Kevin Kline, a noted database expert, gave a webinar on database performance management tools from SolarWinds. He discussed challenges database professionals face, an overview of SolarWinds solutions, and how to select the right tools. Tools like Database Performance Analyzer, Database Performance Monitor, and SQL Sentry were compared for features like monitoring multiple databases, troubleshooting performance issues, and optimizing queries. Kline took questions at the end on using the tools to solve common problems and demonstrate value.
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Editor's Notes
For years, we’ve used terms like full-stack monitoring to describe what we’re doing here at SolarWinds, but it’s even more than that.
It really doesn’t matter what your title – if you are in IT, then SolarWinds probably has a solution for you. Be it for helpdesk personnel, network engineers, systems administrators, developers, or infrastructure management – if it’s a problem for IT professionals, SolarWinds wants to help.
And because of that we started talking about ITOM, or IT Operations Management. It encompasses all parts of IT, regardless of where that sits, for whomever needs to do the work.
The other thing about SolarWinds is that we want you to succeed. It’s part of our DNA to have you be your best. With that in mind, we make many, many resources available.
This is not a full list and is growing frequently, but I want to call out a few of these in detail. **End with THWACK to lead you into next slide
The THWACK community is more than a support community. I say that SolarWinds pays for THWACK to be hosted, but the content is mostly from the community.
With over 150,000 members, it’s one of the best ways to interact with the SolarWinds staff and your peers.
We have discussions ranging from...**fill with database examples.
You can also check out what we're working on for future database product releases and even submit or up-vote feature requests!
To answer that question, we need to go back to the basics (next slide).
I’m ready to get in this mindset, but how do I go about that?
Junior: No notes for this level
Mid-Level:
And that’s when a junior admin becomes a mid-level admin. Simple scripts, making life easier, keeping the boat afloat for everyone. And you stay there until one day…one day…you think to yourself, “self, wouldn’t things be better if I were collecting data in order to help troubleshoot issues?” So, the first takeaway from my time here today is this: You will lie to yourself more than anyone else in your life.
Senior:
But that moment of clarity, that having such a collection would be GOOD, that you have the SKILLS to do it? That’s when you enter into the world of senior administration. You have the skills to read from the manual and understand what it is saying, the pros/cons of features being asked for, and you build your own tools because you can.
And that’s where many people stay. They stay in the world of “I’m smart, I built this thing, and this is how the tech works.” You may even start a blog so the rest of the world can see how smart you are. And by this point, you have developed skills in more than just your silo. You dabble in stuff. Maybe you take on some Sharepoint admin duties. And there was the time you helped with Active Directory. And don’t forget the report you fixed for Adam in Accounting.
And that’s why we have horrible job listings.
Because when it comes time to leave, and you list everything you do, the next person needs to step in and do those things, because the organization can’t find someone like you, a senior admin, for junior pay.
Senior2: No notes for this level
And measuring time saved is the wrong metric. Our tools are built by geeks, for geeks. We know your pain because it was our pain.
Our tools create teams. We help foster a sense of collaboration. And when productivity increases, you all get your weekends back.
Using our tools, a junior administrator is able to develop into a mid-level administrator at a faster rate, by just reading the help and advisories included.
Using our tools, a mid-level administrator becomes senior by using the CLI and automating a handful of tasks, building customizations necessary for their shop.
And the senior administrator knows the value in collaboration, and how our tools have features like Perfstack to help provide metrics across, through, and into silos.
And the senior^2 admin? The senior^2 admin knows better than to walk into the CxO office, asking for a budget request based upon FTE equivalency. It’s the same story everyone else is using.
You know that SolarWinds has several tools, and you might be a little unsure which product would actually be the right choice for you and your organization. In this section I'm going to show you some simplified comparison information, run through how to pick the right tools for the right job, and throw a wrench in the selection process by introducing you to Database Insights for SQL Server.
Once you realize your in need of a database monitoring tool and decide to start researching and evaluating solutions, these are 6 questions you should ask yourself and your organization.
**Do a quick run-through of all 6 questions and provide context and anecdotes as needed.**
In the following slides we're going to touch more on questions 1, 4, and 6.
For the first question, what databases are you looking to monitor, here we have a simple matrix that can help you when researching and evaluating SolarWinds database products. We monitor over 20 database platforms ranging from on-prem to cloud. SQL Sentry focuses on monitoring for the Microsoft Data Platform while DPA focuses on SQL and DPM focuses on open-systems and NoSQL databases.
**Additional context goes here**
There are a lot of folks that touch the database monitoring function, including but not limited to DBAs, DevOps, SysAdmins, and Engineering Managers. As you research and evaluate solutions for your organization, consider who in your IT org will actually be using the tool, and once you land on the answer, that should help you understand which tool is the right tool for you.
Here we have a quick run-down of the 4 most common challenges that an IT practitioner might experience. If any of these challenges resonate with you, each challenge aligns with a SolarWinds database solution and that solution, or a combination of solutions, can help you solve your toughest challenges. **Additional context goes here**
Challenge 1 = DPM
Challenge 2 = DPA
Challenge 3 = Database Insights for SQL Server
Challenge 4 = SQL Sentry