Here’s this weeks roundup of SQL Server Blog Posts, News and Techie Stuff. Enjoy!

SQL Server Links

• Benchmarking: 1-TB table population (part 3: separating data and log files) – Here’s the next instalment in this excellent series from Paul Randal.
• How to Make SQL Server Backups and Restores Faster – No nonsense, effective tips that you can put into action right now, delivered in person from Brent Ozar via the wonder that is YouTube.
• Playing With SQL Azure Data Synch – Here’s a nice walk-through by example, from Glenn Berry, for this new SQL Server technology.
• Testing New Features in SQL Azure Service Update 1 – Part Deux of the Azure from SQL Server MVP Glenn Berry.
• SSIS 2008 Script Component variable gotcha.. - Mixing things up a little here from the typical DBA links with a nice SSIS tip courtesy of Josef Richberg.
• Another way to access variables in SSIS 2008 Script Component – Follow on blog post again, from Josef Richberg.
• More images from the Spatial Results tab – Who said working with SQL Server is not art…..
• NOT EXISTS vs NOT IN – What to use and when? Which is better? SQL Server MVP Gail Shaw explains all.
• Understanding SQL server memory grant – Very nice technically detailed article here from the SQL Server Query Processing team.
• Restarting the SQL Server Service Account – Why? – How do you go about managing this security maintenance task?
• Code that Writes Code – A Good Idea or Not? – Not if it’s NHibernate. I feel the authors pain on this one.
• Did you start your SQL Server Engine correctly? – Very important advice here from the CSS SQL Server  Engineers Team on how to ensure you configure SQL Server start-up parameters correctly. If you have not done this yourself before then read this post as it provides details of some of the common gotchas.
• What the difference between Microsoft Mainstream and Extended Support? – No idea but I intend to find out! It’s important for a DBA to be aware of the varying levels of support available in order to be in the best position to effectively manage our environments.

MVP Summit Week

• 2010 MVP Summit Held This Week – Find out what the SQL Server MVP’s got up to this week at the Summit.
• MVP Summit Impressions From Day 1 – See what SQL Server MVP Glenn Berry had to say.
• MVP Party Time – I wonder if the Oracle DBA’s can sing just as good….

Misc Technology News

That’s it for this week. If I’ve missed anything that you think deservers a mention this week then be sure to let me know! Send me an email or contact me on Twitter.

One point that deserves a special mention this week is that there will be a Service Pack 4 for SQL Server 2005 following on from much debate and pressure from the SQL Server Community. For full details of the service pack release schedule see the Microsoft SQLReleaseServices Blog.

Here’s this weeks roundup of SQL Server Blog Posts, News and Techie Stuff. Enjoy!

SQL Server Links

• MCM Prep Week: Interview with Joe Sack – Facinating interview courtesy of Brent Ozar. Have you got what it takes to be a Microsoft Certified Master?
• Native Restore From Litespeed Backup - Here’s a great tip from Thomas Larock on how to extract the natural SQL Server Backup file from a Litespeed backup archive.
• Some Initial Insert Test Benchmarks on SQL Server 2008 R2 - Detailed performance testing walk through here, learn how the Pro’s do it.
• Round Two of Insert Benchmark Tests – Part 2 of the the above……..
• A Tale Of Two Execution Plans – Solved! – A lesson well worth learning here from Kendal Van Dyke. It’s also great to see how the SQL Server community collaborates on issues together making us all better Data Professionals.
• Top 10 Reasons Why Access Still Doesn’t Rock- Wait a minute, should this not have been a top 100 post? Brent Ozar sets the record straight.
• A Simple Refactoring- Applying the principle of low hanging fruit to performance tuning.
• FREE SQL Server Training – More Free SQL Server Training has come to my attention this week. In the current economic climate, not all employers have budget for training so be sure not to miss out and make the most of these opportunities.
• Pay Attention to Maintenance Cleanup Job Configuration (If you use Maintenance Plans) – Make sure you are not leaving yourself exposed to a Data Loss Event by avoiding this common mistake.
• Mirroring Multiple SQL Server Databases on a Single Instance – Did you know that Microsoft officially only support up to 10 Database Mirroring sessions on a 32 bit installation of SQL Server? Neither did I…….
• Caching SSRS Reports for Performance – A nice walk through here.
• Ad-Hoc Rollup by date/time Interval - A detailed T-SQL Walkthrough here courtesy of Dan Guzman.
• SQL Server Help – Find out how to get SQL Server Help.

Misc Technology News

• First results from Large Hadron Collider published

That’s it for this week. If I’ve missed anything that you think is worth mentioning then be sure to let me know. Fire me an email or Follow me on Twitter.

Here’s this weeks roundup of SQL Server Blog Posts, News and Techie Stuff. Enjoy!

SQL Server Links

• Looking at Page Contents – A little code template here from Michael J Swart.
• Why You Might Want to Buy SQL Server 2008 Now – Brent Ozar explains why you may want to look into SQL Server 2008 now in order to minimise longer term costs to your business.
• Searching for Objects or Text Strings Using SQL Search
• Removing Columns – Now this is why I just love working with SQL Server, you really can learn something new each day. Did you know that removing a column from a table does not reclaim the space? Michael J Swart (Database Whisperer) reveals all.
• Script: open transactions with text and plans – Nice T-SQL script here from Paul Randal that identifies who currently has open transactions on the server.
• Performance improvement by orders of magnitude when merging partitions in SQL Server 2008R2 – A nice technical blog post here from the SQL Server Storage team.
• Detecting and Troubleshooting Non-Yielding Worker Threads in SQL Server 2005/2008 – A tale of Troubleshooting here from Glenn Berry including a couple of nice queries.
• Three Engine Improvements in SQL Server 2008 R2 – So by now you probably all know that SQL Server 2008 R2 is for the most part all about Business Intelligence and feature integration with Microsoft Office. Sigh…..That’s nice but what about the SQL Server Storage engine? Read this post from Glenn Berry to find out more.
• SQL Search – a review – Here’s a nice review of the new FREE utility from those clever folk at RedGate.
• Using Union All to simplify Lookup Component code – Here’s a nice little SSIS tip.

Misc Technology News

• Microsoft to patch 17-year-old computer bug
• US Department of Justice objects to Google book plan
• Juniper bakes 250Gbps core router chip
• MS hits Office 2010 upgrade program button prematurely

That’s it for this week. If I’ve missed anything that you think is worth mentioning then be sure to let me know. Fire me an email or Follow me on Twitter.

Acquiring your very first role as a Junior DBA is no easy feat. Just browse any one of the many job sites advertising SQL Server DBA job vacancies you will quickly come to realise that almost all Junior positions list a number of years of SQL Server experience as a necessary requirement.

How Most Junior DBA’s Earn Their Stripes

The truth is that a significant proportion of SQL Server Database Administrators (DBA’s) start out in an alternative discipline, that is to say they are Accidental DBA’s. For example, a Windows Server Administrator may also be tasked with looking after the businesses SQL Server infrastructure, perhaps as the result of a DBA having left the company or through cross training opportunities within the organisation. These individuals acquire the necessary experience on the job within their existing role in order to make the transition to a Junior DBA position.

If you are seriously interested in either starting out on the path to becoming a SQL Server Database Administrator or perhaps wish to make a lateral move from an alternative IT discipline, this revelation can be quite disheartening. You may feel that it is somewhat of no win scenario, as right now you have limited experience working with SQL Server, hence why you are considering junior opportunities in the first place.

Help is at Hand

Well fear not my friend, for all is not lost. It may surprise you to hear that I am of the opinion that SQL Server experience alone is NOT the most desirable quality of a Junior DBA! You see the Accidental DBA will often be self taught and so although more experienced than perhaps you are currently, they have acquired their knowledge of SQL Server the hard way. The very same knowledge can be passed on to a newly hired Junior DBA by an experienced mentor in a fraction of the time. For this reason there are a number of very desirable qualities other than SQL Server experience alone, that can provide you with a serious edge over the competition.

Over the years I have interviewed many aspiring data professionals and I want to share with you what I look for when hiring Junior DBA’s.

My Top 10 Interview Tips for Junior DBA’s

1. Are You a Problem Solver?

At the core of being a successful Database Administrator is an ability and a drive to problem solve.

You need to be able to effectively demonstrate your passion for problem solving. Problem solving is not really a skill that you can teach but it can certainly be improved and enhanced through practice.

You must be able to demonstrate a good level of problem solving to the interviewer.

Be prepared for your interview whether it be face to face or over the telephone, with a whole host of examples that demonstrate your ability and flair to problem solve.

2. Do You Know The Primary Responsibility of a DBA?

Do you know what the primary responsibility of a DBA is? If not then you need to read this now! Think of it as the DBA Prime Directive. Everything that you do as a data professional is built on this.

3. What do You Know About Database Backups?

Ideally you should get to grips with the basics of SQL Server backups but as a very minimum you must know why they are necessary and why they are important.

4. Why do You Want to be a DBA?

I look for candidates who know why they want to be a Database Administrator. There is no right or wrong answer here but you must be able to demonstrate to the interviewer that your reasons are clear and have been thought out.

5. Can you provide quality examples of your previous projects?

You will almost certainly be quizzed by your interviewer on the details of your past projects. This will enable you to demonstrate a wealth of qualities about yourself.

The key is to ensure that you have prepared ahead of time, a number of projects that you can discuss with your interviewer. Although preferable, your examples do not have to be SQL Server Specific or even IT Project work for that matter. Anything from University projects to work experience or examples of problem solving from part time jobs. Just be sure to have sufficient detail readily available and clear in your mind.

This is your opportunity to demonstrate to the the interviewer any number of your qualities and skills. To get you started, you may with to consider how you can discuss your project work to demonstrate:

• Working in groups
• Working independently and without supervision
• Planning
• Project Management
• Time Management
• Problem Solving

6. Can you Demonstrate Overcoming Adversity?

Be prepared to provide examples of how you have overcome problems or difficulties.

Show that you are keen to develop professionally by providing insight and evaluation of your own performance. Consider, ahead of time, how could you have done things differently?

7. Do You Have a Basic Grasp of the Relational Model?

You must at least learn and understand the fundamentals of The Relational Model before applying for a DBA position. There is simply no excuse in the Internet era for not having an overall understanding of the basics. Don’t like studying online then get yourself a good book. Perhaps Database Systems by Connolly & Beg would be a good place to start for you and is an excellent text used by many Computer Science Degree courses.

8. Do you Have a Personal Development Plan?

In order to be a data professional you have to continually be learning about your chosen subject. In an ideal world your employer would assist you with this endeavour however you should take charge of managing your own professional development. Your prospective employer may have budget to allocate to your training but may not know how it should be spent or what courses would be appropriate for you. Individuals that can clearly demonstrate that they are proactive about managing their own professional development are sought after.

Consider how you are going to increase your skills and knowledge of SQL Server. The more detailed your plans the more attractive a proposition you are to a perspective employer.

Some tips to get you started include:

• Join your local SQL Server User Group
• Study for SQL Server Certifications such as MCTS or MCITP.
• What SQL Server texts are you currently reading and would like to read? You have a reading list right?
• Follow SQL Server Bloggers by subscribing to their RSS feeds.
• Follow SQL Server DBA’s on Twitter to keep up to date on what’s going on the SQL Server Community.
• Visit SQL Server Forums to both review questions and contribute answers.
• Frequent some of the many excellent SQL Server Community sites such as SQLServerCentral, SQLServerPedia and SQLTeam.

9. Do You Have Any Goals?

Ensure that you can provide details of both your short (within the next year) and medium term (next five years) goals. This may link in to your Professional Development plan but you may also wish to include details of your life goals. Again there is no right or wrong answer here, as the objective is to demonstrate that you are forward thinking and ambitious but if you want to get serious about your goals then you will want to make sure that they are SMART goals.

10. Do You Know What You Don’t Know?

The more you learn and the more experience you acquire, the more you will realise what you don’t know. Let me tell you now that there is not a single data professional that knows absolutely all there is to know about SQL Server. It is simply too large a subject. That is why there are specialist SQL Server roles, such as Database Developer, Database Administrator, Business Intelligence Analyst, Report Writer and many more.

The key point to take away here is that it is perfectly acceptable and expected for you to not know the answer to a particular SQL Server question or problem. Personally I consider it a strength to know what it is that you do not know. Knowing your limits means that you can identify when it is time to call in the cavalry.

When you are stumped by a question in your interview don’t panic! Simply tell the interviewer that this is not an aspect of SQL Server that you are currently familiar with and then immediately go on to explain, if possible, how you would go about finding out the information required. Remember, it’s all about problem solving. There will be times in you career as a data professional that you do not have the answer to an issue immediately before you but if you have the means to find the solution then you are indeed a valuable asset.

What Are Your DBA Interview Tips?

I’d love to know what are your DBA interview tips? Leave your thoughts and feedback below.

Related Posts

• The Database Administrators Primary Responsibility
• Blog Your Way to Becoming a Better DBA
• What it takes to be an Outstanding DBA
• How to Get a Junior DBA Job
• Junior DBA Interview Questions

Here’s this weeks roundup of SQL Server Blog Posts, News and Techie Stuff. Enjoy!

SQL Server Links

• XML Validation in SQL Server Intergration Services – A nice walkthrough here from Simon Sabin.
• SQL Azure Frequently Asked Questions – So what’s this SQL Azure all about then? Brent Ozar answers the most frequently asked questions about this young technology.
• Improvement in minimizing lockhash key collisions in SQL Server 2008R2 and its impact on concurrency – Some indepth SQL Server technical discussions here from the SQL Server Storage Engine team.
• DBCC CHECKFILEGROUP bug fixed in 2008 SP1 CU6 – As the title describes, the legend that is Paul Randal notifies us of this latest bug fix.
• Benchmarking: 1-TB table population (part 1: the baseline) – Awesome first installment to this series of intricately detailed performance analysis from Paul Randal.
• Tuning ‘cost threshold for parallelism’ from the Plan Cache – Interesting discussion here from Jonathan Kehayias about consistently producing a parallel query plan.
• Changes to sp_estimate_data_compression_savings stored procedure in SQL2008R2 – Another great contribution from those clever chaps in the SQL Server Storage Engine Team.
• SQL Server – Find the most expensive operations in Execution plans – Now this is cool! I will be adding this my collection of handy DBA scripts.
• Setting a Dedicated Login To Run DMV Queries in SQL Server 2005\2008 – Frustrated with permissions required to access SQL Server DMV’s. Check out Glenn Berry’s solutions to your woes.
• Index Defrag Script Updates – Beta Testers Needed – Michell Ufford – Needs you!
• Cross Apply – What is it and how does it work. SQL Agent Man reveals all.
• Question: Is NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM a sysadmin in your SQL Server and Why? – A very interesting question posed by Jonathan Kehayias here. Have you removed yours?

Misc Technology News

• Apple Unveils iPad Tablet device – BBC news coverage. Really unexcited about this. Will it be on your Christmas list this year?
• Windows 7 upgrades Vista laptops to lower battery life – “I can-ne find the power captain!”
• Russia Tests Stealth Fighter Jet – More BBC News coverage. Is it just me or does this video look fake?
• How secure are virtual desktops, really? – With the increasing uptake of virtualisation technologies, how much thought have you given to their security?

That’s it for this week. If I’ve missed anything that you think is worth mentioning then be sure to let me know. Fire me an email or Follow me on Twitter.

Have you got what it takes to be a SQL Server DBA or are you looking for that new SQL Server role? Be sure not to miss my Top 10 Junior DBA Interview Tips.

Here’s this weeks roundup of SQL Server Blog Posts, News and Techie Stuff. Enjoy!

SQL Server Links

• IN vs INNER JOIN – I had been under the impression that Gail Shaw would be taking a respite from Blogging. I for one am sure glad this appears not to be the case as here’s another excellent blog post from her.
• Knowing and not Knowing – Although not SQL Server specific this excellent post from Jeremiah Peschka discusses an important concept required in order to be a successful DBA.
• User defined function performance is awful, Microsoft please sort this out
• Fooling the Query Optimizer – An interesting little peek here at the inner working of the query optimizer from Ben Nevarez.
• Free eBook on SQL Server Maintenance Plans – Get yourself a copy. Sure you may think you know all there is know about maintenance plans but it’s free right!
• SQL Server – How many times is the subquery executed? – An interesting snippet here at how subqueries do not always work as you might expect.
• Adding a PK online? – Can this even be done? Take a look at this blog post from Tibor Karaszi to find out.
• Is there and overhead to RPC events? – A fantastically insightful and detailed analysis, including walk through.
• Finding Implicit Column Conversions in the Plan Cache – Brilliant SQL Snippet here.
• The Database Design Process – Buck Woody tells us how he goes about the process.
• Learn Free at SQLLunch – FREE SQL Server Training! Find out how you can make the most of your lunch, snacks not included.
• How to Use SQL Backup Inside a Maintenance Plan – Fantastic little tip here that can be applied to any 3rd Party Database Backup Utility.

Misc Technology News

• German government warns against using MS Explorer
• Kodak sues Apple and RIM over iPhone and Blackberry

That’s it for this week. If I’ve missed anything that you think is worth mentioning then be sure to let me know. Fire me an email or Follow me on Twitter.

Here’s this weeks roundup of SQL Server Blog Posts, News and Techie Stuff. Enjoy!

SQL Server Links

• ‘Cannot Generate SSPI Context’ and Service Account Passwords – An interesting case walk-through here from the CSS SQL Server Engineers, albeit quite specialised.
• Should PASS hold the conference on the East coast – Is it time to relocate the PASS summit?
• Introduction To Resource Governor – Here’s an excerpt from Brad McGehee’s ebook on this excellent feature, new to SQL Server 2008.
• PASS Summit Venue – Banter from SQLRockstar.
• How to Read the Results of SELECT @@VERSION in SQL Server
• Plan and Prepare or Just Do It? How about Both! – What type of Data Professional are you? Are you a Planner or do you prefer to Just Do It and get things done? Buck Woody discusses.
• Delimited String Tennis (Again) …..The Final Volley -
• Misconceptions around database snapshots and transaction rollbacks
• MERGE and OUTPUT – the swiss army knife of T-SQL – Some nice clear example of how to put these commands, new to SQL Server 2008, into good use. Courtesy of Jamie Thomson.

Misc Techie Stuff

• Social Sunday: LinkedIn Update – Here’s Andy Leonard’s thoughts on his Social Networking experiences.
• Social Networking or Professional Networking? – A rather negative and perhaps narrow minded view, on the use of Social Networking for Professional Networking.
• My Favourite WordPress Plugins Lately – Some great Plugin ideas here for your Blog, from Brent Ozar.

That’s it for this week. If I’ve missed anything that you think is worth mentioning then be sure to let me know. Fire me an email or Follow me on Twitter.

Here’s this weeks, smaller than usual due to the Holidays, roundup of SQL Server Blog Posts, News and Techie Stuff. Enjoy!

SQL Server Links

• sp_db_space_usage – A very nice stored procedure from Tibor Karaszi for reporting database size details.
• Getting the ISO Week and Year – Handy little function here with some reporting panache.
• A Small Collection of I/O Specific DMV Queries – Another fantastic contribution from Glenn Berry. I’m a big fan of DMV’s and will certainly be putting these queries to good use.
• Fun With DBCC FREEPROCCACHE – Are DBA’s perhaps overly cautious about using this DBCC statement?
• How To Get a Count of SQL Connections BY IP Address – A nice little DMV query here, courtesy of Glenn Berry.
• Got a slow holiday seaons? Why not spend it learning? – Some ideas and tips on how to make the most of your free time this holiday season from Kevin Kline.

That’s it for this week. If I’ve missed anything that you think is worth mentioning then be sure to let me know. Fire me an email or a tweet on Twitter. Happy New Year!

Get your SQL SQL Server Questions Answered!

Got a question about SQL Server or being a DBA? Send me your queries and I will do my best to answer them for you!

This can come in very handy if you need to troubleshoot a performance issue after the fact and want to find out if there were any jobs running on your server at a particular point in time retrospectively. The cumbersome alternative is to use a combination of the Job Activity Monitor,Job History and Schedules interfaces within SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS).

To use this snippet simply substitute in the DateTime that you are interested in.

Similar Posts

• Identify All Active SQL Server Sessions
• How to identify the most costly SQL Server queries using DMV’s
• Highest SQL Server Waits by Percentage

I hope you find this SQL Snippet useful in your administration of SQL Server. If you have any questions regarding this snippet, SQL Server Agent Jobs or anything whatsoever to do with SQL Server then feel free to ask.

T-SQL Query to rank SQL Server Wait Types by highest percentage of total wait time

I hope you find this SQL Snippet useful in your administration of SQL Server. If you have any queries regarding this snippet, SQL Server Wait Types or anything to do with SQL Server whatsoever then be sure to let me know!

Further Reading

• SQL Server Best Practice Article: Performance Tuning Wait Queues
• More DMV Queries: Identify All Active SQL Server Sessions
• How to identify the most costly SQL Server queries using DMV’s