As of September 28, 2017, Dallas DBAs LLC is officially recognized by the Texas Secretary of State:
Let the data adventures begin!
Crossfit for DBAs
I’m a Database Administrator (DBA)…which should be obvious since you are reading this on a site for Dallas DBAs 🙂
Being in IT very frequently means sitting at a desk for many hours at a time, managing things, fixing broken stuff, learning about Microsoft’s new shiny feature in the next SQL version that your boss wants to implement on release day…
I am also an avid cyclist. I have been riding in one form or another all of my life…from BMX to road to mountain bike and even raced a few years at the local velodrome (think NASCAR on bikes).
In 2015, after a series of training crashes while prepping for a 24 hour road/mountain bike race I had such pain in my left hip that I finally went to the doctor. I thought I was just pushing too hard, but the pain went from hip all the way down to the knee. In March I was riding 100 mile solo road rides. In April I crashed in a 60 mile MTB race. In late April, I was 5 miles into a road training ride when the pain level literally brought me to tears. That April crash was the final straw.
After X-rays, the doc told me that I have bone spurs and trashed cartilage in the left hip, and osteo-arthritis in both. Most of my other joints were hurting as well, but to a lesser degree. For reference, I was 47 at the time.
I stalk follow a lot of world class Data professionals on Twitter, including Pinal Dave (b|t) from India. Pinal is known around the world for his teaching, presenting, his daily blog postings and his skill. At some point in April 2017 (maybe March), he posted about becoming a Level 1 Crossfit trainer. I was inspired. I’ve met Pinal in person…he’s a good sized guy. I figured if he can make the progress he has, I can at least try. After all…if my hip gets worse, I’m looking at a replacement. I’d really like to keep that at bay as long as possible.
On April 11, I showed up at my local gym and showed off how badly I suck at anything but endurance cycling. I took it easy, and still couldn’t walk properly for 4 days. I thought I was in good shape for my age. I was wrong. I could barely do an air squat without falling over. Almost no range of movement in any joint.
5 months later, and this is a summary of the changes that I recently sent the gym owner:
Before: I couldn’t run 200m.
Now: I can run 2 miles non-stop at 10 min/mile pace
Before: 12″ box step-ups at best (not jumps)
Now: I can jump onto a 24″ box multiple times, 30″ at least once
Before: Air squats, barely. Back squats – no.
Now: Air squats are easy. Can do Front, Back and Overhead at various weights
Before: What is a deadlift?
Now: I can deadlift 205. Once. 185lbs in sets of 3-5
Before: ALL of my joints hurt
Now: None of my joints hurt, except the hip with the bone spurs, and that one hurts less. Much less
There is more. Too much to list. The thing that has worked for me is that if I get in the door on any given day, I am going to improve. In a regular gym I would just be lazy and flounder around. In a CF gym there are coaches leading a class through the same level of suffering. Yes, I pay people to hurt me. They respect my mobility issues and when I’m done, I’m done. My goal is to finish every workout. Most days I do, some days the clock beats me. Or my legs.
This sounds like a “How I got healthy” post…but its really much more of a THANKS PINAL! than anything else. If you are sitting at a desk all day, whether in IT or some other office job…please get up and walk around. The office, the block, whatever. Get a bike. Or Roller Blades. Make room in your schedule to take care of yourself!
Pinal is now a level 2 trainer: read it here
Thanks for reading!
Kevin3NF
Video: What makes up a SQL Server database?
Just a quick 101 style video I put together to show the pieces of a SQL Server database for those that are starting to learn the product. Also a teaser for my teaching style of my DBA Fundamentals classes!
Enjoy!
Are IT Certifications worth it?
I’ve been in IT for 2 decades. I got my MCSE in 1999. Via a BootCamp training class that Microsoft paid my way into.
I was the walking definition of a “paper MCSE” – all knowledge and no experience. At the time the MCSE was Windows NT 4.0, IIS 4 and some other elective, along with some networking tests. I really don’t remember, other than TCP/IP which I had to take, fail, study and take again.
When i contracted at Microsoft (the second time) back in 2005, there were 20+ contractors all there getting ramped up for the SQL 2005 release. Technically they were ramping up for SQL 7 and 2000, as the Full Timers were doing 2005 support. Most of them had the MCDBA certification….many hanging in their cubes. Not one of them could admin their way out of a paper bag. Nice people, but no experience.
I decided at that point that I would not be pursuing any more certifications, as these guys were making it look bad and watering the value down. Certification tests are expensive, when you consider study time, prep materials, practice tests and exam fees. I decided I would just learn the SQL Server things I needed to know and that were in wide use (skipped right on by Notification Services!). This has served me well for the 10+ years since that contract at MS ended.
Fast forward to last month when I decided to quit being an old dog and go learn some new tricks. Specifically Azure tricks…infrastructure and SQL, in parallel (MAXDOP 2).
I’m working through that. I’m not ready to even think about the first test yet, because I’m taking my time and actually LEARNING the material, whether its on the test or not. Shocking, eh? 😀 (Pluralsight is amazing for this, BTW).
The thing that triggered this blog came from a LinkedIn post this morning that caught the ire of Adam Machanic (w|t), as well as others:
Hello Folks,
Can someone please send me MCSA 70-764 and 70-765 exam dumps in PDF format.
My Email ID is: redacted@whatever.com
Thanks in advance..
Most of the responses were along the lines of “why not just study the material, you cheater?”
The original poster claimed this:
You are right . in my past I worked on old SQL version as of now working with new versions and everything is automation over here …hence just for reference I need them …
I call shenanigans.
OP is going for the “memorize, test, apply” method of certifications. Maybe not apply for a new job. Maybe just to keep one. Who knows. But still shenanigans….and in .PDF format if you please.
As you might expect, this spilled over to Twitter, as many things do. It was met there with a healthy dose of venom for those that shortcut the process, as well as places that issue fake certifications (I didn’t know that was a thing!).
For fun, I contacted my friend Gregory Knight at GTN Technical Staffing and Consulting (my first independent customer, way back in 2001) for some insider info on the other side of the recruiting and client pipelines.
My Question:
“Hey…curious how much recruiters and clients actually value Microsoft certifications these days, if at all…other then for resume filtering…thoughts?”
Gregory sent this wide internally at GTN and got these responses back:
I do. It tells me the following:
- How much extra work a human has put into his/her career.
- Suggests drive, love of the tech, going the extra mile
- Low-level cert only or many unfinished certs (CCIE with no lab) and/or never finished college suggests lack of follow through.
- Certs all over the place, e.g. MuleSoft, CCNA, MSCA suggests lack of career focus.
- Date of completion matters. It tells me what the person was doing at a particular point of time.
- E.g. an infrastructure/network candidate passing himself off as a network expert but has lots of Microsoft certs tells me the person likely leans more server side
It really depends on how much our individual client values it. MS Certs tend hold value and do demonstrate a general mastery of the technology. With that said, clients that do not require it tend to not be impressed or care enough about it to make a difference in choosing to select, interview, or hire a particular candidate.
I view certifications, any certifications, like a bachelor’s degree. It does not open the door for a candidate, but it can prevent the door from being slammed shut in their face…
Real world experience > certificates any time unless it’s Cisco.
Production > Lab
So…this settles nothing of course as far as whether you should pursue an IT cert or not. If you do it the right way, you’ll learn things and have something to show for it. If you shortcut the process, you’ll be found out when the time comes and others are depending on you to know what you are doing.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section. Any comments bashing people (candidates, recruiters or clients) will not get approved. Thoughtful, considerate discussion? Yes please 🙂
Thanks for reading!
September DBA Fundamentals training in DFW – Free
I will be teaching an all day (9-5) class on SQL Server Database Administration fundamentals at the Microsoft building in Irving/Las Colinas on September 15, 2017.
Update: This is now a free class. There will be a donation bucket, with 100% going to the Red Cross.
The target audience for this is System admins, Developers, Tier 1 support staff, IT managers…anyone that has to deal with SQL Server on a regular basis and finds themselves Googling everything.
Register (REQUIRED) on EventBrite to learn the following topics (subject to change due to time, class flow):
• What makes up a SQL Server
• How a database is structured
• How to install and what to look out for
• Finding what you need in Management Studio
• SQL Security Basics
• How to create and manage backups
• How to create a database, 3 different ways
• Basic performance troubleshooting
• Picking a Disaster Recovery option for your environment
Please see the FAQ section of the registration page, and feel free to contact me for anything not covered there.
Thanks!
SQL Saturday Minnesota 2017
Now that the official schedule has been published, I am pleased to announce that I will be doing a pre-con and a regular session at SQL Saturday Minnesota on October 6-7. 2017.
The Friday pre-conference will be “DBA Fundamentals for the Junior, Accidental and non-DBAs.” This will be a wide ranging day-long discussion on the underlying fundamental pieces of SQL Server Administration that are beneficial to both new DBAs, and those that have to work with or fill in for them. Please see the link for details, and feel free to contact me with any questions. There is a $110 (plus service fees) charge for this, which is split between me and the local SQL User group organizing the event, after expenses.
The Saturday regular session will be “Backups for new/non-DBAs…the Why, not the How”, where we will cover Disaster recovery scenarios and the part SQL Server plays in the recovery. We won’t spend much time on specifically defining backup types, etc. Currently this is scheduled for the 1-2pm time slot, but that may change.
Edit: my Saturday session is now 10:15am – 11:15am 🙂
I’m very excited to be coming to the MSP area! I even have a friend that lives in the area that I get to see for the first time in 3 years…plus all of the new friends I will make at the events!
Thanks,
Kevin3NF
