Every now and then, I get a comment from someone thanking me for one of my older videos. There’s still a lot of good stuff in here, so I thought I’d put up a reminder – here’s some of my favorite videos from the past:
#5: BLITZ! SQL Server Takeovers
You’re just sitting there, minding your own business, when somebody comes running in out of nowhere and tells you the company’s got a SQL Server hidden under somebody’s desk. You need to get a quick picture of whether that server is healthy or not, and you don’t have much time to do it. In this video, I explain how to use my Blitz script.
#4: Top 10 Developer Mistakes That Won’t Scale
At TechEd last year, I covered the most frequent coding performance issues I’d been seeing in the field. Today, I still see these same issues over and over at client engagements, and I’m sure I’ll continue to see them in the future. It’s easy to misuse and abuse some of these features.
#3: SQL Server Index Tuning
Microsoft SQL Server constantly tracks which indexes are being used and which indexes should be added. That data is accessible to us in the form of Dynamic Management Views (DMVs), but those DMVs can be easily misread. I explain how to get started with index tuning in this video with Kevin Kline:
#2: T-SQL Tuning for Race Car Drivers
Formula 1 drivers live on the edge, pushing their cars as hard as they possibly can. The concepts in this video can’t be used on every server you have, but when you need to push your server to the limits, these help get you there.
Which brings us to our #1 classic video that every SQL Server database administrator should see…
#1: The Hawaii Chair
This one isn’t my video, but when you’ve mastered the content in those first four videos, you’re going to be a lot more relaxed around the office. You’ll be less stressed out, you won’t be running from emergency meeting to emergency meeting, and people won’t be bothering you. While you’re sitting around surfing funny source code comments at StackOverflow, take advantage of that spare time to lose weight with the Hawaii Chair:
As an added benefit, if anybody does come to your cubicle to ask a question, they’ll be so horrified by the Hawaii Chair that they’ll probably leave immediately. Win!
The Hawaii Chair? Really? I *just* got over a back injury this past weekend and it’s cramping up again *watching* the video!
Hi Brent,
I know you are busy person and probably ignore my silly rant. I am one of those few who has not seen some of your classic videos. Just a little comment on “Video #4 Top 10 Developer Mistakes That Won’t Scale”.00:25:23 Creating a Monster. The code shown won’t work, not just only because what you are saying.
1. Procedure sp_executesql expects parameter ‘@string’ of type ‘ntext/nchar/nvarchar’.
2. There is an incorrect syntax. ‘select * from authors’+'ORDER BY ‘ won’t run (Separating space is missing).
3. If additional string @OrderBy makes @string greater than nvarchar(100) all extra information about ordering will be cut off and we will execute messy and unexpected code.
Something tells me these DEVELOPER mistakes won’t scale!:)
Pavel – thanks for the feedback. When you’re watching presentations, keep in mind that presenters usually show what’s called pseudocode – it’s not real code. We have to cram a lot of things into a slide, and we have to keep it readable for the people in the back of the room. Because of that, we sometimes have to sacrifice code accuracy in order to cram things into the slide.
Indeed all are must watch. Thanks for sharing them.
[...] @BrentO posts Five Classic Videos Every DBA Should Watch Posted on March 7, 2011 by sqlmashup http://www.brentozar.com/archive/2011/03/five-videos-every-dba-should-watch/ [...]
Brent, isn’t that shirt on the Hawaii chair spokesman the same one you wore to SQL Sat 67?
Hello Sir,
The first video “#5: BLITZ! SQL Server Takeovers
” does not have sound. It has an initial introductory music and then the rest of the video seems to have no voice. Please take a look…thanks.
Its ok now. I can now hear the rest of the video after the initial introductory music…thanks
Those videos were great fun to make, Brent. I’d love to do it again some time. =^)
-Kev
Same here, Kevin! I had a blast, and I’m always up for more of these. That studio was a hoot.