proving ...read more
SQLskills SQL Server Immersion Training: A Retrospective
DBA Career,Opinion | February 27, 2011 | 7:11 pmLast week I attended the inaugural training event of the new four-week SQL Server Immersion Training offered by Kimberly Tripp and Paul Randall of SQLskills.com. The four available training weeks include: Internals and Performance Performance Tuning High Availability and Disaster Recovery Security, PowerShell, and Development Support I attended the Internals and Performance class in Dallas, ...read more
How Do You Work When You are Not at Work?
DBA Career,Opinion | December 13, 2010 | 2:24 pmFrom my Database Weekly editorial. Most of us DBAs don’t work in a standard 40-hour a week job. We often have to work late, work weekends, and be on call just in case a problem arises. If you’ve been a DBA for a really long time, you still remember the days before the Internet, VPN ...read more
When Times are Tough, Do You Rise to the Occasion?
Opinion | October 17, 2010 | 11:06 amThis is a reprint of my editorial in Database Weekly. Scenario One: The new third-party application, purchased by your company without your involvement, is performing poorly on SQL Server. As the DBA, you are getting a lot of flak from users and management, but your hands are severely tied as to what you can do ...read more
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