Minette Steynberg

Author
Recent Posts

Minette Steynberg has over 15 years’ experience in working with data in different IT roles including SQL developer and SQL Server DBA to name but a few. Minette enjoys being an active member of the SQL Server community by writing articles and the occasional talk at SQL user groups.

Minette currently works as a Data Platform Solution Architect at Microsoft South Africa.

View all posts by Minette Steynberg

Latest posts by Minette Steynberg (see all)

The end is nigh! (For SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2) - April 4, 2018
8 things to know about Azure Cosmos DB (formerly DocumentDB) - September 4, 2017
Introduction to Azure SQL Data Warehouse - August 29, 2017

The end is nigh! (For SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2)

April 4, 2018 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

As with everything else, all good things must come to an end. After hanging around for a good decade SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 has started the countdown to its End of Life.

D-day for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 is set to the 19^th of July 2019. Which is approximately a year from now, give or take a couple of months.

If you are still running SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2, now is definitely the time to upgrade. In this article; I am going to tell you why you would want to upgrade to a newer version of SQL Server (2016 or 2017) or Azure SQL Database. I will also discuss some of the tools that you might use to make the upgrade as painless as possible.

8 things to know about Azure Cosmos DB (formerly DocumentDB)

September 4, 2017 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

Azure Cosmos DB is a low-latency, high throughput, globally distributed, a multi-model database which can scale within minutes and offers 5 consistency options to let you decide how to deal with the CAP theorem.

Azure Cosmos DB used to be known as Document DB, but since additional features were added it has now morphed into Azure Cosmos DB. The name was chosen to spark the innovation and imagination of developers around the globe.

Introduction to Azure SQL Data Warehouse

August 29, 2017 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

Azure SQL Data Warehouse is a new addition to the Azure Data Platform. When I first heard about it I wasn’t quite sure about what exactly it would be. As it turns out it is relational database for large amounts of database and really big queries as a service. This is essentially the equivalent of the APS (Analytics Platform System) in the cloud.

How to create a chatbot with Azure in 5 minutes

June 19, 2017 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

As we enter an era of artificial intelligence and serverless computing, the tools to help us create perceived intelligent programs have become so advanced and intuitive that the effort in building a fully functional Q and A chat bot has become almost negligible.

In this article, I will show you how to do just that.

Reporting in SQL Server – Power BI Report Server

June 13, 2017 by Minette Steynberg

Power BI is a self-service business intelligence tool from Microsoft which has been steadily gaining momentum in the last couple of months. One of the well-known disadvantages of Power BI is that it is basically cloud only. A lot of companies are not yet at the point where they feel comfortable having their data in the cloud or are premise bound for some other reasons such as data-sensitivity, data-sovereignty or compliance.

Different Azure Storage types (File, Blob, Queue and Table)

May 3, 2017 by Minette Steynberg

There are several advantages to using Azure storage irrespective of type. Azure storage is easily scalable, extremely flexible and relatively low in cost depending on the options you choose.

Five ways to protect your data in Azure SQL Database

April 28, 2017 by Minette Steynberg

When storing data in the cloud the main concern companies generally have is whether or not their data is safe. And what can be done to ensure that the following 4 scenarios are addressed:

Understanding the XML description of the Deadlock Graph in SQL Server

March 29, 2017 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

In my previous 2 articles, What is a SQL Server Deadlock and Understanding the graphical representation of the SQL Server Deadlock Graph, I discussed what a deadlock is, how SQL Server handles deadlocks, some tips on how to reduce deadlocks and ultimately what information you can glean by just looking at the graphical representation of the Deadlock Graph. In this article, I will look at what information is available in the XML description of the Deadlock Graph. The XML contains information which is not visible in the graphical representation of the Deadlock Graph, which makes it necessary for us to look at the XML description. Read more »

Configuring the Azure SQL Database Firewall

February 28, 2017 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

The Azure SQL Database firewall lets you decide which IP addresses may or may not have access to either your Azure SQL Server or your Azure SQL database.

When creating an Azure SQL Database, the firewall needs to be configured before anyone will be able to access the database. By default, no external access to your SQL Database will be allowed until you explicitly assign permission by creating a firewall rule.

How to create and configure SQL Server Agent Alerts

October 24, 2016 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

If you have ever wanted to run a job dependent on a certain performance condition, then this article is for you.

Usually SQL Server agent jobs are configured to run on a schedule. But what if instead of a schedule you want a job to be executed when a certain performance threshold is exceeded?

5 handy Transact-SQL tips you may (or may not) know

September 23, 2016 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

Even if you are a SQL veteran, actually especially if you are, you sometimes get really stuck doing something in the old way not realizing that in newer versions of SQL Server some handy functions have been added that can make your life easier.

In this article, I will mention a couple of these which appeared in SQL Server 2008 or later versions or might have even been there before but most people just didn’t know about.

10 things you need to know to become a Data Scientist

August 22, 2016 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

If you have been browsing job ads lately, you would have noticed a huge amount of positions available for Data Scientist. The demand seems to be much larger than the supply which means that there is a huge opportunity here. However, there appears to be a catch: Most of these positions requires some experience or knowledge in the field of Data Science. So if you want midway through your career, how can you skill up to become a Data Scientist?

Understanding the graphical representation of the SQL Server Deadlock Graph

August 16, 2016 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

If you are reading this I am sure you already know what a deadlock is, but just in case you are new to SQL, a deadlock is when 2 queries are blocking each other in such a way that neither of the two can be completed.

SQL Server deadlock definition and Overview

August 16, 2016 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

In this series, I will provide all of the information you need to understand in order to deal with deadlocks.

What’s new in SQL Server 2016 summary

June 22, 2016 by Minette Steynberg

SQL Server 2016 became publically available on the 1^st of June 2016. Some might feel that a new SQL Server release every 2 years might be too frequent with many organization still lagging behind by running SQL Server 2012 or earlier.

Using and troubleshooting SQL Server IntelliSense – For SQL Server 2012 or higher

February 29, 2016 by Minette Steynberg

When I first heard that Microsoft was going to introduce IntelliSense for SQL Server I could hardly contain my excitement. Much to my disappointment the initial version of IntelliSense left a lot to be desired. From issues like just not popping up at all, to not working on remote servers and sometimes picking incorrect entries could make it a bit tedious to use and for those of us who started out on SQL Server before the advent of IntelliSense it was easier just to revert back to good old fashioned typing from memory. I am happy to report however, that there has been great strides in IntelliSense to such an extent that if I suddenly had to live without it, I would be really really sad and my productivity would probably be affected somewhat as well. Read more »

Reading the SQL Server Transaction Log

February 9, 2015 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

There has always been some debate as to whether or not there are real benefits to be gained from accessing the information in the transaction log. This article will endeavor to answer that question by looking at the following:

What is the SQL Server Transaction Log?
What information is stored in the transaction log?
What can be gained by accessing the information in the transaction log?
How does the transaction log work?
What tools are available for reading the transaction log?
And ultimately, is this something we should be doing at all?

Understanding the SQL Server Audit

February 9, 2015 by Minette Steynberg

Introduction

With the advent of the Information Era, data is being collected on a massive scale. Information Technology systems have made access to this data faster and easier. It has also made it easier for data to be misused.

Creating a successful auditing strategy for your SQL Server databases

February 9, 2015 by Minette Steynberg

The purpose of security auditing is to identify all attacks, unlawful or malicious activities which might be taking place on your server. Criminals have become increasingly inventive and as a DBA you might not have considered or even be aware of all activities which may be putting your data at risk.