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Front Page News
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Today’s blog topic is that all-important, ever-problematic issue of data quality. If you work with your organization’s data you know how important it is for that data to be accurate... and you know how often data inaccuracies conspire to make...
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One of the questions I get on a regular basis is some variation of "how can I choose what DBMS is the best"... so I'll try to offer some high-level guidance for posterity here in my blog. This is actually a very interesting question, but...
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Have you ever read those inserts that your bank, your credit card companies, your insurance company, your mutual fund company, and others slip inside your statements and bills? We all get them. Those inserts in our bills and financial statements printed...
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Every professional programmer (and DBA) should have a good book (or four) on SQL. There are many to choose from, and a lot of them are very good. The first SQL book I recommend is SQL Performance Tuning by Peter Gulutzan and Trudy Pelzer. It provides...
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Regular readers of my blog know that I also participate in the micro-messaging phenomenon Twitter ( www.twitter.com/craigmullins ). If you've tried Twittering you know that it can be addictive, but it is also growing in popularity as a business tool...
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Rigidly adhering to a standard, any standard , without being reasonable and using your ability to think through changing situations and circumstances, is itself, a bad standard. If you are a Monty Python fan you probably recognized the title of this blog...
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Today's blog entry on bad database standards is a little different than the previous ones we've discussed. In this case, the bad standard is that there is no formal standard. The first three entries in our on-going "bad standards" series...
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Tonight's entry continues our on-going series on "bad" database standards. And the "bad" standard we'll discuss tonight is a particularly nasty one. Although the general idea behind this standard might seem to be understandable,...
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Today's entry, the second in a continuing series on bad database standards, attacks the misguided notion of putting too many columns in the SELECT-list of your SQL statements. Database application performance can be impacted by many factors - but...
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With this blog entry I start a new series discussing bad database standards. Almost every DBA group keeps a database standards manual - but most do not keep it up-to-date. I'll try to tackle some of the more popular standards that should be done away...
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Heads-down DBAs who know technology, but not their company's business, soon will be on the endangered species list. So number 8 on our list of DBA rules of thumb is to develop business acumen and learn to be a Business Savvy DBA! Although DBAs are...
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A good DBA is a Jack-of-All-Trades. You can't just master one thing and be successful in this day-and-age. So number 7 in this on-going series of DBA rules of thumb is to diversify your skill set . A day in the life of a DBA is usually quite hectic....
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Most every IT professional continually looks for their company to invest money in on-going education. Who among us does not want to learn something new - on company time - and with the company's money? Unless you are self-employed, that is! So number...
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In a complex, heterogeneous, distributed world it can be hard to keep your eye on the right ball, at the right time. So number 5 in our continuing series of DBA rules of thumb is to make sure that you "Focus Your Efforts!" The job of a DBA is...
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A calm disposition and the ability to remain cool under strenuous conditions are essential components of the makeup of a good DBA. So number four in our series of DBA rules of thumb is "Don’t Panic!" I used to have a big orange button...
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Knowledge transfer is an important part of being a good DBA - both transfering your knowledge to others and participating in having others' knowledge transferred to you. So be sure to share your knowledge freely with others in need instead of hoarding...
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Number 2: Automate Why should you do it by hand if you can automate DBA processes? Anything you can do probably can be done better by the computer – if it is programmed to do it properly. And once it is automated you save yourself valuable time....
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I know I just started a series on DBA Rules of Thumb ... and I will get back to continuing that series with my next post here.... but I wanted to take a moment to talk about database disaster recovery while the memories of Hurricane Ike are still fresh...
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Database administration is a very technical discipline, but it is also a discipline in which the practitioner is very visible politically within the organization. DBAs should be armed with a proper attitude and sufficient technical knowledge before attempting...
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I'm of the opinion that database administration needs to be practiced in a more rigorous manner. Too often the DBA is viewed as a fireman. This is not meant to disparage firemen, of course, but the fireman is called after the fire has started. Database...
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Can the ancient Chinese philosophy of Tao be applied to database administration? Go with the flow of things, and you will find yourself at one with the mysterious ways of the universe. -Chuang Tzu The senior DBA rocked back in his chair and smiled. The...
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I received the following question and thought I'd answer it on the blog: Question : I work in a data-modeling environment with the responsibility of logically modeling (LM) data for mainframe and server databases. LM for the OLTP systems are done...
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According to a Global Knowledge article which cites Forrester Research data, there are 16 hot roles that IT professionals should consider pursuing. The trend toward IT workers taking on multiple responsibilities and filling hybrid positions is in full...
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I ran across an interesting opinion piece on the CIO Magazine web site by Juan Irizarry on the expanding role of database administration. His thesis, is as follows: The field of database administration is constantly evolving and growing. Enterprise wide...
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Yesterday, Computerworld ran an article title " Information overload: Is it time for a data diet? " which piqued my curiosity. My whole career has been based on managing data and producing information and, as such, I am intrigued with the issue...
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