Voice of the DBA

Category: Editorial

  • The Connections Launch Event

    The SQLServerCentral track at SQL Server Connections

    The Spring SQL Server Connections conference will be one of the launch events for SQL Server 2012, the next version of the platform that we write about every day. This spring SQLServerCentral is sponsoring a track again, with Brad McGehee, Grant Fritchey, and myself speaking in one room. We’re all focusing on SQL Server 2012, trying to get ready to upgrade and use the new features.

    However we’re only a small part of the SQL Server track. SQLskills.com headlines the track, as they have for many years, with Kimberly L. Tripp, Paul Randal, and Jonathan Kehayias presenting some amazing information based on their years of experience (go to one of the SQLskills.com classes if you can). Paul and Kimberly have also invited a number of other great speakers, including Aaron Bertrand, Allen White, Brent Ozar, Glenn Berry, Mike Walsh, and more. These are the people that write many of books, blogs, and articles that you read to learn more about the SQL Server platform.

    The DevConnections conferences are a great place to not only learn about SQL Server, but also learn about all parts of the Microsoft technology stack. There are nine conferences in all taking place at the same time, covering Windows, Visual Studio, Sharepoint, Exchange, and more. There’s even a Cloud Connections, dealing with those issues that you’ll find when working with the Microsoft Azure products.

    It’s still winter in many parts of the US, so schedule your own “spring break” from work and come to Las Vegas this spring. The weather will be great, and you’ll have the chance to learn about all different type of Microsoft technologies and platforms in a fun environment. You can even take in an amazing show one of your nights in town and let your brain relax from all the tech talk during the day.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • Be careful with your smartphone

    I love my iOS device and find it very handy.

    More and more tech professionals I know are carrying smartphones. There seems to be a split among technical people between iOS, Android, or WP7 platforms, but it seems that all the mobile OSes are extremely handy for system administrators. I know that I appreciate the ability to connect to email and other people when I’m away from my desk. If I were a production DBA, the ability to potentially fix something remotely, without the need to go to the office or back home, would be extremely valuable.

    However, carrying around a smartphone isn’t without a risk. The features and capabilities of the various mobile operating systems are a double edged sword. The power of the smartphone can easily be used for attacks against your network. This piece talks about hackers targeting the mobile platforms as another attack vector. That’s scary, especially as most of these mobile OSes were not designed to be secure.

    One of the very attractive parts of the Android platform is it’s openness. Anyone can build an app and sell it in the Android Marketplace. However that openness also means that the marketplace is a target for malware. While you might not like the Apple review process, it does offer some security. I’m not sure how the Windows Phone 7 platform is affected, but I would hope there is some security review. I also hope third party stores, like the Amazon Android store, will do some kind of security review to prevent malware.

    Ultimately if you are a privileged user on a corporate network, and you connect from your smartphone, you need to be extra careful. Set a password on your phone, don’t save passwords to trusted systems in your mobile browser, and be especially careful about scanning your system regularly.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • Propose this to your boss

    If Nordstrom's can have an innovation lab, can't you?

    I’ve written a few times about the ways in which you could find interesting projects at work and potentially learn a few new skills while improving the ways your company uses technology. More and more companies are willing to allow side projects like the Google 20% time or the Atlassian FedEx days. My own company, Red Gate Software, implements this a few times a year as “Down Tools Week.”

    Many of you have replied that your companies are resistant to this, or your boss doesn’t think it’s a good idea. I have certainly had a few managers that felt that way, but I’ve also had success over time in changing their minds a bit. I’ve been able to get them to give me the chance to pilot ideas in a small way. Sometimes it’s taken years, but I’ve learned to play “long ball” and think about succeeding over time, not getting my way this week.

    One of the ways you can convince someone to give you a chance is to continue to show other examples of success from other companies. Nordstrom’s, not necessarily the place you’d expect to see IT innovation, has a video of how their lab enables them to build better applications. It might be worth saving this link, and even sending it to your boss with a proposal.

    If your boss is supportive, ask for a week to work on a project with another person or two and spec something out in your proposal. If your boss is skeptical, ask for a few half days across a month to work on something and build some basic prototype project. Even if it’s mocked up on paper, you can show the value of how an idea might work. If you get some support from your end users and customers, you might find yourself with a fun project to work on in 2012.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts

  • Encryption Works

    If you have better encryption than this, it will work.

    I don’t know that the government hires the best people or they have the best tools to work with, but they have some expertise. There’s a short note from Bruce Schneier that full disk encryption (FDE) does appear to by preventing unauthorized access to computer systems by police in many cases.

    If you read the comments, there are all sorts of flaws and potential holes with encryption, which are valid arguments. However that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t implement any encryption on your removable or portable drives, especially those in laptops. Those devices are like the locks on your home or car. They can be defeated by determined professionals, but all too often the casual criminal doesn’t bother if they are in place.

    Keep in mind many laptops are lost, stolen, or sold without wiping the drives. Most people that received the drive wouldn’t bother to try and decrypt it unless they were sure it had something valuable on the drive. Since it’s no guarantee that a laptop grabbed at Starbucks or from a car has valuable data, most likely the target is the hardware, not the disk contents.

    I think disk encryption is a good layer of defense in your security strategy and worth implementing. My laptops are encrypted, mostly because it’s an easy security mechanism, and I’m not always sure if something I have on there is sensitive enough to worry about. My recommendation is that you implement FDE if you can.

    You should also make sure you are backing up your data. Losing the laptop might not result in the release of sensitive data, but losing the data itself could be a major problem.

    Steve Jones

    The Voice of the DBA Podcasts