Year: 2010

How to Get Readers to Pay Attention

Last Updated April 27, 2010

Whether you’re submitting a session abstract or writing a blog post, you gotta get your readers to stay focused. Write an awesome, straightforward title. Like it or not, people judge books by the cover. When you’re writing a presentation abstract or a blog post, the title is your cover. Sweat it. Blog Post Announcement Hit…

PASS Summit Survey Results

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

#SQLPass

The good news is that the people have spoken. The bad news is there were less than 200 people involved. I’m hesitant to read too much into a survey with such a small sampling of a big audience, but hey, it’s what we’ve got. The PASS 2010 Summit survey results are out, and a few…

#SQLR2 Launch Goofs

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

Humor

When I lose my MVP status, we’ll all look back on this blog post and understand why. I just can’t help myself though – Microsoft has made some real head-shaking decisions over the last couple of weeks. Sorta-Kinda-Announced-But-Not-Really – At UK Tech Days, Microsoft staff announced a release date of May 21st. No press releases…

What Skill Should I Learn Next?

Last Updated April 20, 2010

Brent Ozar

Last week I posted a picture on Twitter of the two books I’m reviewing right now: Tom LaRock’s DBA Survivor and Bert Scalzo’s Introduction to Oracle. They’re both 100-level books. People didn’t seem to question the former (perhaps because Tom’s a friend of mine) but I got a lot of comments about the latter. Why…

Missing Out on PASS Europe and London

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

#SQLPass

My flight to the PASS European Summit and the PASS London chapter just got cancelled due to the volcanic ash mess. We talked about trying to find more ways around it, like flying into other parts of Europe and then hoping to catch a train to Dusseldorf. Ultimately the alternate routes were too expensive (both…

SQL Server 2008 R2 Release Date: April 21 2010

Last Updated November 7, 2021

Brent Ozar

SQL Server

The SQL Server 2008 R2 release date was April 21, 2010. You can download SQL Server free as an evaluation version. I’ve written a lot about the new features: SQL Server 2008 R2 Pricing and Feature Changes – the pricing is going up, but you get new features in Standard Edition. SQL Server 2008 R2:…

The Masters of the MCM Program: David Ikeda and Joe Sack

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

The Microsoft Certified Masters program doesn’t run itself. David Ikeda and Joe Sack manage the monster, and I’d like to take a minute to thank them for everything they do. Someone’s gotta review the applicants. Not everybody gets accepted into the program. Some candidates don’t have the necessary experience, and some are just looking for…

My Apple iPad Review

Last Updated April 13, 2010

Brent Ozar

I need a backup presentation device when I travel. During my epic European trip failure, my laptop failed in Copenhagen, and all kinds of hell broke loose. I decided I’d always travel with a second device that could do PowerPoint presentations. For a while, I used a netbook, but I hated carrying fifteen pounds of…

I wrote another book. Already.

Last Updated April 2, 2010

Brent Ozar

When I got done writing just two chapters in Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting, I swore I’d never write another book again. No way. I tweeted that the authoring process was like punching yourself in the junk as hard as you could while editors stood behind you asking you to punch harder and…

SAN Snapshot Smackdown

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Brent Ozar

Backup and Recovery, Storage

On Twitter, several SAN pros were saying their snapshots can pull off some nifty stuff. Well, it’s time to find out just how true that is. Let’s say we have a data warehouse with: One 2TB database, using SQL Server partitioning – needs 8 data files and 1 log file One 200GB database for reporting…

SQL MCM: The Exams

Last Updated March 10, 2021

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

If the DBA answer is always, “It depends,” how can Microsoft test DBAs? Six of the SQL MCM R8 guys Every week of the MCM program, attendees take a multiple-choice test. Afterwards, we gathered in the hallways and vigorously debated our answers. We agreed about most of the questions, but we had loud discussions about…

SQL MCM: Now, the bad stuff.

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

The MCM isn’t perfect. The instructors and David Ikeda (the lead for this rotation) are trying hard to make the experience great, but there’s some areas for improvement. I’ve been holding back from discussing them until I’d seen all of the instructors; I didn’t want to post a complaint and have people connect that complaint…

Switching to Cassandra

Last Updated June 15, 2010

Brent Ozar

NoSQL is a good idea with a bad name. You wouldn’t put on your NoJeans to drive to work in your NoFord. But put away the crappy label for a minute and check out what the NoSQL movement has going for it, because they’ve got some good points. In the Microsoft Certified Master training, I’ve…

SQL MCM Day 15: Logistics

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

There’s something really exciting about walking into Microsoft each morning. I know it sounds cheesy, but I get the feeling that really cool things are happening all over the campus. Love ’em or hate ’em, Microsoft builds things that touch our everyday lives, and this is where it’s happening. I know a lot of Microsoft…

SQL MCM Day 14: Test #2

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

The MCM schedule goes like this: Week 1 – M-F – training Week 1 – Weekend – study time Week 2 – Monday 8am – written exam covering Week 1’s material Week 2 – M-F – training Week 2 – Weekend – study time Week 3 – Monday 8am – written exam covering Week 2’s…

PASS Summit Speaking Requirements

Last Updated March 26, 2010

Brent Ozar

Speaking at a national event is a privilege, not a right. Attendees spent a large amount of money to come to a big event. The event organizers need to ensure that every presentation and every presenter are worth the attendees’ time and money. But how can we gauge quality when hundreds or thousands of abstracts…

SQL MCM Day 11: When and How to Get In Free

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

I’m more than halfway through my big adventure. Candidates are starting to complain about the lack of sleep and the abundance of material. So far this week, we’ve covered the following material: 537 PowerPoint slides (and these aren’t Brent-style slides, either – one of the slides yesterday scored 15 bullet points) 43 T-SQL scripts 11…

Adam Machanic, Japanese Snack Connoisseur

SQL MCM Day 10: Comfort Zone

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

I’m kinda good at a few things. I can tune pretty much any SQL Server to make it run faster. I play a decent game of Extreme Query Makeover. If you talk about your SQL Server application behavior for a few minutes, I can usually tell you where your bottleneck is. I’ve even been known…

SQL MCM Day 9: Taking Good Notes

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

I sit at the back of the classroom, so I get to see everybody’s laptops as they’re working. Some folks surf the web, make travel plans, or do email. Other folks follow along with the demos, running the scripts on their machines before the instructor gets to the next one. I seem to have a…

SQL MCM Day 8: The First Weekly Exam

Last Updated February 12, 2017

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Certified Master (MCM)

Here’s everything you need to know to pass the MCM written exams: Before you get here, read the prerequisites. Again. And again. And again. My kind of email Do the demos. Run the scripts. Explain them out loud. Teach the workings to your pet hamster. Be completely comfortable with everything covered in the prerequisite reading. …