Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • The Lineup

    Can you pick me out?

     

    lineup

  • Checking Baselines with SQL Monitor

    We’ve got a demo of SQL Monitor available that takes data from the actual SQLServerCentral systems and presents it publicly. The data is slightly delayed, but it’s the real data and it shows the performance of our system.

    I actually use this at times when the site isn’t responding well. It’s quicker for me to hit monitor.red-gate.com than log into VPN and check the real instance.

    I was reading a report for a customer recently and they mentioned they used the baseline feature to track performance of the system when they make changes, using this to decide if they think the changes were positive or negative.

    Note: they rarely roll back, instead using this data to determine if they need to dig into more specifics and then create a new deployment (roll forward) that can address issues.

    Baselines

    There has been a lot written about baselines, but essentially these are a way of capturing what is “normal” for your system. If current performance deviates from normal, you might have cause for concern.

    Of course, this is a gross way of looking at a system and you have to apply some of your own knowledge to determine if you have issues, or some transient workload is altering performance during your sample period.

    You can see a demo of baselines online and play with the ranges. It looks similar to this image below, in which case I can see the last 24 hours of my CPU time, and then compare that with the 24 hours before that.

    baseline

    Using this type of diagram, I can quickly visualize issues that might be occurring without resorting to complex analysis.

    This doesn’t give me the exact problem. I’d still need to dig into the code being run, look at execution plans and other detailed data (much of which I can get from SQL Monitor as well), but this does let me make an initial judgment on where to focus my time.

    I would highly encourage you to run, keep, and update baselines on your system. At the very least, you should have an idea of what types of performance should exist on critical systems.

  • Embrace Stored Procedures

    I’ve read a lot of pieces on stored procedures. Most of the articles were for using stored procedures, quite a few were against their use, and a handful with extreme opinions. This piece from Rob Conery, while perhaps NSFW, is one of the latest, and more entertaining, pieces I’ve read that discusses the value stored procedures bring to an application.

    For the most part I agree with the presentation, though not completely. It’s an interesting discussion about business logic v data logic, and while I do think that some logic isn’t really central to your business, there are ways you manipulate data that might be necessary in multiple parts of your business. Those manipulations might make more sense in the database as a stored procedure rather than trying to ensure every application implements (and updates) the logic in its own code.

    I do like Mr. Conery pointing out the fact that ORMs or custom applications might be extremely wasteful in implementing a process with multiple calls, and stored procedures handle these functions more efficiently. We have fast networks and powerful hardware, but those calls do add up, especially if your system gets popular and has lots of users.

    Ultimately I think the last sentence sums things up nicely: let’s wake up to the power of our relational systems. That’s something that developers should embrace. Why only use half the power of a tool you have? I do think the judgment of how much business logic to include in the database is worth debating, but not at an application by application basis. Think about whether each call, page, form, whatever makes sense as having the programming in the front end or the back end. Whatever you decide, you should be able to explain and justify your choice to the others you work with.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcast

    Listen to the MP3 Audio ( MB) podcast or subscribe to the feed at iTunes and LibSyn.

  • Windows Phone – What Should Microsoft Do?

    I’ve been intrigued by Windows Phone as a platform. I’ve never owned one, and while I considered getting one, the dearth of apps led me to an Android instead. I really tried to get down to a list of core apps that I needed, which was 12 or 15 at the time. However 3 or 4 weren’t in the Windows App Store and I decided against Windows phone.

    My daughter really wanted a Windows Phone and got one a few years ago. She loved it at first and almost made it a year before she got annoyed by missing apps and moved to Android (which she loves).

    I have been hoping that WP would continue to improve, not only in it’s internal quality, but also with more apps and users. I read a piece about the issues with Windows Phone (The End of Windows Phone?) and while I’m not sure I think it is dying, the author brings up some good points that I worry about.

    Apps

    Apps are critical. I know plenty of people think that a couple calculator apps, and a few password apps, etc. are good enough. People can choose from a few. However that’s missing the point.

    People like diversity. They like choice. They like looking for apps. There are a few places I get news from that publish new and cool apps, or apps that are free for a limited time every week.

    Every week I get a list of 5 or 10 apps, some new, some old. Periodically I’ll download one. Sometimes I’ll buy a paid version. The point is, I’m interacting with the app store and my phone, changing it to my liking on a regular basis.

    My phone is something I’m always tweaking a bit, like my early PCs. However Microsoft seems to almost want to treat the phone like a network router. I set it up and forget about it, just using it. That’s not what’s going to grow the store.

    I checked this week and there isn’t a native Starbucks app. That particular app has become somewhat a strong desire for me, so no Windows Phone for me. There are others, and I think that’s an issue.

    As I’ve noted to many people before, I think the big failure from MS here is not just building more apps. Certainly it takes third parties to provide some diversity, but spending $10mm on developers as salary to build apps, and not as incentives, would be better. Paying interns to work with Starbucks and MLB and many other places to build native apps, would be a wise move.

    Windows Everywhere

    I had a Windows 6 phone. I was excited about the idea of Windows everywhere. Over time I realize that model doesn’t work. The whole way I work on a desktop or laptop, with it’s semi-designed interfaced (it’s more evolved) isn’t how I want to work on a tablet or phone. It just isn’t. The idea of Windows everywhere, with apps running on all platforms without being rebuilt doesn’t make sense. The buttons, flows, controls, actions, etc. on a desktop aren’t practical elsewhere.

    The reverse is also true. The way I use a tablet doesn’t work on a desktop. I’d have hoped Windows 8 taught you that.

    I really want my data everywhere, not my apps. Stop fighting this. Make native Office apps for iOS, Android, WP8, separate from those on Windows. Don’t try to force things to work well and be highly engineered. We saw that fail with the CORBA architectures, with OS/2, etc. You’re better off worrying about data, not apps.

    The Future

    Windows 10 doesn’t really excite me on the desktop, except for one thing: Copy/paste in the command prompt. That’s it. What else do I need Windows to do? A better Start menu? Please, I spend seconds a day in the start menu. Even on a laptop, it’s very few interactions. Perhaps more on a tablet, but to get me to move to a Windows Phone or tablet, I need something compelling over the iPad.  What will Windows Phone 10 do?

    Cortana is interesting, but I still hesitate to speak to my devices. I’m in too many public places and it’s not an interaction I’m looking for. I’ve seen some people that use speech to text heavily, and successfully, even in louder environments. However it still feels silly, and an interruption on life for me. Perhaps if Cortana does more reminders, prediction, and analysis of my interactions on the device, I’ll try it.

    The movement towards limiting switching between apps is good, especially for messaging. The quick respond on iOS hasn’t caught on for me, for some reason, and switching apps is annoying. The link to my desktop makes some sense, but if that’s going to happen, then one thing better be ready:

    Undo.

    I make mistakes all the time. I will continue to do so, and any actions I take better have an easy, quick, and intuitive way to "undo" things.

    I don’t have great hopes for Windows Phone unless the app situation is resolved. If it is, then perhaps there’s a low enough bar to just switch to try a new OS on the phones. However I’m not sure any other features you could build into a phone would overcome the app deficiency.