Voice of the DBA

Category: Blog

  • Promotions and Conflicts of Interest

    I noticed my co-worker, friend, and PASS board member, Grant Fritchey, posted a note on members of the PASS Board of Directors (BoD) presenting pre-cons at SQL Saturday events. It’s potentially a legal issue, and conflict of interest. I’m glad that the issue is being raised, and discussed publically. Here’s Grant’s question:

    The question is simple, for a PASS branded event, should a member of the PASS board receive payment?

    There’s two parts to this, because there are two events. There are events that the organization runs and takes legal and financial responsibility for, and there are events associated with PASS, but run by others who have responsibility.

    My short answer is yes to local events, and no to events run by the PASS board. I’ve read through some of the comments and I have some thoughts.

    PASS Run Events

    First, events run by the organization, such as the Summit and BAC, are different. The BoD can vote on aspects of these events, and can override the decisions on which individuals are chosen. With that being the case, I think there is a clear conflict of interest here and for the limited time the BoD members serve, they should not be a part of these events. Whether they receive direct payment or not, I’d say no.

    There was a conflict about this a few years ago, and I think it was justified. If you serve, you can’t present a pre-conference (or post) session. You have other duties, and a responsibility here.

    If your business or your employer wants you to be a part of this event in a different way, resign one position or the other.

    SQL Saturdays

    Really this could be any event that PASS might support or lend their name to, but doesn’t have any financial (or likely, legal) responsibility. This is trickier, as certainly the ability to bestow favors on the organizers of these events in terms of choosing them for PASS run events is possible. However I’d say that this is very unlikely, and hasn’t been an abuse of power. If that changes, I’d change my opinion

    I think that the BoD members are still speakers and well respected trainers, and I really have no issue with them being accepted to present a pre-con and being paid by the events. I’d like the fact disclosed, but this doesn’t seem to be a conflict of interest to me at this point.

    It’s also good for the community.

  • Getting Started with Encryption in SQL Server 2016

    The release of SQL Server 2016 gives developers a number of ways in which they can securely encrypt and protect their data. In this introductory session, you will learn about the encryption options in SQL Server 2016, watching Always Encrypted, TDE, Row Level Security, Dynamic Data Masking, and server side column encryption can secure and protect your data from unauthorized users.

    Length: 60-75 minutes

    Code: Github

    Powerpoint deck: Getting Started with Encryption in SQL 2016.pptx

  • KDiff3

    As I write more code, especially database code, and I collaborate with others (or myself), I find that I have the need to merge code more and more. It’s inevitable, and since I work across a couple machines, I even find that I need to merge my own code at times.

    One way to do this well is use a merge tool of some sort. KDiff3 is a popular one, that’s free, and it’s one that integrates nicely with SQL Source Control, which I also use for various tasks.

    If you install KDiff3 (use “choco instal kdiff3”) then you get a basic tool that allows you to compare files. If you start it, you’ll get a simple interface that lets you select multiple files and view them together in one interface. If you don’t use version control, apart from making a mistake, you also probably manage code like this.

    2016-04-07 14_20_47-Settings

    Or you might have this:

    2016-04-07 14_23_22-Settings

    Either way creates problems. If you have multiple people doing this, then you have other issues.

    KDiff gives you a nice interface to see the differences between files. As you can see below, I have the changes marked in each file.

    2016-04-07 14_26_43-Settings

    I can edit the files directly, or choose to merge them together. If I do the merge, I’ll get a third window that has the merged code.

    2016-04-07 14_28_41-Settings

    As you can see, if I click the merge area, I can choose the code from either of the original files.

    On the right is a scroll bar that lets me know where in the file the differences are.

    2016-04-07 14_26_49-Settings

    Software developers think nothing of these types of tools, but DBAs aren’t as easily used to using tools like this. I’d suggest that you download kdiff3 and give it a chance in trying to reconcile any code between team members or servers.

    And start using Version Control. It’s easy and incredibly useful.

  • End to End Always Encrypted in SQL Server 2016

    Abstract: Protecting our data from unauthorized access becomes more and more important all the time, however it has been difficult to ensure sensitive data is encrypted in SQL Server. The new Always Encrypted feature in SQL Server 2016 makes this much simpler for developers and DBAs with a framework for protecting data from the client, across networks, and inside of the database. This new feature allows for limiting access to the data, even from the DBAs and sysadmins that may control the database instance itself. Learn how to implement and use Always Encrypted in your applications.

    Length: 60-75 Minutes

    • Demos:
    • Always Encryption Setup
    • Working with Data in a client application
    • Certification creation and transfer
    • Certificate Rotation

    Powerpoint Deck: End to End Always Encrypted.pptx

    Code: Github