Database Evolution Revolution

An excellent blog by Chuck Hollis today really got me thinking about databases.  In Chuck's post (on Chucks's Blog) he relates a presentation by Charles Fan that was recently given.  From Databases to Dataclouds is the title and a good overall summary of the blog / presentation.

After reading it my initial reaction is that this seems like a total revolution in how data is used and harnessed.  We are now talking about being able to use new database technologies and techniques to mange, control, and analyze data in near real-time.  Time-to-decision in seconds.  Data literally flowing all around us and yet captured, analyzed, and understood in real-time.

We would all like to see the world move on from relational databases to a totally new approach - a revolutionary approach.  But the reality is that the relational database will continue to be the key core aspect of just about any data intensive effort.  Additional features and optimization will continue to be added.  Entirely new ways to deal with and manage data can be used in conjunction.  But the core strengths of relational databases (transactions come to mind) will continue to make them indispensable.

I believe that what we are seeing is an evolution in database software combined with an evolution in hardware performance which adds up to a revolution when seen together.

When you take this and use it on top of the revolution that virtualization has created, you end up with a paradigm shifting view of the world.  Even though Chuck's blog is kinda long, I recommend that you read it through and see if it makes you start thinking too.

So Say SMEs: Little Things Can Be Big Later

In this week's episode of So Say SMEs, Kong and I discuss how small strategic additions can be big later.  We also manage to relate this to football - as usual.

A production note - the door behind us didn't open a single time during filming (unlike last week).  Although there were a couple of people that started to walk towards us right at the end, but finished before they were able to get on camera.

Super Bowl and Content Deduplication

On this week's episode of So Say SMEs, Kong and I discuss the end of the football season and content de-duplication.

If you watch you will see that the door behind us kept opening.  Normally we just roll with these types of events on So Say SMEs, but in the case the noise from the servers was too loud and we had to wait for the door to close again before continuing.  Awesome work by the team of video editors to put things right.

The Hitchhikers Guide To ESXTOP Counters

For all the other performance people out there that spends time using esxtop to do deep analysis of ESX performance, there is a great document that you really should know about.  It is called vSphere Monitoring and Performance for vSphere 5.1 / vCenter 5.1 / ESX 5.1.

My favorite section is a detailed list of all the esxtop counters and exactly what they mean and how they inter-relate.

For example, I had a question about what is the difference between the %USED and %RUN for a VM.  On page 155 and 156 of this great document it gives you the specific formula for %USED, which is:

%USED = %RUN + %SYS - %OVLP

It also explains in the %RUN definition that on systems with hyperthreading enabled, the %RUN value does not account for hyperthreading.  This can cause %RUN to be twice as large as %USED.  But wait this can't be possible based on the formula - except in this case it is because %USED accounts for hyperthreading.

Another mystery of the universe is solved with the help of the vSphere Monitoring and Performance guide.

Super Bowl Competition and Tech Cooperation

In this week's episode of So Say SMEs we have a fun talk about the Super Bowl and in true geek fashion manage to relate it to the tech world and then it back to Fantasy Football.

Included references to Hyper-V vs vSphere, Ravens vs 49ers, and Dell vs HP - so fun for everybody.

Attracting A Crowd at So Say SMEs

We had a lot fun last week with our season two kickoff video.  It was in a great location and we tried to set the stage for the year.

On the first day of the video being posted, I had a few retweets from others that I follow on twitter.  Which was really nice and much appreciated.  Then a few days later I got a whole slew of retweets from people I don't follow.  As you can see from the screen grab, there is a definite trend in the profile pictures.

Looks like my blog on the spammers getting it right might be true in this case as well.

More Cowbell and Stevie Ray Vaughan In So Say SMEs Season Two

Kong and I kicked off season two of So Say SMEs this week.  I promise more cowbell this year.
 

We did this initial video next to the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue near downtown Austin.  The reasons why are covered in the last minute or so of the video.  Here is the Stevie Ray song that I was talking about.