Robert Sheldon continues his DevOps series with a look at security, privacy, and compliance. He recommends that these critical areas are tackled early in the DevOps pipeline.… Read more
When the DevOps pipeline does not include the database, the database can become a bottleneck and slow down the delivery of new features. In this article, Robert Sheldon discusses the challenges involved with including the database and how to overcome them. … Read more
In my previous career many years ago, I worked at a hospital along with about ten other pharmacists. The department manager came up with one primary metric for evaluating pharmacists: the average time taken to fill each drug order. While this system did produce a metric, it was the wrong one. The worst pharmacist in … Read more
Some of the terms in the DevOps pipeline, such as CI and CD, can be confusing. In the second article of this series, Robert Sheldon explains these terms and how they fit in the DevOps pipeline. He also talks about some of the tools you might use.… Read more
Today, more organisations are adopting DevOps over older, traditional practices. In this article, Robert Sheldon explains DevOps and compares it to Waterfall and Agile methodologies. … Read more
In this article, Kellyn Pot’Vin-Gorman continues teaching SQL Server DBAs how to navigate Linux. She demonstrates usings aliases, setting up environment variables, and examining processes.… Read more
As database changes are added to the DevOps pipeline, unit testing of those changes becomes crucial. In this article, Adam Hafner describes unit testing and how it applies to databases.… Read more
Testing is a challenging yet crucial part of software development, but how do you know that a test is telling you what you need to know? In this article, Michael Sorens explores the concept of phantom tests that return correct results but don’t actually prove anything.… Read more
A good day for a database administrator (DBA) is a lot like a good airline flight. A lot of excitement in either situation is bad. In a perfect world, a DBA will be productive and not spending most of their time “putting out fires.” (And fires are never a good idea on a flight!) DBAs … Read more
Today I got a bit closer to a meaningful definition of automation as it applies to the software development process. I’ve been turning this concept over in my head for a while, which is partly related to the dreaded question of licensing. Why should licensing an automation product be related to the number of users? … Read more
If you have worked with databases long enough, you probably have many frightening stories to tell about things that have gone awry on the job or problems that were difficult to solve. Accidently dropping a table or trying to fix an issue with the CIO standing right in your cube, repeatedly asking if you’ve fixed … Read more
In the years before joining Redgate, I was a SQL Server database consultant. I spent a lot of time doing SQL Server health checks, query tuning, and ETL (extract, transform, and load) development. Every customer was different and getting to the resources I needed to do the job at each shop varied as well. I … Read more
Communication is the foundation of DevOps. Grant Fritchey tells the tale of a project that failed because of previous communication and trust issues between the DBA and development teams. … Read more
I’ve been speaking a lot on the topic of DevOps lately, and there’s a question I like to ask. What is the purpose of your organization? I get all kinds of answers. “We make software that delights our customers and makes their jobs easier.” “Our company makes low-cost widgets. “ “We make the best gizmos … Read more
I hear from a lot of database administrators who are worried about being automated out of a job. These kinds of worries are not new. Over the course of my career, I’ve seen CTOs outsource large groups of IT jobs to different regions around the world to save money. IT has long been regarded as … Read more
In the past, I was very proud that I’d meticulously defended my projects against scope creep, but I was missing the point. The real reason organizations should undertake projects is to achieve value. What should be the priority, then, defending against scope creep or value-based delivery? The agile movement fundamentally understands this. Its core principles … Read more
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Compliant Database DevOps
Standardize team-based development
Automate database deployments
Monitor performance and availability
Protect and preserve data
