May 2006 - Posts
We finally approved the PO for our training center equipment yesterday and along with the order for the tables, we're most of the way there. We went with Dell equipment because it's hard to beat their value, we're familiar and we already have a bunch of Dell servers we've purchased over the years.
So over the last few weeks we've been working on pricing and deciding what to buy. So we find that we can get PCs with a flat panel on their various specials for around $500, which is a great price. So we call up and talk to a rep to see if we can bundle this together with a few servers. She tells us
Limit of 5
Since we want things to be the same from the support standpoint, imaging, etc., we decide to just buy some. So the first quote for the specs we have is $1000 a PC. That's the Optiplex line. So we say let's look at Dimensions to be sure we can make this work on a bit of a budget. The quote comes back with Dimensions around $700 a PC. We're good with that, so we move to servers.
The first server gets W2K3 with 15 CALs. Since we were aiming for 12 people, this seems ok. The second server then has W2K3 with 5 CALs, the minimum you get. So we ask that they switch down to 10 CALs on the first server to make it add up and save a little $$.
We had SQL quoted, but then Andy and I both found SS2K5 copies from the launch with 1 CAL, so we just asked for 10 SQL CALs. We get server and 15 CALs.
Now this whole thing is in one big quote, like 15 pages and each time they change one thing, it's almost like they're changing something else to try and keep the price up. Like the Dimensions. They include Quicken, Acrobat, Norton, etc. in trial versions. We ask can that not be included. Sure they say and change the quote to Optiplexes, which don't have the preinstalls. And cost $250 more!
Eventually we worked it out and everything is now on order. Looking forward to seeing some of you in class!
The list server here at SQLServerCentral.com has a few quirks, one of which is that it doesn't run as a service. During the upgrade to the latest version the services applet part blew up and I gave up after a few hours trying to get it to work. Part of that is our own fault since we didn't renew our service agreement since the $5000 a year it costs isn't worth it when we haven't called in years.
And of course now I wish we'd renewed it.
Of course, for $5000 you'd think I could check a few things. and usually I do, but this weekend was the exception.
Every once in awhile the DNS cache seems to go haywire and I get a bunch of people telling me the newsletter didn't arrive. That happened on Friday and when I checked those accounts I found a DNS error was being reported. So I shut down Lyris and rebooted the server. Now since the services don't start, I open a command prompt and run Lyris through terminal services. I then disconnect and if I need to restart it or check it, I term serv in and check the status. That also means that when the server reboots I need to log in and start the service.
So I rebooted Sunday and then got busy wiht Mother's Day, mostly helping my wife to enjoy a horse day, and forgot to log in. So I went to check the status of the DD newsletter Sun night and found Lyris wasn't running. A quick smack on the head before I logged in, started the server and sent the newsletter before heading back to dinner. However this was about 6:00pm and it takes about 6 or 7 hours to send the newsletter. With the main newsletter scheduled for 9pm, I knew they'd conflict. Sure enough when I checked this morning most of the SSC newsletter was backed up.
So we had a DR event, most caused by my mistakes, but that's a valid DR event with the send failing to go off as intended. Since I haven't figured out a way to get an alert for the newsletter not going out, I'm not sure what to do at this point other than post a large sticky on my monitor. [:D]
It's funny, but most articles in magazines get lost on my desk. I get quite a few subscriptions and rarely get to many of them since life is so busy. TechNet is one of those, but for some reason I did read through part of it, including the
Security Myths article mentioned by Brian Kelley. It's good and worth the read.
An interesting post on
Database Apprenticeships. I think this is probably something we need in software development more than as DBAs.
The hard part is figuring out who the masters are :)
Unfortunatlely I don't have the time to spend on a great post right now, but this has been on my mind lately. The last two weeks I've seen a bunch of articles on hiring, retention, and other employee/career type articles. It's gotten me thinking since that's a topic that I take to heart. And I hope to write more about soon.
I've spent all my career, or most of it at least, looking for a company that I could work at for 20 years. Most every job I've taken with high spirits and the intention of sticking around for the long term, but things just haven't really worked out for me. It hasn't always been the job, sometimes it's been me, but for one reason or another, I've shifted jobs more often than most of my friends.
So as I've been reading things, I started to think about this from the other side. The employer side. How should you hire a DBA? What's the best way to do this?
I'm not completely sure, but I know it's a combination of things and putting an effort into really finding the right person for your company. A few notes are down, but look for an article or blog post soon.