The post yesterday about moving one of our SQL Servers to RDS and a dedicated instance and all of that (read more here) was a(nother) reminder that sometimes you have to take a step back and start with the easy stuff prior to assuming you need to do the complex modifications to your system to get the results you want. […]
Editorials
Surprising Results, Moving SQL Server to RDS
We’ve recently moved a heavily used SQL Server instance from a VM-based installation to an RDS (Amazon, SaaS) solution. The server instance was not dedicated (don’t get me started) and, under load, would feel the pain of that type of installation. We would see loading that would approach 90% with frequent spikes to 100% depending on what was happening, jobs, […]
Do Big Data-Type Projects Succeed More Often?
It used to be said that IT projects (and since SQL Server is my focus, SQL Server database projects by inference), would fail an astronomically large percentage of the time. This was because, in most cases, of scope changing so frequently, particularly during development in a “waterfall” style project approach that had an extended calendar and fixed endpoints for functionality […]
Legacy Systems are a Liability
In the past couple of years, it’s come up several times that legacy systems are a challenge to manage… no surprise there. But what follows that conversation may be surprising – many times companies will take that first step, and decide that legacy systems are actually a liability. That they’re something that should be removed, gutted, replaced if at all possible. […]
Vendor Lock-In, Database Lock-In and Lots of Database Platforms
I was reading a great post about the different things going on with database platforms, talking about the notion that companies will typically have multiple database platforms. There have been posts on SSWUG about that in the past (and I’m sure in the future as well), specifically that there are so many platform options and the pros and cons of some […]
So What Can Be Done? Protecting Data, Protecting Your Company/Client
A few people have written to me asking about different things that can be done to protect information in the systems. The fact is that companies are indeed thirsty for every single bit of information they can get their hands on, whether they have a use for it now or not. The thought is that it may be helpful/useful later […]
Data Responsibility and Data Architecture
There have been a few posts now talking about a corporate thirst for big data (I love that analogy – because it IS a thirst) and the fact that companies have this all-out push to get as much information as possible. I don’t mean to vilify companies or any of that. It’s the promise of using information to better serve customers with […]
Facebook Post Prioritization is an Important Lesson
I’ve been watching the whole Facebook thing pretty closely. It’s a look at personalization, at playing human behavior to give people what they want (even if they don’t necessarily realize it’s what they want), and all of that. Say what you will about Facebook, but they’re an interesting look at what can be done when you know a whole lot […]
Is it possible to have a secure system?
Spoiler alert: I don’t think so. If someone wants your information badly enough, and they have sufficient resources to spend on getting into your system, I think they’ll probably succeed. Personally, I can’t foresee a day where we have all possible vulnerabilities blocked and accounted for – just as a matter of course. I found an interesting post about this […]
More on Data Management and Protection
Some good feedback from readers about schema changes and requirements because of data protection. True that there are many things that we’ll have to figure out – from what types of tools and interfaces to offer to the owners of the information to auditing and proof that you’re managing it all. One interesting point yesterday was what happens if a […]