Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • The DBA Database

    database
    Having a database to store DBA type data can be very helpful for a busy administrator.

    Do you have a DBA database on all your instances? I’ve always kept a small database on all instances, usually standardized with a set of tables and procedures that I used to monitor and track activity on the instance. By keeping this fairly standard, I could script and deploy it during all new installs as well as easily aggregate information from all instances on a central server, usually in a slightly larger version of my DBA database.

    It’s nice to see more and more DBAs using this same technique in their environments. Over the last few years I’ve seen lots of articles and blog posts that recommend building a DBA database and populating it with DBA-stuff. That DBA-stuff can be anything from tracking backup sizes, to storing performance metrics, to keeping trace data. I’ve seen some neat implementations with Service Broker that use the DBA database as a repository for a queue to which they can send messages. Based on those message, they can have the instance  perform some action.

    There are any number of standards or corporate reasons not to include extra databases, but none of them really make sense. The DBA database, and any administrative tasks that use this database essentially act as a proxy for the DBA. Almost every piece of data stored in this database is data that the DBA would query or use on a regular basis. Keeping it inside a database set aside for this purpose allows the DBA to act more efficiently.

    If you haven’t built a DBA database, I’d encourage you to do so on all your instances. Secure it so only sysadmins can access it, but use it to capture and store information about the ongoing health of your SQL Server.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

    We publish three versions of the podcast each day for you to enjoy.

  • #GetHawt – The Summer 2012 Edition

    Jen McCown started a #GetHawt set of posts last year and I think it went well. It must have, so she started an invitation for a summer competition. Silly me hadn’t been paying much attention, even though I’d seen the tweets. I finally caught up this last week, and decided to unofficially join in.

    Update, I meant to publish this on Friday, but didn’t get it completed in time, so I’m sending it out today.

    I’ve been running for some time. I keep a log (if you care), and today is day 1427 for me of running at least a mile every day. On the US Running Streak Association site, I’m #228 on the active list.

    In all the time, however, I haven’t gotten in great shape. I’m fit, and I feel wonderful, but I haven’t been what you’d call Hawt-shape. Years ago I did the Body for Life diet/challenge with my wife and we got in great shape together. She wanted to try it again, and we started it back up a little over 3 weeks ago. I weighed 224 late last year, which was a bit heavy. I’d like to get lower, but I’m not overly driven by weight.

    I weighed myself this week on my scale and it said 205. Note that 205lbs on my scale does not necessarily bear any relation to 205 on any other scale in the universe. We’ve had this old, analog scale since 1992 or so and I can only use relative measurements. I know I was north of 220 earlier this year, so I have slimmed a bit.

    It’s going well, and I like it. In terms of the #GetHawt competition, it lines up OK. I drink a ton of water, exercise every day, eat 6 meals a day, get one day off each week to do anything. In terms of the points for last week for me:

    Friday – Good day exercising with my son and running for 20. Good meals, with grilled, low fat foods for 30 points, lots of water, lots of sleep (I love summer), sticking with the habits of the new routine, but had a soda. 85 points

    Saturday – Free day for me. Ate decent, but enjoyed myself with pizza, tortilla chips and a brownie desert. 20 points for running 3.5 miles, 6 points for one decent meal (it’s free day), 10 pts for water, 15 pts for sleep, for a total of 51.

    Sunday – baseball and a 2mi run, water, good meals (6 small meals, no snacks), sleep, got back into the habit of chores. 95 pts since I have no teammates.

    Monday – lift, run, water, eating all good. Talked my wife into lifting with my son and I, slept. Sticking to the good habits of the diet, and no soda (trying to cut down), so 100 pts.

    Tuesday – Great run, more of the same, but no communication today since my wife was gone. 95 points.

    Wednesday – Run, bike, etc. 20 points. Ate well, even threw some candy in the trash without eating it 30 points. water, sleep, 25pts. Communication with my wife and kid 5 pts. Special trip to get a diet coke, -10 points. 70pts.

    Thursday – Not a bad day, but I missed the lifting today. I got busy, and ran but my exercise is a getting a bit off track. 20 points. I’ll call it only 18 points for food since the kids got me to stop after volleyball and have part of a burrito. 10 for water, and -10 for a large coke zero. My wife avoided me and I didn’t chase her down. 38 points.

    Friday? Up early to fly to Sacramento for SQL Saturday #144. I’ll mostly stuck to the diet. I didn’t have any alcohol at the party, but couldn’t resist Will Meier’s pulled pork. I did mostly have vegetables, and had a good eating day. Call it 20 points for a run in the park, 24 points eating, 10 with lots of water, and 10 for avoiding diet drinks and beer. 64 points.

    In a week, that’s 534 points. Not sure if that’s good or bad, but I managed that on Fri-Thur. I wasn’t a strict dieter on the Body for Life diet on Sat/Sun, but I was pretty good.

    Even with a double double from In-N-Out on Saturday on the way to the airport.

  • Better Bosses Needed

    Bad Boss Contest
    Hopefully your boss wouldn’t end up in this contest.

    Raise your hand if you have a bad boss. Now raise your hand if you’ve ever had a bad boss. I can’t quite make a count, but I’m hoping that those of you with raised hands constitute a minority of my readers. I’m somewhat afraid that you probably constitute a majority.

    That’s not such a bad thing, right? After all, many of us have had lots of bosses, starting at age 16 or 17, and continuing on through today. There’s a good chance that somewhere along the line we had a really, really bad boss. The people that used to manage paper boys, or clerks, or fast food cooks aren’t known for their superior leadership skills, are they?

    However you would think that in business that developing good managers would be a priority, wouldn’t you? So many people seem to lavish much of the success in business on management, so one would think that companies actually do spend time and money to train managers to be excellent at their jobs. Please stop laughing, you’re distracting me from continuing.

    Those of you that have been managers know that all too often there is no training. People are thrown into the job, expected to manage while learning on the job. Those that survive, or perhaps thrive, get promoted. Unfortunately that’s the theory. All too often I find those that please their boss are promoted.

    A bad boss can be rather damaging, and in these days of complex systems, short deadlines, and a struggle to to find good employees, wouldn’t you want to keep as many good employees as you can? If you can’t train great managers, can you at least train them to not be bad ones?

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

    We publish three versions of the podcast each day for you to enjoy.

  • Performance Data

    monitoring in the cloud
    Are you worried about security for your performance metrics?

    A good DBA is monitoring their system, looking for problems on a regular basis. The best DBAs are pro-actively heading off future issues by tuning or adding resources to their systems before a problem surfaces. It seems, however, that it’s the rare DBA that is really on top of their environment all the time, examining performance metrics to look for indications of any abnormality. I guess the best DBAs have routines that look for deviations from baselines, alerting them of potential issues.

    SQL Server has grown over the years to add new features that make the administrator’s job easier. The addition of SQL Agent and its alerting capabilities have helped for a long time, and in recent versions we’ve gotten eventing as well as the development of tools like the Policy Based Management (PBM) framework to allow the instance to do work for the administrator.

    More recently we’ve seen Project Atlanta at Microsoft became the System Center Advisor. This is service that uploads metrics from your instances for evaluation by specialists, and presumably some expert systems, at Microsoft. I don’t know how well it works or how effective people feel it is, but it’s an interesting idea. Ignoring the effectiveness of the service for now, I’m wondering about something related this Friday.

    Do you feel your performance metrics need to be secured?

    I’m wondering how you would classify the data from System Monitor, from alerts, events, PBM, and more. Does it require a high level of security for your organization? Are you concerned about contracting with someone to analyze the data and report back to you about things that might improve performance? Many people contract with consultants like SQLskills for Health Checks, but that’s at an individual level.

    Let me know this Friday how you feel.

    Steve Jones

    If you’re interested in trying out a hosted monitoring service, sign up for updates on the new SQL Monitor SaaS Edition.

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

    We publish three versions of the podcast each day for you to enjoy.