[powerpress]
Are You Running An Antiques Roadshow?
In WOxPod!, episode # 005 – “Antiques Roadshow” we discuss the support of SQL Server and why you really should be keeping up to date with more current versions than you may be running.
Show Links:
Current SQL Server life cycle dates
Transcript:
You are listening to WOxPod!, episode # 005 – Are you running an Antiques Roadshow?
Today we discuss the support of SQL Server and why you really should be keeping up to date with more current versions than you may be running.
Hey everyone, Chris Bell here. The WOxPod! podcast is produced for your enjoyment. Show notes can be found at wateroxconsulting.com/podcasts
Come back often feel free to add WOxPod! to your favorite RSS feeds, or subscribe on Android or Itunes using the link on our podcast page. You can also follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, all which are linked through our website: WaterOxConsulting.com
Now let’s get on to the show.
Oh no! Mainstream support is ending for your Microsoft product! What does it mean?
Not a lot actually. Your systems will continue to operate just as they have been all along. What it mainly means is : no more cheap support.
It is essentially a warning that you need to seriously start looking into upgrading your systems, or prepare sustained engineering plans.
Ok, so, what does that mean?
It means Microsoft isn’t going to help you anymore once the system is out of the support lifecycle and you need to have a plan in place, that doesn’t necessarily include Microsoft, in case something happens.
This can be making sure you have in house resources that can continue to support the old system and any code running on it. It can also mean sourcing outside resources, and pricing them, in case you need to bring them in to help.
There are still companies out there running ancient SQL Server versions. Remember them? 6.0, 6.5, 7.0 and SQL 2000? I would bet a lot of them don’t have detailed plans in place if something goes wrong. Why? Because nothing has gone wrong yet. Because of this the systems sit and stagnate, doing what they have to do, just as they always have.
Complacency is the easiest form of maintenance. It is also the one with the most risk. Change is uncomfortable. It can be painful. It requires effort. It is an interactive experience. People & companies don’t want to take on the risk and discomfort of change.
Everything works fine how it is, why do we need to risk changing it?
Here’s the deal. Your business is not an episode of Antiques Roadshow. Holding on to these old systems is not really going to increase their value.
Because of holding onto the old system, thinking it will somehow, magically get better, rather than taking action to improve it you are probably missing out on a lot of upgrades and features that could make the systems, and processes a lot more efficient.
As a simple example, let’s look at the cardinality estimator changes in SQL 2014. Queries that performed poorly before, now are running much better and much faster, just for upgrading to 2014 (and being in sql2014 compatibility mode). No change to the code is needed. Just the upgrade.
How much of a difference is there? How about going from < 500 batch requests / second to over 8000. Yeah, that’s potentially 16 times the batch requests per second that SQL Server is churning through, just in the sample I looked at. That performance increase was accomplished just by upgrading and literally “flipping a switch”.
Sure, it isn’t always as easy to just upgrade and everything works. There are measures and steps to be taken to ensure system upgrades works properly. That’s part of the pain of growing and improving. And sometimes the growing pains are well worth it.
By the way, upgrading the base SQL Server engine to a new and supported version, but keeping an old compatibility mode is just denial. Sure, you are “in support” now, but you really aren’t taking advantage of what the software can do. It’s like buying a Ferrari, but disabling 75% of the engine and other features in the car, that make it what it is, just so you can keep driving your Pinto around.
If you are running a non-supported system, it is considered a legacy system, or will be, very soon.
Now, what does having a legacy system mean? Basically, support costs will go up, usually significantly.
A lot of places want to bring in the ‘cheap’ talent to grind away and get things done. That’s fine, but realize a lot of the ‘cheap’ work is being done by people newer to the technology, which also means they are not familiar with the older, legacy systems since that isn’t what is taught, or talked about the most when trying to learn the skills required.
To add that last statement, a good DBA, of legacy systems or not, should be open to change, and be ready for the new versions.
Follow blogs, listen to podcasts, watch videos, read articles, play with new software releases in test systems. All this helps to grow the knowledge base of the DBA.
There is a rift in the thoughts on the difficulty of being a DBA. On one side, the thought is that the DBA doesn’t do very much. This is usually from outside the DBA world. Inside our world, we are all going crazy trying to keep up with the technologies, keep the old systems running and ‘Doing ‘Bout Anything’ which is another thing DBA stands for). This is all done to make sure the outside doesn’t have any major issues. An unseen DBA is a very busy DBA and is one that ensures you can continue to do your job, whatever it is, with minimal interruption.
On a closing note, since we are talking about legacy systems, and keeping up to date: You can now download the second Community Technology Preview, or CTP2, of SQL Server 2016 a whole week earlier than initially promised!
I’ll have the link in the show notes.
Play with it, check out the cool new features being added, and help make it a better tool for next year when it is officially released and you start to find your ‘current’ versions of SQL server going out of mainstream support a little sooner than you thought.
And that’s the show! Thanks for listening.
If you have any Questions or suggestions of topics or people to talk to email us at [email protected] or hit me up on twitter at @CBellDBA.
Until next time, keep yourself and your data safe!