SQL Aloha

March Question: What is the biggest mistake/problem you have ever found on a SQL Server instance, and how did you fix it?

Post your responses to the above SQL Aloha 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.

I’ll pick the winner that offers what I think is the most original, useful and complete answer to the question. If some of the responses are very similar, then I will select the one that was posted first. The winner will be announced on this page the first week of April. Good luck!

For more information, click on the Question of the Month tab above.

Should DBAs be Paid Overtime?

For the past several weeks, I have been running a poll on www.bradmcgehee.com, asking visitors if they thought that DBAs should be paid for off-hours work? With 259 votes, its very clear (see the graph below) that most DBAs think they should be paid overtime. Unfortunately, this is usually not the case.

Most DBAs work on a salary, and are paid the same no matter how many hours a week they work, whether it’s 40 hours, or 60 hours. In some cases, employers will offer compensation time (paid time off) to make up for working overtime, and some employers reward DBAs with annual bonuses, but this is more the exception than the rule.

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Speaking in Cambridge, England March 24, 2010

If you are near Cambridge, England, I will be speaking at the Cambridge SQL Server Users Group on Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

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SQLBits 6 to Be Held in London, April 16, 2010

The upcoming SQLBits 6, to be held Friday, April 16, 2010, will be held at the Church House Conference Centre in Westminster, London, England. This full day, free event will be themed around SQL Server performance and scalability.

Currently, the call for speakers is open, and if you would like to submit session abstracts for consideration, you can find out more here.

Official registration for the event will begin in March, but if you planning on attending, you need to mark your calendar now, and also sign up at the SQLBits website in order to be notified as soon as registration opens.

Where Do You Look on the Internet for SQL Server Jobs?

I recently had a SQL Server DBA write to me that they were going to be laid off, and they asked me if I had any special insight into what are the best websites to look for SQL Server-related jobs. I haven’t looked for a SQL Server job in a long time, so I didn’t have any good suggestions based on personal experience.

So let’s help out this person. Based on your personal experience, what job websites do you recommend when searching for a new SQL Server-related job?

Adventures in Webinar Presentations

Over the past several years, I have given 2-3 live web presentations a year, and I have always found them to be an adventure. In other words, there always seems to be one problem or another.

Sometimes the meeting software used is not very cooperative, connection speeds vary (or drop), recordings don’t record as expected, and many more. In a webinar I gave today, my laptop froze just seconds before I was to give my presentation, which caused a sudden rise in my blood pressure. In the end, everything worked out, and my session on “How to Become an Exceptional DBA” had just over 700 people during peak attendance.
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2010 MVP Summit Held This Week

If you can’t tell what is happening in the above photo, you won’t be alone. Today, at the opening keynote at the 2010 MVP Summit, the audience of nearly 1,400 Microsoft MVPs, from over 70 countries, got to see one of Seattle’s most famous traditions, the Pike Place Fish Market fish toss on stage. Microsoft brought in four “fishmongers” who first ran through the audience, tossing salmon back and forth, and when they reached the stage, a Microsoft MVP volunteer (far left), came onto the stage to toss fish with the professionals. The MVP must have had experience, as he didn’t drop the fish, and he tossed it back with the confidence of a professional fishmonger. Continue reading this post »

SQL Server 2005 & 2008 SP Release Dates

Microsoft has announced that Service Pack 2 for SQL Server 2008 will be released in the third quarter of 2010, and that Service Pack 4 for SQL Server 2005 will be released in the fourth quarter of 2010. Find out more here.