Grant Fritchey

09Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Developers Rate Azure One of Their Favorite Tools

Azure

Yeah, Azure. How we program, what we program and where we program is changing. All the time. This excellent article lays out a bunch of the trends that are going on within software these days. And one of the single biggest parts of this trend is the fact that more and more things are online. In the cloud, if you insist. Clearly, despite unusual (and I would argue, unreasoning) resistance from my fellow DBAs, Azure is absolutely becoming "a thing." If you're like me, as you sit around carefully weaving your buggy whips, you're also keeping an eye on the road, just in case you start to see more automobiles than horses. Maybe I'm located in a bad spot, but it's starting to look like a sixteen lane mega-highway outside…

06Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Speaker of the Month: September 2013

Professional Development

This is my second post in what I hope will be an ongoing series. You can see the rules for this, such as they are, and the last winner here. I didn't travel this past month, so I'm pulling my speaker of the month from a session that was recorded at 24 Hours Of PASS. I love the topic of database design. I love the topic performance tuning. So, my speaker of the month is Audrey Hammonds (b|t) and her session Design Matters! The Performance Impact of Database Design. I've known Audrey for a few years now, but I'd never sat through one of her sessions. What's wrong with me? I don't know, but I finally did and I'm really happy that I took care of it. I loved how…

05Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey 7 Comments

sp_executesql, Parameters and Parameter Sniffing

SQL Server, T-SQL

I'm honestly not crazy about dynamic T-SQL within stored procedures. There are just a few too many opportunities to mess it up with dire circumstances to your server and your data. However, I absolutely recognize that dynamic T-SQL may be needed, and, in some situations, the best way to solve a problem. If you must use dynamic T-SQL, there are ways that are much more efficient than others. The very best thing you can do if you need to build dynamic strings to execute T-SQL in your stored procedures is use sp_executesql. The main reason I advocate for sp_executesql is because you can build out completely dynamic strings of T-SQL, but, you can still take advantage of parameters. Parameters help you avoid a chat with the parents of Bobby Tables…

04Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Azure Capabilities Expand

Azure

But then, the capabilities in Azure are always expanding. Here's the new stuff that was just released in a blog post on Scott Guthrie's blog. I'm interested in seeing how that automatic scaling on VMs works with SQL Server (if it works with SQL Server). Good times. And yeah, the cache is really the big news, but I'm still a relational storage monster. Can't help it. Remember, if you want to learn Azure, you can link your MSDN subscription with an Azure account. Go here for the details.

03Sep 2013 by Grant Fritchey 11 Comments

My Next Phone May Be a Nokia

Misc

I really like my Windows Phone. Yes, there are not as many apps as on a Droid or iPhone. But the apps there are and the OS itself... wow! And the hardware is always charging forward. And evidently, this new acquisition from Microsoft suggests that it might charge forward in a more coordinated fashion. We'll see.

30Aug 2013 by Grant Fritchey 11 Comments

One for My SQL Sisters

Misc

Women, for the entire male half of the population, I apologize. Those who know me well recognize, pretty easily, that I am hardly "politically correct." My mode of address can be blunt and even rude. But... I think it's also recognized that I'm very even-handed with my blunt statements. Female or male, if you have in some way crossed me, I'm generally pretty clear about letting you know. So while I absolutely have prejudices (and I won't get into what I think mine are), they are not around Male/Female abilities. Yes, there are differences between the sexes coming from a million+ years of biology and Darwinism, but by & large, especially when talking about cognitive abilities, we're evenly matched. In the computing world, I'm an "old guy." With three or…

29Aug 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Windows Azure SQL Database and Throttling

Azure

When I present on Windows Azure SQL Database, one of the biggest concerns comes up around throttling. Just the concept that your queries might be shut down because they use too many resources tends to freak people out. I'm not sure why. I think we ought to have the same facility in the on-premises product. But, Microsoft recognizes that this is a concern and that people need better information. A new set of documentation around this topic was recently posted. Read Resource Management in Windows Azure SQL Database to get a great overview of how the throttling works and how to detect it. There is more and more information coming out on this all the time. I learned quite a few things from this documentation. Remember, the most important thing…

28Aug 2013 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

Learn Query Tuning in Dallas

SQL Server, T-SQL

I am excited to be able to tell you about an all day seminar that I'll be putting on prior to the Dallas SQL Saturday #255. The seminar will be on November 1, 2013. It's called Query Performance Tuning in SQL Server. We're going to cover the topic from an understanding of the optimizer to collecting data using extended events to reading execution plans and then on to lots of standard problems and their solutions. If you sign up before September 21st you can get a substantial early-bird discount, so I'd jump on it. Also, seats are limited, so don't wait too long. Let's get together and talk query tuning.

27Aug 2013 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

Check Your Azure Account Usage

Azure

It is absolutely not cool or fun to pay money to learn new technology. One of the main complaints people had for learning Azure (and AWS for that matter) is that they had to register with a credit card and actually put their own money on the line to try stuff out. One could argue that maybe a cost to learning isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, there were a number of horror stories of people inadvertently being charged hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars because they didn't track their usage. If you register your Azure account through MSDN, that problem is completely eliminated. Â No credit card at all, and a free account that can never cost you money. But, there is a budget, a cost limit, that you have…

26Aug 2013 by Grant Fritchey 3 Comments

Make the PASS Summit Work For Your Employer

PASS

It was pointed out to me that since PASS is such a huge networking event, any employer would be crazy to send a good employee to the event. They'll just come back and hand in their two weeks notice. You know, that's entirely possible. But, let's not confuse networking with job hunting. Funny enough, while I did get my latest job while at the PASS Summit, it wasn't through the personal network that I had built up over the years of going to, and speaking at, the Summit. I use that network as an extensive knowledge base. If I have a question about Availability Groups, I have at least three different people I can reach out to. If I get stuck on some internals question, I have other individuals I…