What is FILESTREAM? Much data is unstructured, such as text documents, images, and videos. This unstructured data is often stored outside the database, separate from its structured data. This separation can cause data management complexities. Or, if the data is associated with structured storage, the file streaming capabilities and performance can be limited. FILESTREAM integrates [...]
Dec 052011
I’m introducing a new category now – “Tech Meme” – which is going to be used more frequently for short, pithy articles usually highlighting something absurd, such as the following: I was trying to install Server Virtualization templates for Visio, when I was prompted for PIA assemblies: In a funny style, pressing either button achieves [...]
It’s been a tough week for me from a hardware and infrastructure perspective. Late Thursday night, I lost one of the two desktop machines I own which still functioned. It had been on its way out for a while in theory, since somehow the CPU fan docking clamps were broken during transit in 2010. I [...]
Hi Everyone, Well, I’ve been waiting three weeks for a DSL connection and it isn’t happening anytime soon. In the interim, I’ve finally had enough of waiting and went and picked up a Telstra 4G modem, and I’m back online. Sorry to those folks who added comment which were awaiting moderation. I’ve been unable to [...]
Nov 242011
Nov 102011
Recently, I decided that I need to begin a new learning exercise. This time around, I’ve chosen Apache Hadoop, partly because of the weird name, and partly because of how it is defined. To add clarity, here’s the official definition from the Apache site: What Is Apache Hadoop? The Apache Hadoop software library is a [...]
There are times when you want to get a little creative about your investigative work when it comes to SQL Server. In this case, this is a very short article highlighting some efficiencies in locating information about specific programmatic resources within a database. If you haven’t used the INFORMATION_SCHEMA views before, well you’re in for [...]
Nov 052011
Recently I started to use this nifty application called GPS Log on my brand spanking new Apple iPhone 4S. I know what you are thinking: WTF is Rob using an iPhone for? Well, after years and years of failed promises from Microsoft to deliver a stable, functioning mobile phone* I’ve had enough of the unfulfilled [...]
Introduction If you have a copy of Visual Studio 2010 Premium or Ultimate, you’ll likely have a menu in your Integrated Development Environment (IDE) called “Analyze”. Chances are, you might not have investigated the true potential of the profiling tools in VS 2010. This article will demonstrate usage of some of the profiling techniques, and [...]
Hi All. I’m debating a new article. I’m currently debating whether to spend some time documenting an interesting solution to a fairly esoteric scenario. I’m not sure if it is worth the investment (in my time), so I’m going to throw it open to the community. Give me feedback – if you have an interest [...]
