An Impressive SQL Server

  • Some great "what if'" already listed. A few more:

    Olympics 2012 ++ hugely high volume for very short period whith huge impact if there is down-time. I know that the English FA use MS SQL, but tickets to wembley don't really comare to the volume an olypics would generate.

    Facebook has been mentioned, as has Google (I assume that should be all google services, including google earth using sql 2008 geo-data types, and gmail on SQL 🙂

    Interesting article showing the "biggies" in terms of data centre power usage - any of these on MS SQL?

    http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/26/visualized-ring-around-the-world-of-data-center-power-usage/

    Some interesting "did you knows'":

    A UK grocery site runs there online grocery site (24x365.25) that handles £2billion trade a year (and thats a few years ago)

    There are Global Investments banks that use MS SQL as a strategic DBMS (and have 1000's or servers and 10,000's of databases)

    any more ?

  • The MMORPG EVE-Online uses SQL Server.

  • I'm a little late to the discussion, but what really impressed me and is the example I use when someone tries to tell me MSSQL isn't "enterprise ready" is NASDAQ.

    http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?CaseStudyID=49271

    "5,000 transactions per second at market open"

  • Carlos Bossy (5/6/2011)


    Major League Baseball was a already SQL Server user.

    At the top of the MLB home page, it says 'Powered by Oracle', but that doesn't mean they don't use SQL Server as well.

    Bob Costas got involved in one of their meetings to provide impromptu advice when they were designing the cube.

    Bob Costas is a BI guru? Is there anything that man can't do?


    Peter MaloofServing Data

  • We worked on databases completely housed in SQL 2000 at the time that managed all of UPS shipping.

    I think if the NSA used strictly SQL server for all of those big brother events - I would be impressed.

    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

  • What impresses me is a database where the tables are normalized and named consistently, every table has a primary key, foreign key relationships are indexed, the database developers have an up to date ERD and can identify every object, date values are contained in date datatypes not varchar columns, only DBAs are database owners or members of SYSADMIN, and the account used by the application has only exec permission on the stored procedures it needs.

    I'm not impressed often.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • If I saw someone use SQL server for tracking data for a MMOG (masively multiplayer online game) like SIMS or World of Warcraft, that would impress me. I know just how much statistical data those things can generate... :w00t:

    A month ago I would have said that seeing Sony run the Playstation Network off from it would be cool, but Microsoft probably doesn't want to be anywhere near that stinky terd mess right now... Of course if they'd used SQL rather than non-updated Linux systems maybe the data would have been secure. :unsure:

    Last but not least... the IRS for tax processing. Nobody likes taxes, but can you image the amount of tax data that comes into the IRS between March and the end of April... forms full of information for every single American (who follows the laws).

  • For me, SQL Server would be great if they can deliver exactly what they promise.

    Productivity, Security, Performance, Scalability, Robustness, and finally solid ROI.

  • Jagadeesh Medabalimi (5/15/2011)


    For me, SQL Server would be great if they can deliver exactly what they promise.

    Productivity, Security, Performance, Scalability, Robustness, and finally solid ROI.

    What does that mean? That's a silly statement. SQL Server definitely delivers all of that. The question is to what degree. It's like saying I wish Ford would build a car that went fast. What is fast?

  • Steve Jones - SSC Editor (5/16/2011)


    Jagadeesh Medabalimi (5/15/2011)


    For me, SQL Server would be great if they can deliver exactly what they promise.

    Productivity, Security, Performance, Scalability, Robustness, and finally solid ROI.

    What does that mean? That's a silly statement. SQL Server definitely delivers all of that. The question is to what degree. It's like saying I wish Ford would build a car that went fast. What is fast?

    With very few exceptions, SQL Server is limited only by the hardware it's running on and the expertise of the database developer and administrator.

    "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho

  • We've all been invited to give our examples on "if they managed to do x with SQL Server, I'd be impressed". After 55 posts so far, it seems we've had to reach out to the likes of NASA and the stock markets before we count ourselves impressed. By setting the "impressive" bar so high, I reckon we're saying a lot about what we implicitly expect SQL Server to take in its stride, and I find that pretty impressive in itself.

    Semper in excretia, suus solum profundum variat

  • Since the article was reposted...

    Two of the largest credit charge clearing systems runs on SQL, and has for a long time. The first time I worked on it, it was on SQL 2000. Mission critical, tons of transactions per second (sorry was not operational on either so don't know the numbers).

    Eve Online runs on SQL, logging pretty much everything that goes on in the game (with 50k+ players online on the same world). They have some pretty interesting write ups on their blog about their SQL system).

    A certain large phone company ran out of drive letters storing all their call records in SQL (one of the reasons we now have mount points).

  • Anders Pedersen (12/25/2015)


    Since the article was reposted...

    Two of the largest credit charge clearing systems runs on SQL, and has for a long time. The first time I worked on it, it was on SQL 2000. Mission critical, tons of transactions per second (sorry was not operational on either so don't know the numbers).

    Eve Online runs on SQL, logging pretty much everything that goes on in the game (with 50k+ players online on the same world). They have some pretty interesting write ups on their blog about their SQL system).

    A certain large phone company ran out of drive letters storing all their call records in SQL (one of the reasons we now have mount points).

    A lot of very large companies use SQL Server to store a lot of data. SQL Server performs well for most tasks if done correctly. It's always possible to write inefficient code.

  • Ed Wagner (12/25/2015)


    Anders Pedersen (12/25/2015)


    Since the article was reposted...

    Two of the largest credit charge clearing systems runs on SQL, and has for a long time. The first time I worked on it, it was on SQL 2000. Mission critical, tons of transactions per second (sorry was not operational on either so don't know the numbers).

    Eve Online runs on SQL, logging pretty much everything that goes on in the game (with 50k+ players online on the same world). They have some pretty interesting write ups on their blog about their SQL system).

    A certain large phone company ran out of drive letters storing all their call records in SQL (one of the reasons we now have mount points).

    A lot of very large companies use SQL Server to store a lot of data. SQL Server performs well for most tasks if done correctly. It's always possible to write inefficient code.

    To that end, here's one of the most important things from the article....

    From the article:


    Over the years I've heard regular complaints and concerns from executives about SQL Server scalability.

    I've found, over the years, that those very executives are actually a very serious part of the problem because they don't understand that databases (relational or otherwise) are NOT just a place to store data and so they "go cheap" when hiring people. They still think that the average front-end programmer with "good experience in SQL" (according the job description) is good enough. They don't realize how important it is to have at least one true "SQL Ninja" on the Team and, when they finally do make that realization, they don't understand that the idiot they just hired with supposedly 10 years of experience isn't actually an "SQL Ninja" nor even a qualified advanced user because they don't actually know what it takes to find and hire such a person. They also don't realize the train-wreck that their databases are in is because they didn't hire such an "SQL Ninja" long before the first requirement popped into someone's head and then wonder why such a person frequently says, "Damn... this isn't going to be easy, folks".

    All C-Level managers with even one computer on site should make a new year's resolution to first seriously educate themselves, learn how to write the right kind of job descriptions, and then learn how to properly conduct both phone and in-person interviews to protect the company from the thousands of applicants out there that don't actually have a clue despite what their sometimes-outright-lie-of-a-resume claims before they go bad mouthing any database product, especially SQL Server. They also need to learn what an "alternative system zealot" and "new shiny object zealot" is and avoid them like the plague so they don't end up with the mostly unsupportable "Tower of Babel" that I've seen at so many companies fall pretty to.

    Let's make 2016 the year that the vicious and unprofitable circle of ignorance ends.

    --Jeff Moden


    RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
    First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
    ________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

    Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.


    Helpful Links:
    How to post code problems
    How to Post Performance Problems
    Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

  • Jeff Moden -- amen! Well put.

    Being realistic, I don't believe it will happen fully, but we can do our part to make it better.

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