Author: way0utwest

I saw a post recently asking how to build a daily report for each instance that tracks the metrics deemed important. My response was this:

• Create small db on every instance to hold data.
• write scripts to gather metrics, separate table for each metric. Use a separate job to schedule each set of metrics as needed (some daily, some hourly, etc.)
• Put a report table in the db that just holds char fields, an instance name, and an ordering field
• Write a proc that "builds" a report, putting lines of data in the report table, ordering them as needed, and including the instance name. This gives you a report daily, on each server.
• Write a script (SMO/Powershell/LinkedServers/etc) to roll up all reports from all instances to one central server.

Seems a little silly, but this was the fourth of fifth evolution of a monitoring system, and I even had Patrol and Unicenter on top of those at times. However this worked better.

Why?

1. Each server captures it’s own metrics. Critical in the case of communication errors. I’ve had servers disconnected (not down, but off the network) for ten minutes while someone replaced a cable. And that 10 minute window is ALWAYS when I’m building a report or looking for metrics.

2. Customizable. I can write separate scripts for anything I need, and even update them over time. For example, one thing I used to do was capture sp_configure information. I didn’t want it on a report unless something changed. So I stored the data every day, loaded a new copy the next day, compared them for changes, and then wrote out to my report table anything that was different.

3. Separate schedules for metrics. I might want CPU every 5 minutes, but sp_configure every day. I can easily have separate schedules.

4. I get one report a day, and I stored off the list of servers in this central instance. If I didn’t get a report from a server, I’d go looking for it. New ones were reported to me and people soon realized that if they let me know of their new instances they didn’t ever have to worry about them.

5. I have the raw data and the report stored off. This satisfied my ISO 9001 requirements, which was great for me.

I’m not knocking the purchased monitoring solutions, and they work great for having a central team monitor things, but they’ve always required some customization to work for me, and in the same amount of time I could build my own reporting system easily. A few scripts covered all sorts of things that often weren’t built into large systems, or cost extra.

I said I was going to do it last year, and I followed through. After submitting an application to volunteer, I was picked to help on the Spotlight/Pre/Post Con committee, so I’ll be helping to pick which sessions and topics are going to be available for those sessions.

I’m looking forward to it, though I think this will be pretty easy. The people that submit for the pre/post cons tend to be pretty well known speakers, and based on popularity, we’ll likely pick similar topics to last year.

However if there’s something you’d like to see, please let me know.

I saw this blog about an Accenture survey of potential car buyers. It mentions that people likely won’t buy a green car unless it is superior in every way to a gasoline only car. The blog tends to lean towards the side of someone that doesn’t like hybrids. There’s a comment about why they look so bizarre, which seems odd to me. There are a lot of hybrids out there that look just like the gasoline versions. The Prius is shaped differently, but so is the Dodge Caliber. Are they really odd?

Are these really that different? I might argue the Prius has softer lines, which contribute to better gas mileage.

I think that there is a lot of fear out there for people in looking at hybrids. I have a few friends that are down on them, based on comments from other friends, that don’t seem right. I think there is some mis-information out there, as well as just some prejudice for no reason.

I have had friends, and strangers, come ask me about my Prius experience and if I recommend them. I think it’s a great car, but I do caution them that they ought to do some analysis. I had one guy actually send me a bunch of data on his driving habits, and I crunched numbers with him, arriving at the decision that a Prius didn’t make sense for him.

In 3 years, I’ve driven 60,000 miles. That’s 20k a year, and I think that at the current $2.75 a gallon, I think it saves me about $1000-1100 a year in gas over even something like a Ford Focus, which is listed as the same class by the government as a Prius.  If I compare to a minivan, which was what we considered, I’m more like $1500 a year.

That’s significant, and it means that my $4500 “hybrid tax” has been paid off. It actually paid off sooner since my first year we drove 26k miles and gas was $4/gal!

However if you drive more like 10-12k miles, and consider a better vehicle that gets closer to 30mpg, then it might be savings of more like $500 a year. If you have a of highway driving, then you might be saving less, so it doesn’t make sense.

Unless you just want the car.

  One of the dangers of being an “Internet Journalist” or even just a blogger, is that you might compromise who you are to attract readers.
Or in the case of your “modern resume,” impress someone for a new job.
Here is case of someone losing control of their ethics, for the sake of ratings. This is more of a journalism story, and the only person that I think it really hurts is the writer, but maybe that’s not true. Maybe it didn’t even hurt him. He still has a job.
You, however, might not be so lucky.
There are companies that would let you go if they found out you misrepresented yourself in an interview, or with a resume.
Don’t write something for the sake of attracting or impressing readers. Write about what you know, and what you don’t. Admit your mistakes, and highlight your successes.
Your blog, your presentations, your articles, are all a part of your career, and you should treat them as though they are precious. You are the product in your career, you are what you can sell, and your brand is what you have to sell.
If people stop believing in that, you are in trouble.