You might have noticed that Microsoft has recently launched a cool set of Trust Services for Azure.  This is an application-level encryption framework that can be used to protect sensitive data stored on the Windows Azure Platform.

One of the hindrances to adoption of Azure that I keep hearing about is trust and security.  If you want to learn more about protecting your data in the cloud you can read up HERE.  I’m not pushing you to get into Azure (even though you should), nor am I subtly trying to make you feel guilty for ignoring the cloud in general nor Azure specifically (subtle, ain’t I?).  But you really should consider learning a few things about database applications running in the cloud.  Our reticence to learn about cloud computing is rough analogous to data processing professionals in the 1980′s who thought the microcomputers where a passing fad.  They weren’t.  And neither is cloud.

Let me know what you think … after you’ve read about  Trust Services for Azure.  Enjoy,

-Kev

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If you’re like me, you like for things to be semantically reliable.  Huh?

Said another way, I like for things to mean what they say and say what they mean.  Here are a few examples of I get annoyed by failed sematics – when a footpath is used almost entirely by cyclists, when an escalator is merely stairs, or when a restroom has a huge crowd and long lines.  (No rest to be had in that room).

So you can bet that I get a little prickly when the “Error Log” is used to post messages that something completed successfully.  Really?  I came here to this error log looking for, wait for it, … errors!  My biggest annoyance here in the SQL Server sphere is that SQL Server has been posting messages in the error log every time a backup completes successfully for, like, three hundred years or something.  I can remember at least five years ago that Microsoft storage PM Kevin Farlee blogging about it.  And Kevin has been working on SQL Server for, like, three hundred years too.

I recommend that you set your SQL Server to use the startup traceflag DBCC TRACEON (3226) to disable backup success message.  Read all about it on Microsoft’s webpage describing this and many other trace flags for SQL Server.

In addition, be sure to look at Benjamin Nevarez’s post on cool, undocumented trace flags.  He still hasn’t told me the secret trace flag that sends a sock to the Microsoft developer whenever the feature s/he developed causes an end-user to scream in frustration.

And don’t overlook golden-oldies posts, like Andrew Kelly’s blog chalked full of example T-SQL programs to demonstrate this scenario.  I think this blog post was also written, like, three hundred years ago – way before computers were invented.  Very prescient of Andy!

Enjoy,

-Kev

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Speaking at a recent SQL Saturday, an attendee in one of my sessions wanted to know how they could more flexibly react to locks on their application than to wait for blocks to occur and then kill the SPID at the head of the blocking chain.  They were also interested in some alternatives to using the  SQL Server syntax like the WITH (NOLOCK) hint, since that might have unintended consequences due to allowing reads on uncommitted data.

One alternative I suggested is the SET LOCK_TIMEOUT n statement.  Since most of the attendees hadn’t heard of this statement, I figured it’d make a good blog post.

When using the statement, you can set this context for the connection, for a batch of code (such as a function or stored procedure), or for a single SQL statement (excluding a few DDL statements such as CREATE/ALTER DATABASE).  By passing a numeric value with the set statement, you specify the number of milliseconds that the statement will wait for a lock to be released before returning a locking error.  0 means don’t wait at all and -1, the default, means wait forever.  Once changed, the new setting stays in effect for the remainder of the connection.  So you might want to set it back to the default if you want it to apply to only one statement, say a SELECT, in a big batch of statements.

You can also get the same behavior by using the READPAST locking hint.

Hope this helps with those troublesome locking situations!  Enjoy,

-Kev

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Steve Balmer very publicly pronounced that Microsoft was “all in” for cloud computing and Windows Azure.  So that means Microsoft is using cloud for its internal IT as well as building products to utilize the cloud.  If you want to learn how Microsoft IT is using Windows Azure to move existing applications to the cloud and creating new applications for the cloud, click here: IT Showcase on Windows Azure.

Let me know what you think.  Accurate and informative? Or marketing fluff?

Thanks,

-Kevin

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I hope you’ve taken a few minutes to peek in on the nice refresh that’s happened on a bunch of the System Center engineering blogs.  Good things are afoot there.  And if you haven’t checked in, avail yourself of these great resources:

System Center: Service Manager

System Center: Operations Manager

System Center: Virtual Machine Manager

System Center: Orchestrator

System Center: Data Protection Manager

And, as always, I’m interested in your feedback. Tell me what you think!

Enjoy,

-Kevin

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I was recently chatting with Megan Keller, my long-time editor for the Tool Time column and Executive Editor at SQL Server Pro, DevProConnections, and SharePoint Pro.

I’ve subscribed to SQLMag ever since it was first put to print back in the late 1990′s.  (That’s a pic of me, on the right, in the shirt given my by SQLMag’s first publisher way back in the day).  I have many bookshelves in my office, but SQLMag consumes more than half of the shelf closest to my desk.  It’s that good.  Some of my personal favorites and perpetual must-read content are the columns SQL Server Questions Answered by Paul Randal & Kimberly Tripp as well as the always excellent columns Puzzled by T-SQL by Itzik Ben-Gan and all of the great content by Kalen Delaney.

Megan recently told me about the exciting changes afoot there.  For starts, SQL Server Magazine’s has new name—SQL Server Pro.  This name, as you can tell from its sister publications listed at the top of the blog post, puts all of the Penton Media properties on an equal and consistent footing.

Please take some time to check out hands-on, how-to content from SQL Server experts at sqlmag.com. The on-line magazine features the same great expert advice and writers as before.  And you can access my articles on sqlmag.com just as you have in the past.

Suggestions for the Tool Time Column?

And while we’re at it, let me know if there are any SQL Server related tools you’d like to see in the Tool Time column!  My requirements are that the tool must be free, must be supported, and of course must be relevant to SQL Server professionals.

Enjoy,

-Kev

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One last reminder –  If you’re interested in learning more about troubleshooting and optimizing SQL Server performance, please consider coming to the full-day seminar I’ll be giving this Friday.  Full details are here: http://sqlperftuning.eventbrite.com/.  We’ll be working some exercises, so bring your laptop with an instance of SQL Server 2008 (or later) running on it.  It’ll be fun!

I also encourage you to come on down to SQL Saturday 130  the following day – whether there’s an official registration for you or not.  (But don’t tell ‘em I said that).  :^)

Come by the booth for a visit.  I’ll be hanging out most of the day and have some nice swag to give away.

Enjoy,

-Kev

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Have you ever found yourself wanting to make a major shift – in skills, in roles, in relationships? One of my good friends, Jimmy May (Blog | Twitter), accomplished a set of major career and lifestyle revisions including relocating to Redmond, taking on a huge new level of job responsibility as part of the Microsoft SQL Customer Advisory Team, and achieving the noted accreditation of Microsoft Certified Master.

Jimmy and I were chatting about undertaking major life changes like these and, as is often the case, his thoughts were too good not to share. Be sure to explore these excellent career development resources.  So here were some great pointers from Jimmy:

I’ve referred you before to J.D. Meier. Incredibly powerful guy. Here are some brief yet powerful posts:
What’s the Challenge?
http://sourcesofinsight.com/2011/06/24/whats-the-challenge
101 Ways to Motivate Yourself and Others
http://sourcesofinsight.com/101-ways-to-motivate-yourself-and-others/

Want more?
30 Days of Getting Results
http://sourcesofinsight.com/30-days-of-getting-results
Take a Tour of Sources of Insight
http://sourcesofinsight.com/2011/06/21/take-a-tour-of-sources-of-insight
Still not enough? Here are his three blogs:
www.sourcesofinsight.com
www.gettingresults.com
http://blogs.msdn.com/jmeier

Let me know what other resources you enjoy for professional and career development!

And if you’re really interested in developing your IT leadership and management skills, I encourage you to attend my Leadership Skills for IT Professionals seminar.  I’m presenting this full-day seminar in Dallas at the SQLRally on May 8, and in Louisville at SQL Saturday 122 on June 19.  Hope to see you there!

Thanks,

-Kev

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This might be most most overcommitted four-week period of time ever in my life.  I’m tired just thinking about it! Not only am I traveling internationally and speaking over the next few weeks, I’m also helping on two book projects, learning some new applications from Quest Software, and helping on a small Transact-SQL refactoring project.

Swag on hand? I’ve got a special printing of 500 video training DVDs for this trip:

SQL Server Training on DMVs

Performance Monitor and Wait Events

Plus, I’ll have a few posters, stickers, and other goodies.  Come see me!

SQL Saturday 105; Dublin, Ireland; March 24

My maternal grandmother was first generation Irish-American and, somehow, going to Ireland feels a lot like going home to grandmom’s house.  And all my Irish friends make it feel like I’m going home to see the extended family – cousins and ‘once-removed’ family types.  And on top of that, we get to talk about SQL Server at SQL Saturday #105!   I’ll be doing a session called “Top 10 Things Every Developer Should Know”.  I’ll also be hanging out at the Quest Software booth much of the day and, just for fun, I plan on doing a completely unscripted lightning talk.

SQL Server User Group; Maidenhead, UK; March 27

From Dublin, I head over to the lovely town of Maidenhead, UK.  I’ll be spending a couple days in the Quest Software office there in Maidenhead, whose SQL Server User Group is lead by fellow Questie Richard Douglas (blog | twitter).  I’ll be presenting after Business Intelligence impresario Jen Stirrup (blog | twitter).  Space is limited, but there are still some seats left.

I’ve already heard from other twitterati that some great Microsoft SQL Server MVPs will be attending, like Tobiasz Koprowski (Blog | Twitter).  If you live in south, central England, then this is your chance!  Register here: http://www.sqlserverfaq.com/events/386/Maidenhead-UG-meeting-SQLBits-Preview-Speakers-include-MVPs-Kevin-Kline-and-Jen-Stirrup.aspx.

SQLBits; London, UK; March 29 – 31

This is the official launch event for SQL Server 2012!  This is your chance to get the best and biggest dose of SQL Server 2012 training for quite some time.  The free training day event is sold out.  However, some of the training day seminars have open seats, including my seminar Leadership Skills for the Database Professional.  This seminar distills the years of formal training and hard-won experience I’ve accumulated throughout my career starting as a developer leading a small team, through the founding and early startup years of PASS, into my later years leading a large, multi-national development organization.  You’ll learn all the skills that are crucial for you to make the leap (and it’s a big one) from full-time technologist to a leader and manager of people.

And we’ll be hosting our popular SQL trivia quize and IT Horror Stories sessions as well.  So be sure to plan on grabbing your lunch and heading into our fun lunch-time sessions!

I hope to see you at one of these upcoming events!  Cheers,

-Kevin

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What is TEC?

The Expert’s Conference (TEC) is a multi-day event featuring five co-located Microsoft educational conferences at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina April 29-May 2.  It’s pretty – see!

The event includes advanced 400-level training on Microsoft Directory & Identity (including Active Directory), Exchange Server, SharePoint, Virtualization (Microsoft Hyper-V) & Workspace Management, and PowerShell Deep Dives.  There are lots of great activities for Quest and Microsoft customers and partners.  In addition, there’s a Quest Software Day, with User Groups sessions; Focus Groups to steer product direction; and Executive Briefings.

In the registration section, be sure to mention my name when it asks “How did you hear about TEC?”  If I get enough people to sign on, they’ll let me off of the chain and give me fresh bread and water instead of the old moldy stuff they usually slide under the cell door.

Click on the pretty picture below to get more info!