Voice of the DBA

Category: Editorial

  • Flexing for the Cloud

    Many of us in technology regularly experiment with new tools and technology. We often do this to adopt new skills when we need to solve a problem or we have inherited some code that needs enhancement. The cloud is in many ways no different than things we’ve done before, but the way we do them, or maybe the way the cloud handles some things, means that we need to change how we view a task or perform our jobs.

    Migrating to the cloud is something that many of us have had to tackle at some point. I’ve seen a good amount of lift-and-shift, including many companies who just mandated moves to the cloud without much planning. As mentioned in this article, that was cloud migration 1.0. Really, I think this was something that’s been going on for years, and continues to occur today. Lots of management are seduced by the promises of the cloud to make their organization’s IT systems better, so they move everything without thinking.

    Then many run into cloud migration 2.0, or maybe that’s coming. I see plenty of customers with things in the cloud they complain about much in the same way they did on-premises. Nothing has changed with regards to how their systems work, and they are likely spending more money on the same services they had on-premises. With the same people. They didn’t plan well, didn’t provision well, and they haven’t changed anything but their costs.

    Cloud migration 3.0 is what many tech professionals would like to see. Evaluate apps, decide which benefit from the cloud, and leave the rest alone. Leave them on-premises in a familiar environment. That’s hybrid, but that’s fine.

    What many tech professionals worry about are their jobs, so they don’t often consider where the cloud can provide benefits from some apps. The flexibility and scalability are undeniable. You just need to ensure that you understand where the cloud fits, where cloud-native can benefit your org, and then make sensible recommendations.

    No matter how your organization approaches the cloud, likely you’ll have engineers from the provider or third-party consultants involved. Do what I do with people I’ve hired: ask a lot of questions. You’ll learn something, flex your knowledge, and even if you never work in the cloud yourself, you’ll be better prepared to make recommendations and evaluate future choices.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

  • The Importance of Thick Clients

    I’ve used a number of clients with SQL Server across the last 30 years. I worked early on with the command line and isql (now SQLCMD and soon Go-SQLCMD). That was handy with DOS and Windows 3.1. However, I soon moved to GUI tools and spent years in ISQL/W,  which was how I ran Query Analyzer. Enterprise Manager was the next evolution, though I used Rapid SQL for awhile to get offline query work while on a plane. This was handy for me in documenting and commenting code without a server. Amazing to think I used to work without a SQL instance on my laptop.

    SSMS (Management Studio) has become the de facto way I’ve written queries for over a decade. Microsoft has tried to push people to Azure Data Studio (ADS), but I don’t see a lot of people moving to it. It’s fast, but also, not attractive, at least not to me.

    I saw a post recently from Chris Webb, asking if it was possible to do all one’s development in the Power BI Web interface. He asks the question since lots of BI people have Macs and you can’t run Power BI Desktop on MacOS. That’s one reason why ADS was created, to provide a cross-platform tool. Chris says the web isn’t quite up to snuff, though it’s been improving. So for now, you need Windows.

    I feel the same way. I do wish SSMS was available cross-platform. When I had a MacBook, I constantly had a Windows VM running to get to SSMS and SQL Server. These days I could run a Linux version of SQL Server on MacOS (or a container), but not SSMS. I could run ADS, but I don’t love it.

    I’m not completely sure why ADS bothers me, but I think a big reason is the familiarity of a thick client and Windows GUI controls. I always felt many of the Linux GUI elements feel like cheap imitations of their Windows counterparts. The smoothness of the Win32 applications, the way that grid results come across, the rendering of text, smooth menus, etc. run is just better. Even when it’s not great, it’s better.

    I like the thick Windows clients.

    I do think there are some nice Electron-based apps that look and work well in Windows and Linux. In fact, Redgate’s own direction has been Flyway Desktop rather than continuing to insist on SSMS, precisely because we find more and more customers aren’t standardized on Windows. This is especially true for RDBMSs other than SQL Server. That UI looks pretty good, though admittedly, I’m not writing queries.

    Especially in SSMS, the way a thick client works is much better than ADS. Especially with SQL Prompt. Intellisense in ADS leaves a lot to be desired and the constant need for me to use the command palette for things is annoying. Give me menu items and better shortcuts. I’m not sure why I don’t think it works as well, but it doesn’t. Not for me.

    I wonder how many of you feel the same way. I know some people love DataGrip, but that is often because they work cross-platform or they are full-stack people that like Rider for their other work.

    I do like VS Code, but I’m almost always just writing code, not looking at results or managing a server instance. When I look at other platform tools, MySQL Workbench,  pgAdmin, SQL Developer, I see why SQL Server and SSMS are preferred by many. Those tools are just poorly built compared to SSMS.

    What do you think? I know many of us dislike things about SSMS, but still find it indispensable for daily work. Do you love/hate SSMS or have you found another tool that works well for you?

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

  • Advice To Be a Better Person

    As a hobby, I coach volleyball for kids. Each year I meet new kids and parents and talk about my philosophy. Part of that is that I teach skills, athletics, how to compete, and more. However, I do emphasize as well that I’m trying to build better people, not just athletes. I want these kids to be better prepared for life, for job interviews, for future teachers and coaches, and for better relationships.

    While I’m not perfect, or maybe not even a great person, I do try to improve myself on a regular basis. Or at least learn to be a better person to others. This isn’t because of any ideal or goal, but because life is more fun when I have more skills. Whether that’s working with objects or interacting with people. The smoother things go, the more I enjoy the world.

    I ran across some advice from Kevin Kelly, who helped co-found Wired Magazine. He wrote down 68 pieces of advice for his children on his 68th birthday. A few of them are in this post, though he’s written a book with 450 pieces of advice. A few more items are in his post of 99 pieces, and 103 pieces.

    The advice is about career, life, and more. Some of the more interesting ones I saw are listed below, with my comments:

    • About 99% of the time, the right time is right now – I struggle with this, but as I think about it, it’s been often true
    • Don’t keep making the same mistakes; try to make new mistakes. – I certainly aim for this. I hate making the same mistakes
    • If you stop to listen to a musician or street performer for more than a minute, you owe them a dollar. – I love seeing street musicians and I carry dollars/euros/pounds and more I can give out.
    • If you have any doubt at all about being able to carry a load in one trip, do yourself a huge favor and make two trips. – I find doing this means I drop less things. Not doing this means I drop more.
    • Recipe for success: under-promise and over-deliver. – Often my mantra at work
    • It’s not an apology if it comes with an excuse. It is not a compliment if it comes with a request. – This is hard, but I’ve been working on this.
    • Learn how to learn from those you disagree with, or even offend you. See if you can find the truth in what they believe. – Important in today’s world
    • Being able to listen well is a superpower. While listening to someone you love keep asking them “Is there more?”, until there is no more. – I need to do this more

    I grabbed his book, and you can as well. However, I might also suggest you collect your own words of wisdom and advice that you can share with your own loved ones at some point.

    If you want to see Mr. Kelly speak his advice, watch this video.

    Steve Jones

    Listen to the podcast at Libsyn, Spotify, or iTunes.

  • Republish: The New Data Warehouse Choice

    Data warehousing has changed a lot in my 30+ years of working with data. With Microsoft Fabric, this editorial might be more interesting to read and reflect on how the world has changed.

    I’m on holiday today with my wife in Amsterdam, so you get to read: The New Data Warehouse Choice