Tuesday november 27, 28 & 30 Amazon Web Services will host "AWS re: Invent", their first global customer and partner conference in Las Vegas, USA. "AWS re: Invent" will feature deep technical content on popular cloud use cases, new AWS services, cloud migration best practices, architecting for scale, operating at high availability and making cloud … [Read more...]
Finding non-default configuration settings in SQL Server
In our Remote DBA practice, we frequently perform comprehensive system reviews for our customers on their database services. Among the things we always check for are non-default settings for the database software. We want to validate that any non-default setting is set that way for a good reason, and that any setting that is default really should … [Read more...]
SOX is poorly implemented for IT operations
What’s worse: Not knowing you have a problem, or being told you don’t have a problem when you really do? What drives me crazy about SOX is the whole approach is flawed. Look up anything you can find on the history of SOX and you’ll read it was put in place to help prevent fraud, specifically, another MCI WorldCom or Enron-type scandal. When … [Read more...]
MySQL Gotchas on Debian (and Ubuntu)
Blue Gecko works with clients who run many different operating systems. Our preference generally is RedHat Enterprise Linux or CentOS, but we have customers who range far and wide from there including Solaris, Windows, SuSE, and (more and more) Debian and Ubuntu. As we’ve become more familiar with Debian and Ubuntu we have found that those … [Read more...]
MySQL Editions and Support- what do I get with community?
The new licensing that was announced by Oracle earlier this month caused some FUD in the community that was addressed last week in an updated graphic comparing support and binary options and blog post from Oracle. However, one of our customers sent me this earlier this week – We are now re-evaluating whether we want to renew our MySQL … [Read more...]
Database Administration Jobs and Remote DBA
I’ve been considering the fact that so many of the companies that contact us are looking for a DBA when they begin our conversations. There are a few things that go into this, I believe. MySQL DBA is a new job title. There is no long history of what skills define this role Oracle DBAs can specialize in so many things, and their depth of … [Read more...]
Listen and ye shall be heard
Are you the kind of person who takes your car to the shop and tells the mechanic exactly what part needs to be replaced or fixed? Do you go to the doctor’s office and let them know about your condition and probable cures based on what you looked up on WebMD? How about others’ interaction with you? In your professional life, have you been asked to … [Read more...]
Don’t be that way
Question for all IT support professionals: Ever hear, “The system is down!” when what they mean is, “I got an error,” or “I can’t log in.” How about, “This report doesn’t work!” when what they mean is, “I’m not getting the data I expected.” Working with servers and … [Read more...]
Specificity + Inaccuracy = Yikes!
Every once in a while I run into a customer with a very specific request: Please do “this” down to the very last detail. I might take a look at the request and think, “Hmmm… I don’t know what they’re trying to do, but this doesn’t look like a good idea on the surface. I wonder what’s up.” For … [Read more...]
How to hire a really good Oracle DBA
Many of our customers have internal database administrators. FACT: Any remote DBA organization, and I mean ANY one of them, should be excited to work with a talented on-site person; in fact, part of good remote DBA support should be to help clients hire good DBAs when appropriate. Without fail, collaboration between solid, focused technical … [Read more...]
If it’s really important… get 2
When our daughter was about 2, my wife and I noticed she had become almost disturbingly attached to a particular blanket. She carried it everywhere and slept with it every night; they were inseparable. There was nothing remarkable about the blanket, except that if Daniella (our daughter) couldn’t find it she would melt down like a popsicle on the … [Read more...]
Proactive support
We all know proactive service when we see it. A couple of examples: Proactive is when you are shopping for a new gadget, but just before you buy it the clerk tells you a special battery is required (even though the box fails to mention it) but is not included. “Would you like one of those as well?” Proactive is a waiter asking his patrons if … [Read more...]
Proactive Maintenance for Oracle E-Business Suite
As a remote services provider, often we are often asked to provide proactive maintenance support for clients. For the purposes of this discussion, I’m going to separate operational support form maintenance support. Operational support surrounds management of the application operations, as they exist. For example, if I’m running 11.5.10.2 on … [Read more...]
BlueGecko’s focus on people true to brand
Blue Gecko has been mentioned in a great article on brands. Sharpen Your Competitive Edge with Tangible Brand by Mary Weisnewski Consulting Magazine, October 30, 2008 … [Read more...]