Month: July 2011

Writing and Presenting

When I first started submitting abstracts to conferences, I wrote bland, technical descriptions of what I’d be talking about. Later on, I thought being a good speaker meant having lots of people in my sessions, so I wrote spammy abstracts: “SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY! COME SEE THE MOSTEST SPECTACULAREST DISPLAY OF SKILLZ EVER! EVERY SINGLE DATABASE…

Just One More Thing… Introducing CorrugatedIron

Last Updated March 20, 2012

I like to share what I know. That’s why earlier this year, I contributed some code to the Riak function contrib. Since then, I’ve been quietly becoming an independent consultant, starting a business, and working on a big chunk of code. I’m proud to release to the world CorrugatedIron. More NoSQL for .NET If you’ve…

How to Be a Superstar: Change a Few Well Placed Things That Make a Difference

Last Updated July 25, 2011

There’s a few things about creating a luxury experience that apply to the daily work of database administrators, developers, and general programmers. I worked this out last week when I did some spring cleaning. Things I Learned from Cleaning the Bathroom I noticed something when I cleaned the upstairs bathroom: I’d put in a lot…

Land a Dream DBA or Developer Job: Seven Questions to Ask

Last Updated February 9, 2017

Interviewing, Professional Development

Looking back over all my years of interviewing and being interviewed, I realize that there are simple secrets to getting a great job offer. The big secret is just this: ask great questions. Interviewing Goes Both Ways Asking thoughtful questions in your interview process, from screening to salary negotiations, makes you more powerful. It shows…

Building a Better BrentOzar.com Blog

Last Updated July 14, 2011

I’m so proud. My baby’s all grown up now. When I started BrentOzar.com more than ten years ago, I never would have dreamed it’d turn into a consulting company, but here we are. Getting from Point A to Point B is hard as hell, though, so today I’ll give you a peek behind the scenes…

The Difficulty with Deadlocks

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Locking, Blocking, and Isolation Levels

Deadlocks can kill an application’s performance. Users will complain about the app being slow or broken. Developers will ask the DBA to fix the problem, DBAs will push the problem back on developers. The next thing you know, the office looks like Lord of the Flies. What is a Deadlock? A deadlock occurs when two…

Which Sessions Will YOU Send to the SQL PASS Summit?

Last Updated February 12, 2017

#SQLPass

It’s votin’ time, folks. SQL PASS 2011 community sessions have been selected by the Program Committee, but there are still five slots up for grabs. Those five sessions are up to you, the community. My Potential Session – “No More Bad Dates: Best Practices for Working With Dates and Times” Vote for me and save…

Windowing Function Examples for SQL Server

Last Updated November 26, 2020

SQL Server, T-SQL

Aggregations and grouping can be a pain in the rear for the novice SQL developer. Way back in 2003, the ANSI/ISO standards people figured this out and added windows and ranking functions to the standard. In 2005, Microsoft added a few of these functions (ROW_NUMBER(), RANK(), DENSE_RANK(), and NTILE()) as well as the OVER() clause…

Upcoming Training

Last Updated July 13, 2011

There’s a double dose of free training coming your way on Tuesday, July 19th! Completely Legal Performance Enhancements At 11:30 AM Central I’ll be hitting the intertubes and talking about Completely Legal Performance Enhancements. You’ll want to attend this talk if you know you have a performance problem but don’t know where to start. In…

Brent Ozar Unlimited® Adds Another MCM

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Company News, Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

Nope, we didn’t clone Brent. I am honored to say I’ve earned the Microsoft Certified Master SQL Server 2008 certification. Seriously honored. I feel awesome. What’s the SQL Sever MCM? “MCM” stands for “Microsoft Certified Master.” As Microsoft describes it, “the MCM program is the highest level of technical certification; it helps recognize and validate…

How to Set Up SQL Server 2012 Always On Availability Groups

Last Updated March 5, 2017

Always On Availability Groups

251

Before we get started, we need to talk about something. I’m going to be using the C word – that’s right, Clustering. Deep, calming breaths. Relax. We can do this, you and me. This isn’t the old-school clustering with shared disks, heartbeat networks, and hardware compatibility lists. This is just another feature you’re going to…

SQL Server 2012 CTP3 is Here! Five Things to Know About the Next Version of SQL Server

Last Updated February 9, 2017

SQL Server

237

SQL Server Denali CTP3 is here, and today I’m excited to be able to talk about this new public preview of the next version of SQL Server. CTP1 came out back in November 2010, and CTP2 wasn’t released to the public, so this is your first chance in several months to see progress. Here’s what…

How To Hire Top Talent

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Professional Development

You want to hire a fantastic DBA or database developer. You want someone who can hit the ground running, who you can trust to maintain your current system and tune it like a pro. Plus you want someone who can see key improvements, communicate effectively, and drive change in your system. You want it all.…

The $1,000/Hour Consultants

Last Updated July 7, 2011

I’m not the most expensive consultant I know. In fact, I’ve recently hired not one, but two separate consultants that charged $1,000 per hour. Not actually my plumber. One evening, Erika reported that the kitchen sink disposal wasn’t working. I walked in and did what any geek would do – I rebooted it. I flipped…

“What Were We Thinking?” Enter the Brent Ozar PLF Photo Contest

Last Updated February 12, 2017