Voice of the DBA

Category: Editorial

  • Starting to Use SQL Server 2017

    We’ll have a new version of SQL Server this year. If you missed the Data Amp keynote, in it Scott Gu announced the name as SQL Server 2017, which I assume means we’ll have installable RTM bits sometime this year. Maybe in June, maybe August, maybe later. In any case, there are some interesting changes coming, though not a ton. We will get a new platform (Linux) and certainly some nice improvements in a few areas, but overall a limited release. Given this will be a year or so after the last one, that’s not surprising.

    This rapid release cycle means that all of us will support more versions of SQL Server. I don’t know many organizations that wholesale upgrade all their servers. The last time I saw that at any size was in SQL Server 2000, and even then it was painful. Since then it seems many organizations will add some instances of new versions, but continue to support old versions. The more people I talk to, the more I think the ten year rule does exist in many companies. I met someone years ago that said their company (Fortune 100) expected any server installed to run for ten years. Period.

    That seems to be the case. Lots of people still have SQL 2005, or at least SQL 2008 instances. A few SQL 2000, and certainly newer versions, but a mix. Keep that in mind, as most of your companies will move forward with new work even as you support old server. This week I wanted to ask, when do you think you’ll have SQL Server 2017 in production.

    Realistically, when will you have a 2017 platform running a live workload. I don’t care how big or small, Windows or Linux, bare metal or in a container. When will you start to use resumable index rebuilds, graph structures, adaptive query processing or more? Will it be in 2017? 2018? For budget or other reasons, later than that?

    I’m at an interesting place. We still run SQL 2008 at SQLServerCentral, and it works fine. The site needs a basic relational system, though certainly some of the T-SQL changes in 2012+ would be welcome and make some code easier to write. The thing is, code is already written and most things work. We’re debating going to 2016, but I wonder if we shouldn’t just aim at 2017, get one more version ahead, and delay the next upgrade for another decade. I’m certainly tempted as most of the work we through at the database is simple relational work that really would run on SQL 2000 if it had to.

    Regardless of when you might upgrade, are you interested in doing so? Anything catch your eye in the new version? Or have you not even bothered to pay attention? All valid answers, and I’m interested in your view of the new platform.

    Steve Jones

  • SQL Server on Linux is Just SQL Server

    I’ve been working with the SQL Server on Linux (SSoL) version for quite some time, almost a year. In all of that time, I’ve for the most part found that SQL Server is SQL Server. When I connect, run demos, check code, almost everything just works. If I didn’t bother to check @@version, this would appear to be just another SQL Server to me. That’s what a new video on Channel 9 shows as well. SQL Server is pretty much the same on both platforms. I’ve tested the Redgate tools and to all of them, SSoL is just SQL Server.

    There are some differences, which is to be expected. Any operations that access the file system and require paths work a bit differently, and for those people that end up administering the product, there will be some changes to get used to. The advanced HA features are similar, but again, some work is required. However, this isn’t all bad. I’m impressed with the apt-get process (I’m testing on Ubuntu), which is way, way easier than any patching or updating process I’ve gone through on Windows. In fact, setting up an Ubuntu VM last year was easy, and installing SQL Server was about as easy as it could be.

    The tooling on Linux isn’t as mature, and I don’t know when we will see a GUI client, but as I move more and more to PoSh or scripting to make changes in SQL Server, I expect more and more people to manage both Windows and Linux versions in the same way. Certainly using SSMS to write queries is a much nicer experience, and I would guess that many developers that might run SQL Server on OSX or Linux will want a Windows VM for SSMS. Of course, since Visual Studio is now on OSX, maybe we’ll see SSMS running natively on other platforms.

    I don’t know how many enterprises will run SQL Server on Linux, but I’m sure there are some that will. I don’t think a lot of organizations will move from Windows to Linux, unless they have loved SQL Server enough to install a single Windows host for the database and want to get rid of it now. I do think lots of developers will run SQL Server on Linux/OSX, especially in containers, where it is really easy to get a container running on their platforms.

    If you’ve experimented with SQL Server on Linux, or you are excited, let us know. If you think your organization might use this platform, let us know as well. I suspect a few of you will just because you can, which is as good a reason as any.

    Steve Jones

     

  • Becoming a Data Scientist

    Data Science is hot. There are lots of companies excited by using machine learning and AI to enhance their applications. There are new jobs, some of them well paying, and certainly not enough people to fill them. In many ways this reminds me of previous “hot” areas, such as Novell Networking in the late 80s/early 90s. Companies wanted new CNEs and paid dearly for them. The same thing happened in the mid 90s with MCSE’s for Microsoft networks. Many of the people hired weren’t remotely qualified, having just completed some multi-week boot camp.

    You could go to school. If you have completed college, there are a list of data science graduate programs that you could choose from and pursue a masters degree. There’s even a blog where someone is documenting their masters degree path to becoming a data scientist. This isn’t a quick or east path, but it is one way to gain data science skills.

    If you don’t want to spend the time or expense of a formal college program, Microsoft has a data science curriculum on the EdX platform that you can complete. These are low cost programs that you can complete to get a certificate. The value of that certificate is debatable, but the same could be said for any program. A few people that are working through this program have found it to be a good set of resources that is teaching them valuable skills.

    There are other options, no shortage of books, blogs, and other resources on data science and data analysis techniques. It’s up to you, however, to learn what you need to know and become competent at a level that is useful for some organization to pay you. I dislike people choosing to study a topic for a job, so I would say that if you wish to go down this path, do so because you enjoy the work and find it interesting. Build some skills, build a portfolio of data science projects, and best of luck.

    Our industry has thrived for a long time on simple analysis, and I think there will be jobs in this area for some time to come. I do expect that better looking reports and dashboards are going to be expected rather than simple tables, so I’d suggest everyone work on their visualization and report polishing skills. I also think that more complex data science techniques will be in demand, though I wouldn’t expect job growth here that overwhelms current jobs. Tackle data science if you like, but be aware this isn’t a simple or easy chore. There are lots of math and statistics involved and it looks like this is more science than just data.

    Steve Jones

  • Python in SQL Server

    The Microsoft Data Amp event was this week, with a number of SQL Server announcements. We now know this is going to be called SQL Server 2017, which is no surprise. CTP 2.0 was also released, which includes a few improvements, but one in particular caught my eye. Python code can now run inside SQL Server, meaning we are not limited to the R language for data analysis. That’s exciting to me and I think that’s a great change. It’s one that’s been rumored for some time. I like Python, and think it’s a nice, elegant language. My son has been learning it in college and I’ve spent some time playing with it after the SDTIG got me interested with their beginning Python and Data Science modules. Since then I’ve spent a little time learning R, but find it to be a cumbersome language to work within. Having code embedded in a string in a SQL Server stored procedure made things harder, and I kept hoping that Python would be added.

    It’s there now and you can play with it. While you might debate whether this is a good use of SQL Server resources, I think for quick, short, specific analysis calls, it’s a good choice. Certainly complex calculations and data manipulations are not always efficient in T-SQL and having another option is great. You’ll want to be careful when you run Python or R code, but these are good options to have. There is also GPU processing support is available to take some load off your main CPU.

    CTP 2 is supposedly feature complete and there are more changes than just Python. Tempdb has a better setup experience, we get the first version of graph data and query support, resumable online index rebuilds, adaptive query processing, and more. You can read the announcement, which isn’t heavy on technical details, but gives you an idea of what’s changing. I’m not much of an SSAS person, but there are some enhancements in this platform as well.

    There are other improvements and announcements this week. Azure Analysis Services is generally available (no longer beta), as as Azure Data Lake Analytics and Data Store. DocumentDB is improved and some Cognitive Services are GA, and in general, Microsoft is all in on the analytics and deep learning.

    The world of data in the Microsoft world is growing and changing rapidly. We’ll have a new version this year, just a little over a year after SQL Server 2016. I expect that we will continue to see more, and new changes, occurring at a rapid pace in the future. None of us will completely keep up and become experts in all areas, but we have lots of options for new learning and experimenting with advanced features. I’d encourage you to take a little time here and there and read about and play with the new features. If you have Docker, you can get a version of SQL Server 2017 up and running without installing anything on your machine to see if there are any changes that might help your organization take better advantage of  the data you work with every day.

    Steve Jones