SQL Aloha » Question of the Month

February Question: If you weren’t a DBA, what would you like to do?

Admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:30:15 +0000

Sometimes its fun to think of what career you might have chosen if you hadn’t become a DBA. With this in mind, this month’s qustion is “If you weren’t a DBA, what would you like to do?” Tell us what careers you considered before becoming a DBA, including any crazy ones, such as becoming an actor, write, or Intenet tycoon. Use your imagination and have some fun with your response.

Post your responses to the SQL Server Question of the Month in the comments section below (at www.bradmcgehee.com if you are viewing this from a syndicated newsfeed). And don’t forget to enter your e-mail address when you post your response, so I can contact you if you win.

Because there is no right or wrong answer, this month’s winner will be selected randomly from all the entries that are received.

This Month’s Prizes

The prizes this month are an Amazon.com voucher worth US $50.00 and a license for SQL Virtual Restore with one year of support and upgrades. SQL Virtual Restore lets you mount your backups as live, fully functional databases – relieving 8 common causes of DBA Pain. Find out how.

January Question: What feature(s) of SQL Server would you like to learn more about?

Admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:15:36 +0000

Although SQL Server 2012 coming out this year, I think some of us are still trying to catch up with all the new features introduced in SQL Server 2008. SQL Server has become so feature-laden, I think it is becoming harder and harder to keep up. With this in mind, this month’s qustion is “What feature(s) of SQL Server would you like to learn more about?” Tell us what features of SQL Server you have yet to explore, but would like to learn more about when you find the time.

Because there is no right or wrong answer, this month’s winner will be selected randomly from all the entries that are received.

This Month’s Prizes

The prizes this month are an Amazon voucher worth $50.00 and a license for SQL HyperBac, with one year of support and upgrades. SQL HyperBac is an industry-proven compression and encryption tool for SQL Server backups. It integrates seamlessly with your existing backup techniques to silently compress SQL Server backups by up to 95% for faster, smaller backups. To find out more, visit the Red Gate website.

December Question: When reflecting on this year, what has gone well, and what would you do differently?

Admin — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:00:04 +0000

December is the last month of the year, and is often a good time to reflect on the past year and think about the upcoming year. So, for this month’s question, “When reflecting on this year, what has gone well, and what would you do differently?”, tell us what went well for you, and why; and feel free to share with us any experiences that you learned from that will affect how you might do them differently in the future.

Because there is no right or wrong answer, this month’s winner will be selected randomly from all the entries that are received.

This Month’s Prizes

The prizes this month are an Amazon.com voucher worth US$50.00 and a license for SQL Backup Pro 6.5 with one year of support and upgrades. SQL Backup Pro compresses, strengthens and encrypts SQL Server backups – as well as giving you network resilience, backup verification and much more. To download a free trial, visit the Red Gate website.

November Question: What is your favorite, and not so favorite hardware to run SQL Server on?

bradmcgehee — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:00:20 +0000

Selecting which hardware to run SQL Server on is often discussed among DBAs. So, for this month’s question, “What is your favorite, and not so favorite hardware to run SQL Server on?”, tell us about the hardware you love, the hardware you hate, and why.

Also, get your free copy of Glenn Berry’s eBook on SQL Server Hardware Choices Made Easy.

Because there is no right or wrong answer, this month’s winner will be selected randomly from all the entries that are received.

This Month’s Prizes

October Question: What one thing do you feel has the greatest impact on SQL Server’s performance?

bradmcgehee — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 15:30:58 +0000

When it comes to databases, many DBAs obsess over performance, and for good reason, as when user’s begain to complain about slow performance, it is the DBA who is often blamed. So, for this month’s question, “Tell us what one thing do you feel has the greatest impact on SQL Server’s performance?”

Because there is no right or wrong answer, this month’s winner will be selected randomly from all the entries that are received.

This Month’s Prizes

The prizes this month are an Amazon.com voucher worth US $50.00 and a license for SQL Monitor 2.3, with one year of support and upgrades. SQL Monitor is a web-based monitoring and alerting tool which enables you to keep an eye on SQL server performance in real time on desktop machines and mobile devices. To find out more and see a live demo of SQL Monitor, visit http://www.thefutureofmonitoring.com/.

September Question: Tell us about your DBA interview experiences: good and bad.

bradmcgehee — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:16:52 +0000

I have only interviewed for a handful DBA jobs over the years, but they have ranged all the way from very easy (I got the job with no problem); to horrible, where I was faced down by three DBAs who did their best to embarass me in front of them. I actually walked out of this interview before it was done. So, for this month’s question, “Tell us about your DBA interview experiences: good and bad.” Tell us about any good or bad DBA-related interview experiences you have had in the past, and while you are at it, perhaps you can include some helpful interviewing tips if you have any to share.

Because there is no right or wrong answer, this month’s winner will be selected randomly from all the entries that are received.

This Month’s Prizes

August Question: How Do You Manage Your Transact-SQL Scripts?

bradmcgehee — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 16:20:27 +0000

Whether it is Transact-SQL for applications you are developing, or just for routine administrative tasks, managing Transact-SQL has never been easy. Some people use some version of source control software, while others use folders in the file system, and so on. So, for this month’s question, “How do you manage your Transact-SQL scripts?”, tell us how you currently manage your Transact-SQL scripts, along with why you are using the method you describe. Post your responses to the SQL Server Question of the Month in the comments section below (at www.bradmcgehee.com if you are viewing this from a syndicated newsfeed). And don’t forget to enter your e-mail address when you post your response, so I can contact you if you win.

Because there is no right or wrong answer, this month’s winner will be selected randomly from all the entries that are received.

This Month’s Prizes

The prizes this month are an Amazon.com voucher worth US$50.00 and a license for SQL Source Control 2.2 with one year of support and upgrades. Not heard of SQL Source Control? It links your databases to your existing source control system straight from SSMS, so you can enjoy the benefits of source control without having to disrupt your workflow. Find out more.

July Question: What Do You Think are the Most Common DBA Pain Points?

bradmcgehee — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 18:36:27 +0000

While being a DBA is challenging and often rewarding, we often experience a lot of pain points that we wish would go away. So, for this month’s question, “What do you think are the most common DBA pain points?”, please share with us areas in your job where you experience the most pain. If you have any suggestions on how to make the pain go away, then offer them.

Because there is no right or wrong answer, this month’s winner will be selected randomly from all the entries that are received.

This Month’s Prizes

The prizes this month are an Amazon.com voucher worth US$50.00 and a license for SQL Virtual Restore 2.3 with one year of support and upgrades. SQL Virtual Restore lets you mount your backups as live, fully functional databases – relieving 8 common causes of DBA Pain. Find out how.