Recently I had the need to migrate the SSRS web portal / services for an existing installation to a new server. I followed the steps I had used previously, which included: Backing up and restoring the encryption key (see this)…
Why DBAs (and IT Pros) should cultivate a habit of mindfulness
I’ve always believed that while technical skills are incredibly important to our success as IT professionals, it’s also true that there are a number of key proficiencies that we must acquire if we are going to advance in our career.…
3 Habits of Successful DBAs
I’ve been realizing more and more as I get older just how much of a habit driven creature I am. I’m at my best, both productivity and happiness wise, when I stick to my regular routines. Some would probably say…
To be a great DBA, treat your career like an investment
One skill I see commonly with great DBAs is that they are constantly learning. The read blogs, follow sites like SQL Server Central, Simple-Talk, or SQL Shack, and spend a ton of time perusing Books On-Line. They watch videos like…
How Azure kicked my you-know-what
This past week was a whirlwind of activity, as we scrambled at work to spin up a new virtual environment in response to a last minute urgent need. Now that the dust has settled, I wanted to think back and…
The surprising skills that could make or break your career
Perhaps it’s the teacher’s blood in me (both my parents were lifelong teachers), but I’ve always loved helping others learn and improve themselves. It’s one of the reasons I enjoy writing articles, giving lectures at my company, and working one…
My father made me a better DBA by teaching me these two things
Today is Father’s Day in the United States, so naturally I spent most of the day with mine, hence no long post today. But still, I thought it appropriate to talk a little bit about how he’s influenced my way…
One skill all good DBAs must have
My father in law is a skilled woodworker and artist who has been creating beautiful kinetic sculptures for over 30 years. If you stroll around his workshop, you’ll see many examples of odd looking contraptions built out of scrap lumber.…
Why Azure SQL Database is a Great Thing For Small Businesses
At work as of late I’ve been learning quite a bit about the Azure SQL Database offering from Microsoft. It’s been both a fascinating and frustrating experience. Azure SQL Database has many fundamental differences from the traditional model of SQL…
Principles of Good SQL: Aggregate Early
When writing T-SQL queries, it’s important to reduce the volume of data down as quickly as possible. Larger volumes of data mean more input / output operations (think more reads from and writes to disk), more CPU cycles (hash joins…