Buck Woody : Error Codes

Plan for Diagnostics in Cloud Computing From the Git-Go

BuckWoody — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 13:11:22 GMT

“Git-Go” is something we say in the South that means “right at the start”. I’ve seen several applications for on-premise systems that don’t have much in the way of diagnostics - the developers rely on a debugger, the event logs on the server and client workstation, and most of all, the ability to watch the system from end-to-end.

This approach is a mistake for an on-premise system, and it’s definitely a problem for a distributed architecture. You simply do not own all of the components from end to end in a cloud environment, nor are you always able to attach a debugger or other remote monitoring tools to the various areas within the code path. So you need to make sure that from the very outset of your design that you build in diagnostics. My personal preference is to build a system such that a control file turns on deeper information gathering from the system, up to a minimal level.

When I do that, I set a high level of logging, a medium level, and a moderate level. I normally use the deepest level of information during the testing and acceptance phase of the deployment, then switch to moderate and then the least level of information gathering. Also in my design I often set an error condition to begin gathering the deeper information along with the exception, where possible.

There are decisions you need to make as to where to store the diagnostics (many operations in the cloud cost money), how often you collect them, and so on. You can get a quick overview on using the diagnostics that come with Windows Azure here: http://www.azuresupport.com/2010/03/getting-started-with-windows-azure-diagnostics-and-monitoring/ This is where you should start first. More detail on that: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg433048.aspx

My friend Dave Pallman has a great tool he’s released for free: http://davidpallmann.blogspot.com/2009/03/azure-application-monitor-now-on.html

If the issue is in storage apps: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsazuredata/thread/d84ba34b-b0e0-4961-a167-bbe7618beb83

If you have System Center, this is the quickest and easiest way to implement the monitoring – really handy: http://pinpoint.microsoft.com/en-us/applications/windows-azure-application-monitoring-management-pack-release-candidate-12884907699

SQL Server PowerShell Provider And PowerShell Version 2 Get-Command Issue

BuckWoody — Mon, 10 May 2010 13:13:30 GMT

The other day I blogged that the version of the SQL Server PowerShell provider (sqlps) follows the version of PowerShell. That’s all goodness, but it has appeared to cause an issue for PowerShell 2.0. the Get-Command PowerShell command-let returns an error (Object reference not set to an instance of an object) if you are using PowerShell 2.0 and sqlps – it’s a known bug, and I’m happy to report that it is fixed in SP2 for SQL Server 2008 – something that will released soon.

You can read more about this issue here: http://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/feedback/details/484732/sqlps-and-powershell-v2-issues

Plan and Prepare or Just Do It? How about Both!

BuckWoody — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:56:00 GMT

I'm kind of a type "A" person. OK, I'm a VERY type "A" person. I even cook by setting things up ahead of time. I'm definitely more in the "Plan and Prepare" camp than the "Just Do It" camp.

But I do realize that there are times when you just can't stop and prepare. Sure, it would be great to know that server is going to melt down just now, but it happened and you have to deal with it. Now is not the time to open the plastic on that "Troubleshooting SQL Server" DVD course you bought! You just have to dive in and get the thing fixed.

Hopefully you're not operating like that all the time. If you are, you probably need to get some help with your systems, at least temporarily, until you can get them stabilized.

So which is it? Should you be like me, a type "A" who has to have everything planned out, or a reactionary agent, fixing things as they happen? How about - Both!

I think you should aim to plan and prepare as much as you can. Your life will be more stress-free, and you'll be happier in your job. But you can't lose your head when things go wrong and demand time to plan and prepare. You just have to jump in there and fix the problem.

But I think there's a happy medium in there somewhere. I ten to plan and prepare for the times I have to "just do it". I have my scripts ready for things like backups, DBCC repairs, restores, web site links for "how to" articles and so on. I have those right by my desk so that I don't have to panic when panic hits. So in effect, I'm doing both - I'm planning to just do it.