SQL Data Partners Podcast

What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by Any Other Name would smell as sweet.  We could say the same for analytics -- there are plenty of similar or related words we use to describe the role or process of working with data.  In this episode, we talk with Nicki Tinson about her journey into analytics, how others, like you, might break into the fields, and what has remained the same even when...

Everybody does things a little differently and this is one of the things I LOVE about the podcast--chatting with others about how they get work done.  In this episode I chat with Tom Norman about how he uses Visual Studio for source control, deployments, and keeping his sanity.  We explore the setup process and how we have a reverse 80/20 rule when it comes to importing databases with Visual Studi...

Normally we have one specific topic we focus on each episode.  This episode is a little different. The show notes for today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/05/16/episode-135-seinfeld-episode/. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

It is not very often the internal codename is used when a product is launched; however, when you think about a database designed with global distribution in mind, CosmosDB makes sense.  I was a bit shocked to hear Microsoft was releasing another database technology in 2017; however, the team leading the charge was very impressive and it looked like it was solving problems other database engines co...

While the ability to shrink data files is available in SSMS, the conventional wisdom is don't do it.  I was extremely curious when I read an email from our guest suggesting the opposite.  In this episode we explain the 'real world' and discuss why you might consider shrinking files and the how it will affect you.  Nigel has a great sense of humor and I know you will enjoy today's episode. The show...

Bang! Pow! Crash!  Besides just awesome fighting techniques, are there things we can learn from superheroes?  My guest, Will Fehringer, gave that very question some thought and came up with some very interesting ideas I thought were worth passing along.  Wonder Woman and the Amazonians give us something to thing about preparing for our ultimate goal.  Drax, from the Guardians of the Galaxy, gives...

Big Data.  Do you have big data?  What does that even mean?  In this episode I explore some of the concepts of how organizations can manage their data and what questions you might need to ask before you implement the latest and greatest tool.  I am joined by James Serra, Microsoft Cloud Architect, to get his thoughts on implementing cloud solutions, where they can contribute, and why you might not...

Heroes in a half shell, PowerShell!  Well, maybe that wasn't the original line, but you know from this program and other places on the internet, PowerShell is all the rage.  In this episode, we wanted to chat about other ways people are using PowerShell and we are happy to have Warren Estes talk with us about some of his experiences.  Warren shares some ways he has used PowerShell to push the easy...

Books online state: "There is nothing a graph database can achieve, which cannot be achieved using a relational database." Why then are we putting graph technology in SQL Server?  To help me answer this question, I invite my friend AZ to chat about the Graph feature in SQL Server 2017 and introduce how graph differs from a relational model.  If you have every tried to implement complicated hierarc...

To Devops or not to Devops, that is the question.  We've talked before about how the developers have all the cool new tools, but this is slowly changing.  For those in development or dare I say agile (gasp!) environments there is more need for automation, but getting there can be a real challenge.  In this episode, we chat with John Morehouse about how he actually put into practice automated deplo...

There has been a remarkable shift introduced in the new features of SQL Server--programming languages have been embedded into the database.  This has led to a few "What are you thinking" questions from myself and others.  It also opens new opportunities for those working with SQL Server and in this episode, I chat with Andy Roberts and Chris Hyde and discuss the new features of R and Python--why t...

Have you attended a SQLSaturday? They are great events and in this episode we chat with a few organizers about what goes into putting on an event and what they think the future of these events looks like. The show notes from today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2018/03/08/episode-126-sqlsaturday-edition. Have fun on the SQL Trail!

Have you ever found it difficult to explain how something works to a co-worker?  What about reading documentation?  We have all been there before and in this episode we chat with Ray Kim about his thoughts on how we can be better at communicating technically. What is interesting is the number of tools that are now available to help us with communicating ideas; however, we all still struggle with c...

Perhaps you have heard about a runbook--the documented instructions you should follow in the event of a disaster or some situation where an outage occurs.  Instructions are great for IT folks as they give a reference to follow--and they don't freak out even if we might. They don't, however, include instructions for everyone--what about the folks that aren't tapping away on the keyboard?  In this e...

Listener Eduardo Cervantes wanted to get our take on what developers should do when they get admin access to a database.  We take on this challenge and I give 5 points you might consider if you are a developer with admin access to the SQL Server.  As Uncle Ben in Spiderman quotes, "With great power comes great responsibility."  We hope you use yours wisely. The show notes from today's episode can...

Does not play well with others. Is this description appropriate for some of the queries in your database?  In this episode, we explore the role behind isolation levels--why they are important, what they help prevent, and why so many people try to get around the rules they try to enforce. The show notes from today's episode can be found at http://sqldatapartners.com/2017/12/20/episode-122-isolation...

I have heard it said "People don't quit jobs--they quit managers".  At a recent event, I decided to ask people what they thought the qualities of a good manager are.  Perhaps you aren't thinking of getting into management; however, at some point in your career you will have the opportunity to lead.  We share your thoughts and comment on the challenges of having the qualities of a good manager. The...

Shouldn't they have fixed that instead of putting out all these new features?  That might be what you are thought when you saw the title for today's episode.  SQL Injection is still a big deal in today's databases and we are pleased to have Bert Wagner on the program to talk with us about how it can affect you and the applications you protect. One of the most difficult aspects to deal with SQL Inj...

At first glance you might think our podcast topic is from way out in left field; however, as you think about it there are a number of reasons we should be talking about GitHub.  Even if you don't need a public source control repository for creating code, GitHub is becoming the preferred place for creators to publish their content and the ability to interact with other is extremely value.  In this...

After having attended PASS Summit and seeing all the new features coming it out, it can be very easy to overlook the basics--they are boring.  These features have been around forever.  This may be true, but they still play an important role and ignoring them won't help get you those fancy new features any time soon. In this episode, our topic is index maintenance, with an emphasis on what has chan...

Have you ever had a week without a Wednesday?  Me neither, so for this episode, we recap our experience at PASS Summit and talk about all the amazing compañeros we met and give some thoughts around our very first meetup.  It was so much fun to meet everyone and both Steve and I gave sessions, which was a great experience--and a first for me. One, we both realized after the fact is, we are not good...

If you have ever worked with Microsoft support, you probably came across the PssDiag tool they use to collect information about your environment.  My experience with the tool is it always seemed, well--a bit clunky.  Now, it does collect lots of information and seemed to be a bit overwhelming when I was first a DBA.  Fast forward a few years and PssDiag was not a tool I use anymore and was not sur...

It was a beautiful idea.  Gather together with a group of our podcast listeners in a conference type format and find ways for us to connect and help each grow.  I had seen it down in other events; however, I wanted to add my own flavor.  I wanted this to be different.  While the event turned out great and we got good marks from the attendees, we didn't have the response we were hoping for.  In thi...

One of the advantages to a small conference is the ability to take attendee feedback and put it in place during the conference.  We actually made time for the attendees to pick topics they wanted to discuss and this episodes comes from one of our attendees Aaron Hayes. It can be very tempting to think of the good life of consulting.  I almost liken it to playing the lottery--what am I going to do...

"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."  Those words are attributed to Issac Newton and they are fitting for the way I was feeling recently as I thought back to those who have helped me in my career.  While we might always want things to be better, as technologies we have it pretty good.  There are unnumbered people who have dedicated untold amounts of time so we ca...