Less is More

Posted on February 28, 2022 by way0utwest

The world of Information Technology has changed a lot during my career, but in some ways, many things remain the same. There are still mainframes in use, and plenty of jobs. Lots of companies maintain their infrastructure in data centers, even though some are turning to private clouds for their infrastructure. There are plenty of jobs in that area as well.

There is a trend to consolidate resources into a bucket and then allocate those as needed for various applications and services. This is what mainframes do, albeit at a very high degree of reliability (and cost). The cloud seeks to replicate this, not with high reliability, but with redundancy, expecting systems to fail. In fact, plenty of the data centers these days involve a lot of similar hardware systems tied together with software, with failed systems being left in place rather than replaced.

This trend aims towards a lights-out data center, where humans don’t work inside the location with servers. As someone that used to keep a coat by my desk in the summertime for trips inside the locked “computer room”, it’s a welcome trend. While a few people might actually need to check a cable or service an AC or UPS unit, most of us these days never see the systems we work on, whether those systems are owned by our company or rented in the cloud.

This doesn’t mean that we won’t have as much work. In fact, I think that most of the trends in computing over the last three decades have opened up opportunities for workers. This article talks about some of those changes that allow workers to morph along with technology to tackle different aspects of similar jobs. I certainly expect that anyone who wants to improve their skills and adapt to the new data center of the future to have plenty of work.

This reminds me of a scene from Aliens, where workers use enhanced suits to load heavy crates. I think this is the type of future I see, where humans work alongside new technology rather than being displaced by it. The need for humans to monitor, manage, adjust, and configure software systems and physically work alongside high-tech software is not going away anytime soon. The more that we adapt new technology, the more it seems that we add humans to work alongside it in some new way.

Continue to learn, adapt, and adjust your skillset and you can remain employed for a long time.

Steve Jones

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

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Daily Coping 28 Feb 2022

Posted on February 28, 2022 by way0utwest

I started to add a daily coping tip to the SQLServerCentral newsletter and to the Community Circle, which is helping me deal with the issues in the world. I’m adding my responses for each day here. All my coping tips are under this tag.

Today’s tip is to appreciate the good qualities of someone in your life.

I’m very lucky with family and friends. I get to see a lot of people, sometimes more than I want, and for the most part the interactions are very enjoyable.

A few years ago I was traveling for work to an event. I met someone before the event and we got to chatting about things. It was a very pleasant 10-15 minutes. We talked a bit later in the day, and I came home with good memories.

After that day, this person reached out on Linked In to wish me a happy holiday a few months later. I responded, and since that day, this person has checked in every few months, asking how I am and sharing info about their life and family. We had talked about those things when we saw each other.

This person has been a friend, someone that I only met once, but we correspond and catch up, usually at their initiation, and I appreciate the kind words and thoughts. I appreciate the genuine curiosity and caring.

Each time I see a message, I smile.

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Chill v Standard Mode in the Tesla

Posted on February 25, 2022 by way0utwest

This is part of a series that covers my experience with a Tesla Model Y.

I bought the “slow” Tesla. The Model Y Long Range, which is fine. I wanted range more than performance. If you look at the 0-60 times, you can see a variety, but for 2021 this is how things rank.

  • 2021 Model S Plaid – 2.1s
  • 2021 Model S Long Range – 3.5s
  • 2019 Model 3 Performance – 3.1s
  • 2019 Model 3  Long Range – 4.1s
  • 2021 Model Y Performance – 3.6
  • 2021 Model y Long Range – 4.4
  • Model X – 3.3-5.5 s, depending on model

What’s crazy is that I can “buy” a boost of acceleration for US$2000 that will drop me down around 4s. It’s a software upgrade.

Is It Tempting?

Getting into the Tesla and nailing the accelerator is exciting. The car really moves, and people that haven’t experienced it before are often surprised. I try to avoid it, usually playing the “video game” of how little power can I use, but it is fun once in awhile.

When the weather changed, and I needed snow tires, I became more cautious. In fact, I accidentally had some slippage from pressing a little too quickly on the accelerator a few times. One of the things I changed for snow was setting the accelerator to “Chill” mode, which reduces how quickly the car reacts.

Across the last few weeks, I’ve left Chill mode on for daily driving, even without snow. The car is still plenty fast, and I know I use less power. The other day I was curious how much of a difference it makes, so I turned it off in town. With a bright sunny day, no snow or moisture on the ground, I nailed the accelerator.

It’s neck snapping quick. I can feel my neck muscles bunch up. In fact, I turned it right back off at the next traffic signal.

A few days later I turned the Standard mode back on and drove for day. It’s fun, but I realized that most of the time I don’t really need that much acceleration. I tend to leave it off today most of the time, only turning it on if I want to have a little fun or I think I might need to be ready to accelerate quickly in traffic.

That’s rare, so no, I’m not tempted by a $2000 upgrade for more speed.

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The Usefulness of Database Features

Posted on February 25, 2022 by way0utwest

SQL Server is constantly growing and changing, as are most database platforms. There are lots of platform changes, among them enhancements to the T-SQL language. Microsoft has added window functions, in-memory structures, the ability to execute code in other languages, and more. Some of these features are well built and some need more work. What’s always interesting to me is what actually gets built and what doesn’t.

There was an article recently on evaluating features in an RDBMS, and the article uses the JSON data type in Google’s Big Query as an example. The evaluation is interesting, examining whether the feature actually helps the user, or if it is mostly marketing. In this case, the feature is outside of the “normal” conventions of the platform,  but it is useful.

When I look at SQL Server, there are features that I think are well implemented and others that aren’t. There are some that are very helpful, but some that don’t perform well, at least not at scale. There are also changes that people have requested, but Microsoft hasn’t decided to build (please upvote the numbers table).

Many of us use a limited number of features inside the database platforms. We SELECT, INSERT, and UPDATE often, sometimes with the built-in functions, sometimes not. Many data professionals know what to use and avoid, but often developers may assume that any feature added will perform well. Most of them do very well with a few rows of data, but can be problematic at the scale of millions of rows. While we would want all features to work well at all scales, that isn’t something that’s going to happen.

I accept that some features are there to help customers in different ways. I can’t imagine wanting to run Java code from a database call, but some organizations see value in this, so it’s a capability in SQL Server. I’m sure some people can’t fathom why I think a built-in numbers table is needed when there are easy ways to build one. I guess that’s why my priorities, yours, and Microsoft’s will differ, at least with regard to what things should change in the platform. What gets built is up to Microsoft.

When you use a feature in any datastore, there may be tradeoffs with other techniques, and there may be problem domains where the feature works well or doesn’t. It’s important that you understand and learn the limits and advantages of any particular feature. It’s also important you know how to adopt a feature when it’s better or abandon one when it doesn’t meet your needs.

Steve Jones

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

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