Webcast: Operational Excellence for DBAs, Part 1: Setup and Configuration Today!
This session covers key setup and configuration questions faced when setting up a new SQL Server, from the bare metal configuration on up.
We’ll answer some questions like:
- What difference does the CPU make?
- How important is 32-bit versus 64-bit?
- Should I virtualize? *What kind of disk subsystem do I need?
- What edition of SQL Server is best for this application and how should it be licensed?
- What’s a good "starter" configuration compared to a "high-end" configuration?
- What difference do important SP_CONFIGURE settings make to system performance?
Get registered now because this session starts today at 12:00 Pacific.
See you there!
SSWUG TSQL Workshop: Coming this Friday, 11/12 "TSQL for the Rest of Us"
Our own Stephen Wynkoop will be presenting a workshop this Friday providing a foundation for those working with SQL Server databases. His focus is the key concepts of TSQL used to design, create, manage and retrieve data from a SQL Server database. Click here to visit the workshop page. You can read or get more info from the online video, and sign up to attend.
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Are you Forum Savvy?
One of the tools I have found useful since the days of the 300 baud modem and bulletin boards are the users groups surrounding technology. You have found that too, most likely, because you are receiving this newsletter from the SQL Server Users Group.
One of the things that makes you valuable is not what you know today, but your ability "To Know". When dealing with SQL Server problems I generally start with Google. Even if the solution is in BOL (Books Online), the Google index is often better than Bing or anything else from my experience. And Google covers things that are outside the MS domain. So a nice one stop shop to get ideas or find other key words I may not have thought about.
The problem is that I often come across problems that are not clear in the documentation, blogs or existing forums. At that point I find that Forums are especially useful when I need to ask questions specific to my problem. The downside is that there is no control regarding if or when someone will respond.
If you have done everything you can do on your own, and don’t have a favorite expert to call, or lots of money, a forum may be your solution. Here are a few tips I have found that expedite the response. It’s best if you can ask your question and have it answered in a single pass, rather than a lengthy conversion that may take hours or even days.
1) Search the forum for existing threads that are similar to your question. It may save a lot of time by answering your question or providing tips that help you resolve your own problem. You probably already did this with Google. But Google doesn’t have access to all forums. So take a quick look using the forum search tool just in case.
2) If you post a new thread, explain your problem completely. If you are asking a question regarding a TSQL syntax, provide the table schema and sample data to assist in writing the query. If your question is more like configuration questions or options, it helps if you provide things like the kind of hardware you have, operating system, version of SQL Server, etc. Pick and choose what you need. But don’t ask something like, "how do I make my query run faster, it takes 2 hours?"
3) If you are working with SQL Server you are probably going to have an optimizing question sometime in your career. When working with those kinds of questions it is helpful to have, if not post on the forum, information regarding the CPU Utilization Percentage, Average Disk Queue Read/Write, Page Fault Count, etc. Bad numbers here don’t mean that you require a hardware fix, but they can help focus on determining the cause.
4) Don’t expect to get a quick answer. It takes time. Especially if there are requests for more information. If you need a fast solution, say less than a day or two, forums are not generally a good resource.
5) Be prepared for more research. Sometimes your questions are big enough that the answer could be a whole chapter or even a whole book. A good forum response may simply be direction to another resource for you to study.
6) Be thick skinned. The point of forums is often lost on some individuals, and their responses are often made to make you feel stupid. The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask. If you don’t want the stupid label, do legitimate home work first. But, when things don’t work, get the help you need.
7) Don’t count on accuracy in the help you receive. The response you receive will only be as good as the individual reading your question and their experience. It may be you will not get an answer; instead you will get clues to help you figure out what is going on, or justify calling an expert.
Do you have techniques you use to make the use of search tools and forums more useful? I welcome your response at any time. Just send a note and I’ll post for our readers.
Cheers,
Ben