Voice of the DBA

Author: way0utwest

  • Getting a Dedicated Admin Connection

    Did you know you can easily get a Dedicated Admin Connection (DAC) in SSMS? I didn’t assuming that I’d need to use a command line and SQLCMD. However while studying for the MCM, I learned that there’s an easy way.

    I tested this on a SQL Server 2008 instance, having a normal connection, as seen in the lower status bar:

    admin_connection2

    Right click in the query window, and select “Change Connection”. In the dialog, not add “Admin:” before the server name, as shown below.

    admin_connection

    When you connect, you’ll have an admin connection, which you can see in the status bar.

    admin_connection1 

    Pretty cool.

  • Strike Force

    Would you want to be part of an elite strike force inside your company? An IT team that can solve complex problems and save the day when there’s a crisis? Or even a large challenge facing your department?

    It sounds cool, and there’s a neat description of an “A-Team for IT” in this article, talking about the types of people that are needed. Overall I think this is a more a list of the ideal types of people that are important for almost any project, especially one that might involve significant investment from a company.

    This started me thinking about the type of person I have been in the technology world. I haven’t provided air support, or been the Über hacker or Fearless Leader that does something amazing. For the most part, I think I’ve been the infrastructure sherpa. Quietly working along, providing support where it’s needed, and just making sure things get done.

    That’s what I think most of us do on a daily basis. We grind away at work, building and fixing things that many people appreciate, but don’t stand out. We don’t get the spotlight, most people in the company aren’t aware of what we do, and that’s fine. Being part of a crisis or strike team sounds cool and exciting, but I think most of us would rather do a solid day’s work for an honest days pay and then go home and get on with out lives.

    Steve Jones

  • Rebuilding my laptop

    I finally got around to adding the new memory (16GB), removing the old 4GB and then replacing the DVD drive with an SSD. Now he hard part: rebuilding the machine.

    In order to use the 16GB, and get VMs to run more smoothly, I need 64 bit Windows 7. I had left the x86 install when I received it since I was worried about my Google calendar sync, and at the time I had a few 32 bit programs that didn’t work well with my 64 bit desktop.

    Almost a year later things are fairly smooth on the desktop, and since I plan on doing more presenting, and more VM work, I need to take advantage of the RAM. Which means a rebuild.

    First step is to back up my machine, which I’m doing now using my Windows Home Server. The next step is to then clone my drive to be safe, and finally I’ll do a reinstall of Windows and begin setting everything back up.

  • The Twelve Days of (SQL) Christmas

    Once upon a time a group of twelve bloggers agreed to each pick a post (or posts)  they found interesting from the previous year, blog about them, comment, and call attention to them. I was tapped to summarize things, and here we go.

    On the twelfth day of Christmas Stuart gave to me, the ghosts of SQL Christmas past, present, and future to read. (A few posts that remind us blogging is a great way to save code)

    On the eleventh day of Christmas Mike Walsh gave to me, a post that I’d like to read to thee. (It’s a great one, well written, and enjoyable on backups)

    On the tenth day of Christmas Chrys Manson gave to me, a reason the transaction log we need… (OK, a bad rhyme, but a great look at why the log is required)

    On the ninth day of Christmas Kendra Little gave to me, a deep dive into locks that we can’t see (a look at shared locks, or those missing locks)

    On the eighth day of Christmas Karen Lopez gave to me, the rules of design that so many don’t seem to read (over normalization, is it possible?)

    On the seventh day of Christmas Yanni Robel gave to us, a reminder of all changes we must not trust (production needs to be controlled)

    On the sixth day of Christmas Tim Ford gave to me, the advice that I need to learn to heed. (listening is a skill we can all improve)

    On the fifth day of Christmas Erin Stellato gave to me, a series that teaches parallels in threes. (a great series on parallelism from Adam Machanic)

    On the fourth day of Christmas Andy Leonard gave to me, a look forward to what SSIS really needs. (Denali SSIS parameters)

    On the third day of Christmas Dave Stein gave to us, a post that covers SSIS over lunch. (Todd McDermid looks at SSIS)

    On the second day of Christmas Grant Fritchey gave to me, a way to execute Powershell from the lee. (remoting with Powershell)

    On the first day of Christmas Jeremiah Peschka gave to me, a way to find a table lost at sea (or in this case, you’ve deleted it).

    It has been a wonderful year for blogging, speaking, and the general sharing of information with others. The SQL community seems to be unlike any other technical community, much more willing to share, help, and work with each other in a way that reminds me of an extended family. It is wonderful to be a part of this community, and I look forward to an even great 2011.

    Happy Holidays and don’t forget to set some goals for the next year, and maybe become a part of the 12 days in 2011.