It is a Josie & the Pussycats movie soundtrack morning. As the beats pound through my head, I am resolving failed SQL Server jobs, ftp file problems (they didn’t decrypt and download like they should have), restoring databases in our QA environment, and running scripts for testing.
Aside from the music choices, this is pretty much par for the course for my DBA morning duties. A little snippet of what I do:
Get tea and water! (most important part of my day)
Login and open 2 copies of SSMS along with BIDS, email, and Windows Explorer.
Put one copy of SSMS in each of my two monitors. Connect one to all Dev / QA instances. Connect the other to all Production instances.
Check Production job activity monitors for failed jobs, stuck jobs (that are running longer than they should be), and jobs that didn’t (but should have) run.
Check email for failure notifications (because I might have missed something in activity monitor).
Check job logs for information on failures.
FIX THE PROBLEMS – Sometimes this is data related. Sometimes I need to pass the errors to our developers. Sometimes it was a network hiccup that lost connection.
Rerun jobs that can be rerun.
Bug the developers to fix the problems that I can’t fix.
Bug the developers to fix the problems that I can’t fix.
Bug the developers to fix the problems that I can’t fix. (Yes, this is a repeatable thing that happens through the course of the day / week).
And that’s just my first two hours of the day. Isn’t my job fun? (Actually, it really is. Usually the job checking is just a formality because everything runs smoothly. This morning is an anomoly.)
And now, in a random change of topic, I’d like to introduce you to my arch-nemesis: PINE POLLEN. Yes, I live in Florida. We get “yellow snow” during the winter months. But it is not the usual “yellow snow” reference. The pine trees are blooming. In. The. Middle. Of. Winter! GAH.
I’m going to start a charity, I think. I’ll call it Snow for the South. The South needs snow so these darned pine trees will go dormant! Anyone in snow-bound regions please fax me as much snow as you can possibly fit in your fax machine. I promise you can take the snow off your taxes. It’s for charity after all.
My car used to be red. Honest. Now it’s THIS… I no sooner get it washed, when it happens again. This is what I found on my car this morning:
You are welcome to feel sorry for me at any time. @=)
