A Flock of SQL Servers

  • or, you could set up a php webpage, presented over https, which is username and password protected that presents you with a text box to enter the number, and a 'kill spid' button that you can access from your android smartphone 😉

    Ben

    ^ Thats me!

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  • Solomon Rutzky (8/19/2011)


    Since introducing Twitter functionality (for free!) into my SQL# (http://www.SQLsharp.com/) CLR library two years ago now, I have gotten a large amount of downloads for the Twitter functions alone. The response has been much more positive than I had expected. I originally integrated the functionality as I simply thought it would be interesting but was not entirely sure of any real use-cases. However, the community responded rather favorably and people have been using it to do more than I could think up on my own.

    Love to hear more about this. Maybe there are some interesting things.

  • Eric M Russell (8/19/2011)


    Well, when creating a SQL Server Alert, the options currently include email, pager, SMS message, and Net Send. Tweets are typically for public broadcast. SMS messages are equivalent in functionality, but I think more appropriate for sending messages to a DBA, because they can more easily be received on a cell phone. Would anyone find value in adding Tweet as an option for alerts? Perhaps in a senario where you want to send Tweets to a group of users?

    Overall I agree with you on alerts, but SMS can be cumbersome to manage, depending on the size of the group and turnover. It all depends on how many people might need this info. True, you can manage groups with Exchange, and perhaps use cell phone emails to send to SMS, but SMS can be annoying, and it isn't guaranteed to receive the message. Or even in a good time.

    Having a "stream" of alerts or messages could be handy. In twitter you can protect tweets so they are limited to certain people only (approved list) or you could use Yammer, some private twitter software, to hold a stream. If all my app/server alerts went in there, it might be a good way to see if "something else" might have trigger my alert. For example, suppose I had tweets that shot out with a user connection or transaction rate from the application side. Might help me diagnose that my log growing was due to an activity spike rather than a problem.

    I could also see a separate stream for change management. Not public, but having every system/user that made a change send a note to the stream would allow me to look back at changes. Could be an easier (and therefore potentially more reliable) way of tracking changes.

  • I can see the possibility of letting SQL Server tweet, or more likely in our situation one of our applications tweet. We haven't done that, but I'm fair from ruling it out.

    BTW, thank you for mentioning the #sqlhelp tag. I wasn't aware of that! I'll start following that hash tag now.

    Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

  • Not sure I see any value from this. Also if I let me SQL servers tweet, the next thing you know they'll want their own Facebook pages and I'm not ready for that.:-D

  • Dave Schutz (8/19/2011)


    Not sure I see any value from this. Also if I let me SQL servers tweet, the next thing you know they'll want their own Facebook pages and I'm not ready for that.:-D

    Or Google Plus pages! :w00t:

  • SQL Server posting to Twitter... Why not, workstations posting to IRC works extremely well for some of the most prolific software out there.

    Great idea, I'll blame Steve when I get "mission critical" software to install where the installation instructions require both the sa account and a twitter login.

    "Please check the #reallySecureInstallLog tweets to see your installation status." Hmm... new method of monitoring install based licencing... Ow! My brain just punched me for even joking about it.

    -D

  • Darren Wallace (8/19/2011)


    ...

    Great idea, I'll blame Steve when I get "mission critical" software to install where the installation instructions require both the sa account and a twitter login.

    ...

    Yikes! I hope I don't start that trend.

    :crazy:

  • Darren Wallace (8/19/2011)


    Hmm... new method of monitoring install based licencing... Ow! My brain just punched me for even joking about it.

    That would be easy to hack though, run a local webserver that sends the appropriate twitteresque success message, create a loopback interface aliased to twitter's ip address, and boom! your installer thinks it has posted to twitter when in fact it has just told itself.

    Ben

    ^ Thats me!

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  • I have lots of email traffic to keep up with, so adding another thread of information has to really, really be worth it.

    I would be interested to hear how others use Twitter at work. I can see the value of Twitter but its overall concept appears to make it difficult to use in the workplace. I cannot keep a Twitter client open on my desktop due to company policy and I do not want my smart phone constantly connected to the 3G network. But even if these hurdles were overcome, who has time to scan all these messages? Because so few of the messages will relate to what I am currently working on (even with filters in place such as #SQLHELP, which is useful by the way) it seems that reading those messages as they appear is more of a distraction than a help most of the time.

    Please let me know about your successes. Thanks.

  • I am in favor of a negative knee-jerk reaction to tweeting from SQL Server. Thinking on the topic, I can see a few ways that it might be possible - but better security testing need be done.

    1. DM any alerts

    2. Make the SQL twitter feed a private feed. By doing thus, you approve who follows that feed.

    3. Use it to tweet from a Biz perspective. This would be for those who have signed up through your webapp for social networking updates.

    Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
    _______________________________________________
    I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
    SQL RNNR
    Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
    Learn Extended Events

  • T_A_D (8/19/2011)


    I have lots of email traffic to keep up with, so adding another thread of information has to really, really be worth it.

    I would be interested to hear how others use Twitter at work. I can see the value of Twitter but its overall concept appears to make it difficult to use in the workplace. I cannot keep a Twitter client open on my desktop due to company policy and I do not want my smart phone constantly connected to the 3G network. But even if these hurdles were overcome, who has time to scan all these messages? Because so few of the messages will relate to what I am currently working on (even with filters in place such as #SQLHELP, which is useful by the way) it seems that reading those messages as they appear is more of a distraction than a help most of the time.

    Please let me know about your successes. Thanks.

    The key is don't worry about the stream in real time. It's an ongoing conversation, and if you aren't participating, don't worry about it. Take a couple times a day and scan the #sqlhelp tags, or glance at the people to follow.

    I shut down the desktop sometimes to concentrate, but even when it's open, I don't worry about 99% of the posts. I glance at the last 20-30 once an hour or so, or when I get a message, but otherwise I ignore it.

    I never have it update my phone.

  • T_A_D (8/19/2011)


    I have lots of email traffic to keep up with, so adding another thread of information has to really, really be worth it.

    I would be interested to hear how others use Twitter at work. I can see the value of Twitter but its overall concept appears to make it difficult to use in the workplace. I cannot keep a Twitter client open on my desktop due to company policy and I do not want my smart phone constantly connected to the 3G network. But even if these hurdles were overcome, who has time to scan all these messages? Because so few of the messages will relate to what I am currently working on (even with filters in place such as #SQLHELP, which is useful by the way) it seems that reading those messages as they appear is more of a distraction than a help most of the time.

    Please let me know about your successes. Thanks.

    In my job I handle our business related Twitter account. However, it is strickly for dismeminating information. I rarely post anything to it. We have very few followers, but that's OK; only those who do business with us would be interested in what I'm posting anyway.

    I have my own Twitter account, which I actively use. I'll use my Twitter client to see what's going on in the world, especially since I cannot attend any conference or seminars. It's one of the few ways I still feel connected with my peers. (This website helps with that, too.) However, like you I don't leave my Twitter client up for long. I'll get into it, see what's treading, maybe read blog or article linked to from a tweet, then get out.

    Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.

  • Thanks to Steve and Rod and to anyone else who has something to add. This is very helpful.

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