Category Archives: DBA Career

Most Popular SQL Server Events

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I recently held a poll on my blog, asking people if they had attended any SQL Server events in the past year. As you can see from the results on the right, just over 90% of the poll takers attended one or more SQL Server events in 2010, which I think is a great number.

The most attended events, included:

  • SQL Saturdays
  • 24 Hours of PASS
  • User Group Meetings
  • 2010 SQL PASS Summit
  • PASS Virtual Chapter Events
  • SQL Lunch

All the other events listed in the poll were much smaller. Some of these had fewer attendees because they were smaller, regional events, which is to be expected.

What was a little surprising was how few of the poll takers attended Microsoft TechEd (a huge event), and DevConnections/SQL Server Connections (also a large event). Of course, both of these events cover a of topics besides SQL Server, but both offer many SQL Server sessions.

At 2011 is now upon us, hopefully you have begun to consider what events you will attend this year. If not, begin researching potential events, as there are many to choose from. And even if you can’t attend an event in-person, there are still many virtual events you can attend. If you have any suggestions for events to attend that are not included in this poll, please add them below in the comments section.

How Do You Work When You are Not at Work?

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From my Database Weekly editorial.

Most of us DBAs don’t work in a standard 40-hour a week job. We often have to work late, work weekends, and be on call just in case a problem arises. If you’ve been a DBA for a really long time, you still remember the days before the Internet, VPN connections, and cell phones. Back then, many DBAs carried a pager when on call, or took phone calls over a land line. In many cases, the only way to resolve the problem was to physically go into the office and check out the problem in person, no matter what time of the day it was.

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Interview with SQL Server MVP Allen White

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This is the third and last in a series of interviews with speakers presenting at the SQLServerCentral.com track at SQL Server Connections in November 2010. This interview is with SQL Server MVP Allen White (blog | Twitter).

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Tell us about yourself Allen.

After starting out as a theatre major, I got an Associate’s Degree in Data Processing in the mid-70s, and became a programmer. (COBOL, punched cards, all that old-guy stuff.) I wore multiple hats, developer, administrator (both Windows and Unix), even a salesman at one point. (I’d played Harold Hill in The Music Man and my company thought I’d be a good salesman.) In the early 90s I discovered relational databases, and through the 90s I transitioned to being a DBA. In 2003 I got a job where my boss believed in training, and sent me to conferences, where I met lots of great people. I also started working with Microsoft on certification, and I started writing. I was awarded the SQL Server MVP in 2007, and got my Bachelor’s Degree from Baldwin-Wallace College in 2008. I’ve been consulting and training since; teaching classes in North America and Europe, and helping companies implement solutions to improve their businesses.

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Please don’t Tweet this, but…

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This is reprinted from my editorial in Database Weekly.

During some recent conversations, I’ve noticed an increasing tendency for people to precede a disclosure or opinion with a proviso such as “Please don’t tweet/blog about this, but…” It’s an interesting indication that, with the advent and growth of social media, has come an increasing concern that today’s private conversation may turn into tomorrow’s world-wide Tweet.

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Interview with the Intrepid Buck Woody

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This is the second in a series of interviews with speakers presenting at the SQLServerCentral.com track at SQL Server Connections in November 2010. This interview is with Buck Woody, a SQL Server Senior Technical Specialist for Microsoft (blog | Twitter).

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Tell us about yourself Buck.

Wow – I’m kind of old, so that would take longer than we probably have. Think of the old guy in the room randomly waving his arms blurting out “All of this used to be orange groves, far as the eye could see”, before dropping back into a nap.

But I actually feel like that. I’ve been around tech a long time, and seen the changes along the way.  I’ve always been interested in technology and electronics, even as a little kid. Star Trek nerd, the whole bit. I grew up on the Space Coast in Florida, and when I saw the moon shot I decided I wanted to work at NASA when I grew up. After school, the Air Force and college, I did end up working at both Lockheed Space Operations at NASA and at the U.S. Space Command at Patrick Air Force Base. I worked with mainframes to start, then built my own PC from a Zilog chip and played with everything from Commodores to Apples and IBM PC’s, and was one of the early adopters in business of OS/2 and Windows NT.

I’ve been a sysadmin, a developer, a network tech and even a hardware tech. But I’ve always lived in the data space, first with COBOL flat-file systems, then with Oracle, Dbase (Clipper, actually) Sybase, PostGres and then finally SQL Server. As far as training, well, it’s been a mix of college courses, OJT, and lots and lots of reading and practical applications. And the training never ends. In fact, I teach a database course now at the University of Washington, and I’m still learning all the time.

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Interview with SQL Server MVP Glenn Berry

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This is a first of a series of interviews with speakers presenting at the SQLServerCentral.com track at SQL Server Connections in November 2010. This interview is with SQL Server MVP Glenn Berry (blog | Twitter).

 

Glenn Berry

Tell us a little about yourself Glenn.

After high school, I spent four years in the Marine Corps, serving in the Infantry and in Armor. I got out as a Sergeant and went to college. I have a B.A. in Economics and an M.A. in International Affairs. I initially wanted to be an intelligence analyst similar to Jack Ryan’s character in the Tom Clancy books. I spent a few years as a developer before I grew up and discovered that I liked being a DBA much better. I have been a Database Architect at NewsGator for about four and half years.

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