Geoff N. Hiten Blog

SQL Server thoughts, observations, and comments

Clustering for Mere Mortals (Pt1)

This past Saturday I enjoyed the hospitality of the Tampa SQLSaturday(#32) team.My presentation was “Clustering for Mere Mortals”.Unlike many clustering presentations, I had demonstration content.This resulted in the most asked question being “Do you have instructions on how you built that? Read more →

SQL 2005 Patching

I just got this question from a blog reader: We have a SQL 2005 cluster active/passive. Under my understanding, it would be neccesary to apply patches into a Testing environment, if working fine, proceed to the production environment. Read more →

PASS Summit 2009 Musings

The 2009 PASS community summit was a fantastic week. There is something about Seattle (rain) that makes this conference special(hills). Only the top folks get to present and they bring their best game. Read more →

PASS Fail

Long time, No see. This space has been a bit quiet and I apologize for that. Seems I have been a bit busy getting out and earning a living. Tough times all over. Read more →

Auto-Fragmenting Databases

Anyone who has spent time in the computer business and has some grasp of hardware issues understands fragmentation.For those whose concept of hardware is limited to “it’s the part I can kick”, here is a quick and painless overview. Read more →

Zune Revival

Looks like the Great Zune Massacre of 2008 was a day 366 issue. Again, someone forgot to throw out the code from the lowest ten percent of the Stack-Rank system. Sorry to sound harsh, but this is type of thing will flunk you out of Programming 101. Read more →

Zunicide

Yes, I own a 30 GB Zune.Yes, it crashed today.Yes, I am unhappy. Having worked in the computer industry for many years now, I watched many companies deal with failed products. Read more →

Successful Failure

Microsoft has successfully migrated its SQL Server support forums to a platform guaranteed to eliminate an estimated 20-30% of all corporate users. By including the word "social" in the URL, most corporate firewalls will block access automatically. Read more →

Free Space Fundamentals

One of the easy ways to fail at database administration is to allow your databases to self-manage space.Autogrow is a safety valve, not a pressure regulator.Of course, to manage space you have to know exactly how much free space you have. Read more →

PowerShell, Sport of the Future

<w:sdtpr></w:sdtpr><w:sdt id="89512082” title="Post Title” storeitemid="X_19133381-BE7C-4F1A-98DF-18F2EE424C7F” text="t” docpart="DC9F1CADC2C240489A71F0D7E99C41C2” xpath=”/ns0:BlogPostInfo/ns0:PostTitle"></w:sdt>No wait, that’s kickboxing.PowerShell is the something of the future.The management interface, the uber-scripting language, the what??? PowerShell, and its SQL-targeted implementation shipped with SQL Server 2008, brings to mind Michael Faraday’s response when asked “What use is electricity? Read more →

More, More, More

Fast on the heels of SQL 2008 is the Feature Pack for SQL 2008. Cool goodies include stand-alone installers for SQLCMD and the SQL Native Client, SQL 2008 Server Management Objects, SQL 2008 pre-defined Policies, and lots more. Read more →

DTC configuration for Windows 2008 SQL 2005 Clusters

Windows 2008 Clusters have a lot of new features that make clustering better. You don't have to wait for SQL 2008 to take advantage of some of them. One of the changes is in the DTC (Distributed Transaction Coordinator) options. Read more →

Secure = Unusable?

I have been working with SQL Server2005 and 2008 on Windows 2008 lately. I really like the Windows clustering improvements and want to take advantage of them. More on that in another post. Read more →

Breakable

One of the major pain points in SQL Clustering is what is referred to by Microsoft as "servicing". Installation, Service Packs, Hotfixes, and Cumulative Updates bring special headaches to those of use that are responsible for the care and feeding of SQL Clusters. Read more →

Speaking Schedule

If you feel an uncontrollable urge to listen to my voice or to meet me in person, here is your chance. You can listen to me on Greg Low's SQL Down Under Podcast. Read more →

Leverage

One definition of leverage is "the use of a small initial investment, credit, or borrowed funds to gain a very high return in relation to one's investment, to control a much larger investment, or to reduce one's own liability for any loss. Read more →