Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • Showing Its Age

    Are these computer too old to be in production?

    I went to register a new car recently at the DMV and couldn’t do it. Apparently the state DMV system in Colorado was down that week, and had been down for two weeks because of a DR situation. The primary system had failed, and after being down, the state agency moved to their older, backup system. However when that failed, many of the remote offices were down and were issuing extensions to car owners for registrations.

    I am guessing that the Colorado state DMV system runs on some sort of mainframe or mini, and not on a 15 year old PC architecture. However I do know lots of companies that are working on older software, often on older versions of Operating Systems that might struggle to work on newer hardware. It makes me wonder if we will start seeing these types of problems for database applications over time as companies look to extend the lifetime of their IT infrastructure.

    There was a time when it seemed many companies were refreshing servers every 2-3 years, and they would upgrade to a new version of their OS or database platform whenever the vendor released it. However the last 5-6 years have seen many people holding on to older systems. I know lots of companies that are on 4 or 5 year hardware refresh cycles, and there are still lots of SQL Server 2000 instances still running out there.

    For awhile it felt like keeping a database application alive for 10 years was a stretch, but as I look at the evolution of SQL Server, and the power that we have with modern hardware, it doesn’t seem like a stretch. The advances in virtualization can prevent newer hardware architectures from being a problem, and perhaps even extend the lifetime of old software significantly.

    I do think that the latest releases of SQL Server are much, much more efficient and powerful than previous versions. Today’s hardware can even be more cost effective given the price of power and cooling. However if all you need are core database engine features, I’m not sure it’s worth upgrading. Just be sure that you have a better backup plan than the CO DMV.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • Less Pay, More Convenience

    Would you want to work here instead of your office?

    Would you take a pay cut to be able to telecommute? I would, and I have in the past. I took a pretty substantial pay cut to work full time for SQLServerCentral almost a decade ago. It was an impact to me life, both positive and negative, but overall I think it was for the better. We had less money to spend, but I got more time with my kids, which was infinitely more valuable to me.

    It seems that I’m not alone as over a third of IT professionals surveyed would take some pay cut to stay home. The quality of life increase, lower costs, and less stress are definitely worth the trade off and I think more and more people are starting to try to convince their employers to allow remote work.

    However employers are slow to catch on. Most of the jobs that are posted don’t have telecommuting as an option, and many managers are reluctant to allow remote work. I know that I interviewed for two jobs in 2002/2003 and in both cases, they were reluctant to allow me to work at home. For one job I offered to take less money and work from home 4 days a week, but my offer was refused.

    I think we are a long way from telecommuting becoming a common way of working in IT. It will likely take a newer generation of managers and directors that have grown up with the idea of working remotely and with the technology that allows effective work from home to change the prevailing attitude.

    Not everyone wants to telecommute, which is fine. However for those people that do, I think you should make a case for remote work, show examples of how it can work and maybe even decide on some SLA for the way you work. Show your manager that you are willing to work with them to prove it can work and maybe you’ll get the chance to perform an experiment.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • Life is Short

    Dave McIntosh, RIP

    I woke up on Easter morning to an email. A good friend, someone I’ve known for years as a fellow parent in both Girl and Boy Scouts, had

    passed away on Saturday in a plane crash. It was shocking news, made even more sad knowing his family had been present and had seen the crash. My friend, David McIntosh, is survived by his wife and four children and may he rest in peace.

    Over the last few years I have written quite a bit on taking charge of your career, on making an effort to improve your technical skills, and learning to better market yourself. My goal has been to inspire and motivate others to pursue a vocation they enjoy.  I have noted many times that life is too short to take a crappy job, and if you find yourself in such a situation, take steps to make a change.

    Along the way I hav

    e also tried to caution people to find a balance in their lives. Remember that while you invest for the future, you should also live for today.

    Enjoy your life, and embrace it. Smell the roses, and look for the positive side to situations.

    Life can be short. I was reminded of that this weekend in a shocking way.  I hope that you all enjoy long, healthy, successful , and happy lives. I also hope that you remember to appreciate and enjoy the good parts of your lives every day.

    Steve Jones

    My apologies for the lack of a podcast today. The audio and video podcasts will return tomorrow.

  • Why Build a Brand?

    Why should you go to the trouble to start blogging, speaking, answering questions or anything else. What’s the point?

    I’ve written a little before about this. When you build a brand, it helps you to stand out from others. You become more noticeable, and more likely to get the interview. You allow a potential employer to do some due diligence before they call you for an interview, which gives them more confidence you are the right person for the job.

    And that if they call you, knowing your brand, the job is more likely what you want to do. Your brand lets people know what your skills are, what talents you have, and what you might want to do in life.

    Working on your own brand also forces you to think about what you want from your career, or in your career, and it helps you to become better. Working on a better brand means getting better at your career in some way. Whether you blog, speak, or do anything else, you have to learn the topic well enough to teach it.

    You are building an online brand with everything you do online, and many people in technology are regularly building that brand, so take advantage of it, put a little more effort in and get into the top ten percent of people in your field.

    Remember that a brand can have a downside, so use your own version of “The Test” before doing anything online.

    And don’t forget that just because you have a great job your branding doesn’t matter. It can still be useful, even if you don’t want a new job.