Tag Archives: PBM

Speaking at the Columbus SQL Server User Group

Posted on January 11, 2012 by | 1 comment

This week on Thursday, January 12th, 2011 a 6pm I will be speaking virtually at the Columbus, OH SQL Server User Group.  I will be giving an introduction to Policy Based Management.

If you are a chapter leader and would be interested in having me speak at your user group contact me.

Abstract

This talk will give you an introduction into monitoring SQL Server using Policy Based Management and Central Management System which is provided out of the box with SQL Server 2008. I will then show you how you can combine these features with the Enterprise Policy Management Framework on codeplex to provide monitoring for your whole SQL Server farm. This topic assumes you know nothing about PBM and CMS and will include lots of examples with only a few PowerPoint slides.

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Speaking at WV SQL User Group on August 25th

Posted on August 16, 2011 by | Leave a comment
I look forward to giving my Evaluate your Daily Checklist against your SQL Enterprise with PBM and CMS presentation at the WV SQL Server User Group in Wheeling, WV on August 25th at the Orrick Building.
You can still sign up and registration is free.  In fact, everyone is a winner because there will be free pizza and every user group attendees knows there is no better prize than free pizza!

Abstract

You will walk away from this session with an understanding of how to use the Policy Based Management and Central Management Server to complete a daily checklist against your whole SQL Server farm. We will cover the basics to evaluate, monitor and apply best practice policies, which are included out of the box with SQL Server 2008. We will also make custom policies to cover additional best practices to evaluate daily checklist items. Finally, we will combine Policy-Based Management and Central Management Server with the Enterprise Policy Management Framework on codeplex to automate the monitoring process and create manager friendly reports to monitor your checklist items against the whole SQL Server farm.

Session goals include:
  • You will be able to install, configure and run scripts against the Central Management Server
  • You will be able to use Central Management Server and/or Policy-Based Management to complete a daily checklist
  • You will be able to evaluate and build custom policies.

Bio:
John Sterrett is a database administrator at Remote DBA Experts and a member of the Integrations team. John has been active within the SQL Server community, including hosting the first and second annual SQL Saturday in West Virginia. John also presented a lightning talk and chalk-talk at the SQL Server 2010 Member Summit, presented sessions at three SQL Saturday’s, and presented to the Pittsburgh SQL Server User Group. John is a syndicated blogger at SQLServerPedia and contributes tips at MSSQLTIPS. You can find his blog at www.johnsterrett.com

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Speaking at SQLRally today!

Posted on May 13, 2011 by | 2 comments

A few months ago I blogged that you don’t have to be an expert to speak. This fact is very true as I am speaking at #SQLRally  today about “Evaluating a daily checklist against 100+ instances of SQL Server while you get a cup of coffee.” Two years ago I would have never imagined that it would be possible for me to share my knowledge at SQLPASS events.

NOTE: If you are attending my session and have a camera please take photos and share them with me. I forgot my camera in Wheeling, West Virginia.

If you are at SQLRally or not at SQLRally you can access my slide deck here.  You can also find my references here. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

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Posted in SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication

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Pittsburgh SQL User Group is Back!

Posted on April 28, 2011 by | Leave a comment

It was an honor to be the first presenter for the reboot of the Pittsburgh SQL Server User Group on Tuesday.  I gave a sneak peek into my SQL Rally presentation, “Evaluate your daily checklist against 100+ servers while you get a cup of coffee.” I knew it was a success when I got home and saw the following tweet.

This tweet is purely SQLWinning

This tweet is purely SQLWinning

If you attended the session feel free to download the slide deck and check out my reference material.

Question and Answers

I get a kick out of helping people solve problems. If I don’t know the answer this gives me the opportunity to learn something new. Here are a few questions that were asked during my session. I didn’t have the answers of the top of my head so I am including them in this post.

Q: “How can I automate the process of shrinking a T-Log?”

A: First I highly recommend reviewing your backup and recovery plan. Frequent backups of the transactional log is key to free up your VLF’s. If there isn’t a free VLF available the log grows. With that said, if you just want to automate the process of shrinking T-Logs check out Jeremiha Peschka’s script

Q: “How do I run a T-SQL script against all databases on a single instance?”

A: First, I was thinking about doing a simple loop in PowerShell to execute the T-SQL (see Aaron Nelson’s second script) but then I remembered an undocumented stored procedure. The undocumented stored procedure is sp_msforeachdb. Both options should work.

Photos

Below is a few photos taken before I started the presentation.

Right side say, "cheese"

Right side say, "cheese"

Left side say, "gouda"

Left side say, "gouda"

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Posted in SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication

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Meme Monday #1 – Proactive Monitoring

Posted on April 4, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Tom LaRock (Blog |@SQLRockstar) a good friend of mine is starting meme monday. The concept is simple, try to get people writing. The first installment is write a SQL blog post that tells a story in 11 words or less.  

Proactive monitoring is key, policy-based management and CMS is easy.

Tom asked that we tag people to get this party started. I am tagging Matthew Velic (Blog |@mvelic)  and David Stien (Blog | @Made2Mentor)

Stay tuned as I plan to flush out some blog posts in April to help make you be proactive with your whole SQL Server farm using native tools.

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What items are in your SQL Server Daily Checklist?

Posted on March 3, 2011 by | 9 comments

Hello everyone out there on the intertubes.  In my life I have learned that I can save a lot of time and energy by

First Annual SQL Rally is in May

First Annual SQL Rally is in May

utilizing checklists. The same is true with being a DBA.  I  manage over 100 instances of SQL Server. When my career started as a production DBA my head was spinning trying to track down failed jobs, missing backups and more on a daily basis. It could be done but it took quite a while and was a manual task. I needed to find a way to automate this process.  This is where Policy-Based Management and Central Management Server comes in. Now, I can sleep at night and just review my evaluated daily checklist first thing in the morning.

UPDATE [3/7/2011] : I added SQL Agent Notifications and Alerts as recommended in the comments. If you think an option is missing leave a comment and I will add it.

Help me Help you…

Just like Jerry Maguire I need your help.  I am speaking about Policy-Based Management and Central Management Server at the first annual SQLRally.  I need your input to help my presentation. I have two quick questions. It shouldn’t take you more than two minutes to complete the questions.  I appreciate your help and support.

[Note: Please make sure to click on the vote button for each question.]

What items are included in your Database Administration Daily Checklist?

View Results

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How do you evaluate your Database Administration Daily Checklist?

View Results

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Posted in SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication

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Speaking at the West Virginia SQL User Group

Posted on February 15, 2011 by | Leave a comment

I am presenting SQL Server 2008 for Developers  at the West Virginia SQL User Group (WVPASS) meeting on February 17th at 6PM.  The meeting is free, open to the public and pizza will be provided.  If you’re in the area (Pittsburgh peeps this includes you) they would be glad to have you.  Registration is still open for the event.

I also submitted two abstracts to SQL Saturday #75 in Columbus, OH. The abstracts are SQL Server 2008 for Developers and Evaluate your Daily Checklist with Policy-Based Management and Central Management Server. The event is scheduled for June 11th. I hope to see you there!

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Wheeling, WV to Houston, TX – A SQL Saturday #57 Recap..

Posted on February 1, 2011 by | 3 comments

Everyone, If you attended SQL Saturday #57 in Houston, TX thank the host and the sponsors. With out their dedication and hard work this event wouldn’t have happened.  Finally, if you haven’t done so submit a speaker evaluation for the sessions you attended.

Now that the basics are covered lets move on to the recap.

Why Houston?

Last week I took a trip out to H-Town to speak at my eighth venue in the last twelve months.  Family was a huge motivator for attending SQL Saturday #57.  Being a graduate of James E. Taylor High School in Katy, Texas I was able

John Sterrett SQL Server 2008 for Developers Presentation

If you build it they will come!

to double dip and visit my parents and my oldest brother.  I flew in on Thursday to surprise my father for his birthday. I got an extra bonus when I arrived.  I found out that this was also going to be the same day my nephew was born.

Venue

On Saturday, we meet up at the church for the first SQL Saturday in Houston. Yes, that sentence is correct.  The Houston Area SQL User Group was able to get the Bammel Church of Christ to host the event. I have to be honest when I found out that a church was going to be used I was skeptical.  Normally, these events are at a community college, university or Microsoft Office.  I wondered if a church be a good venue for a SQL Saturday? I was right, it wasn’t a good venue. It was a fantastic venue.  Kudos to Nancy Hidy Wilson (Blog | Twitter) and the Houston User Group for selecting this venue.

Connecting (Volunteer & Speakers Dinner)

Normally, when I am selected to speak at a SQL Saturday I always attend the volunteer and speaker dinner and the after party. Its a great opportunity to network.  We met up at the Outback Steakhouse in Tomball.  I felt like I was back at summer camp as I hanged out with some friends and also made some new friends. (Thomas LeBlanc, Wes Brown, Ryan Adams, Jen and Sean McCowen, Sri Sridharan, Tim Mitchell and more…)

My favorite quote comes from Sri, “John you cannot say its a once in a lifetime opportunity. Your Steelers are always in the Super Bowl.”

Learning (Presentations I attended)

  • Dean Richards – Best Practices for SQL Server on VMWare
    With the economy changing we all need to find ways to do things cheaper. One of the easiest ways to do this is to virtualize your servers. The concept seams great but SQL Server can be tricky to manage.  How do you configure the guest memory? How does the host share its CPU power with guests? I learned this and a lot more during Deans session.
  • Ryan Adams – Manage Your Shop with CMS and Policy Based Management
    Those of you who know me know I am very excited about Central Management Server and Policy Based Management. I currently use it to evaluate my daily checklist against 100+ instances of SQL Server with 3,000+ databases.  I am extremely interested in seeing how other DBA’s use it.  Ryan is into mirroring and loves the mirroring facets provided with PBM.  I am glad he showed this to me.
  • Thomas LeBlanc – Transition from DBA to BI
    Any time I can sit in the front row on a sofa and watch Thomas speak its a win-win. This talk was special because  I got my learn on and felt like I was at comedy hour.  I enjoyed his path from DBA to BI.  I really liked how he was able to use his DBA skills to make a good first impression.  He also showed us a great spreadsheet out there on the interwebs to build a data dictionary for your facts and dimensions.

Sharing (My Presentations)

  • SQL Server 2008 for Developers (About 30 attendees)
    Every once in a while I submit this topic to see if people are still interested in seeing demos going over the new features provided for developers with SQL Server 2008.  During the presentation I polled the attendees to see who hasn’t migrated to SQL Server 2008.  There still is a crowd that wants to know how to implement DateTimeOffset, T-SQL enhancements,  Merge, Table Value Parameters, Change Data Capture.  I spoke right before lunch and had a few people stay extra to go over a bonus demo.  I also talked with a few of the attendees later in the day and I got some great feedback.If you attend my session please submit feedback.  You can find the slide deck and sample code on my blog.
  • Evaluate your Daily Checklist using CMS and Policy Based Management (5 Attendees)
    My PBM and CMS talk was included in the last session.  This was my first presentation using VMWare Workstation.  I did this for two reasons. One, Brent Ozar made me do it. Finally, I wanted to throw up an instance of SQL 2000 for this demo and I couldn’t do it with Windows 7.  Even though the crowed was small one attendees told me he is going to start using PBM and CMS due to my presentation. This is the greatest complement I could receive. 

    If you attend my session please submit feedback.  You can find the slide deck and sample code on my blog.

Bloggers SQL Saturday #57 Posts

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Posted in Events, SQL Server, SQLServerPedia Syndication

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I want your vote for #SQLRally

Posted on January 26, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Hello Everyone, I am John Sterrett coming to you from Wheeling, WV and I need your vote for SQL Rally! I need your vote because I eager to share what I have learned about Policy Based Management and Central Management Server in the past four months.  This presentation will give people the knowledge they need to start evaluating a daily checklist.

Let me take a step back for a second and explain. I am currently responsable for over 100+ Instances of SQL with more than 3,000 databases.  We rarely didn’t evaluated a daily checklists against all of our production databases until I learned about Central Management Server and Policy Based Management.  Now, I can evaluate my daily checklist in the amount of time it takes to get up out of my seat and brew a cup of coffee.  I am eager to show you multiple ways to start evaluating your checklists.

What is SQLRally?

 SQLRally is PASS’ new regional event that fills the gap between our free PASS SQLSaturday 1-day training events and PASS Summit, the world’s largest conference for the SQL Server community. One of my favorite parts about SQLRally is that the community votes for the presentations.

Hopefully, I will be selected to speak at the first annual SQLRally. Regardless, I look forward to presenting this abstract at user groups, virtual chapters and  future SQL Saturday’s. In fact, I am giving this presentation at SQLSaturday in Houston this Saturday. If you would want me to deliver this abstract or one of my other presentations contact me.

How do I vote?

 Click here to vote. You will see my session under the fifth group (PBM).  You get two votes for this catagory so I will also recommend Jorge Segarra  (Blog | @SQLChicken) because I wouldn’t be using PBM without his contrubutions to the community.

What am I voting for again…..

Evaluate your daily checklist against 100+ instances of SQL Server while you get a cup of coffee

Abstract

You will walk away from this session with an understanding of how to use the Policy Based Management and Central Management Server to complete a daily checklist against your whole SQL Server farm. We will cover the basics to evaluate, monitor and apply best practice policies, which are included out of the box with SQL Server 2008. We will also make custom policies to cover additional best practices to evaluate daily checklist items. Finally, we will combine Policy-Based Management and Central Management Server with the Enterprise Policy Management Framework on codeplex to automate the monitoring process and create manager friendly reports to monitor your checklist items against the whole SQL Server farm.

Deliverables

  • You will be able to install and configure Central Management System
  • You will be able to use CMS and/or PBM to complete a daily checklist
  • You will be able to evaluate and build custom policies.

Session Prerequisites:

Session prerequisites assume you are familiar with SQL Server Management Studio, have an instance of SQL Server 2008, and that you have administrative access with SQL Server. You don’t have to be familiar with Policy-Based Management or Central Management Server, you will learn the basics during this session.

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Policy-Based Management Myths Series Finale

Posted on December 20, 2010 by | Leave a comment

Welcome to the Policy-Based Management myths finale.  Do to some great questions at SQL Saturday # 61 in DC I am going to focus on some myths that come up with Policy-based Management.  Today is the final installment, you can catch the other myths below.

You cannot use Policy-Based Management with SQL Server 2008 R2 Express

Just like the two other myths the answer is true and false.  This one, really through me for a loop mainly because I don’t normally use SQL Express. With that said, if you want to store or use SSMS to create a policy while connected to SQL Express instance the answer is false.  If you want to evaluate an existing SQL Express instance the answer is true.

Why can’t I create policies or store them in SQL Express 2008 R2?

When I read the following article on SQL Server 2008 R2 Express site I would think that the flexible section make it seam like you could store and create policies with that edition of SQL Server.  Unfortunately, you will notice that Policy-Based Management is disabled. This isn’t too bad, lets just enable it.  Oh snap……….  You get the friendly error message that states, “Policy-Based Management cannot be enabled on this edition of SQL Server.”

image

How do I evaluate policies against SQL Express 2008 R2?

So, I cannot enable Policy-Based Management on SQL Server 2008 R2 Express edition can I still evaluate and apply changes to this instance of SQL Server? Yes, you can, once you have your policies built you can use Central Management Server to evaluate and apply changes.

Below is a screen shot of me evaluating the built-in “Last Successful Backup” policy against an instance of SQL Server 2008 R2 Express.  You will see that it fails because well I don’t use Express so I don’t have the databases backed up.

image

Note: There will be more to come in a future blog post on setting up Central management Server and using it to execute Policy-Based Management policies.

How can I build a policy to work against SQL Express 2008 R2?

Connect to another instance of SQL Server using, Standard,  Enterprise, or Developer to generate your policies via SSMS and store the policy on a central instance of SQL Server (not express) or on a file share.

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