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SolarWinds

Pros and Cons of Horizontal vs. Vertical Scaling

Have you ever dealt with an application workload suddenly increasing and the demand on SQL Server begins to increase exponentially as a result? Maybe you’ve never had one of those “my solution to X problem just went viral, and everybody’s signing up” moments, but inevitably, at some point in your career, you’ll have to deal with a scalability limitation affecting performance and the business will look to you for a solution.

Getting Started With Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Open-source software (OSS) relational database management systems (RDBMSes) are becoming incredibly popular in the cloud computing world. In this article, I’ll discuss one of the most popular OSS relational databases, PostgreSQL, and the options you have for this database in the Microsoft Azure cloud. It’s worth noting these products are large with many detailed aspects, so consider this article a cursory, high-level overview of each offering.

Getting Started With Azure Database for PostgreSQL

Open-source software (OSS) relational database management systems (RDBMSes) are becoming incredibly popular in the cloud computing world. In this article, I’ll discuss one of the most popular OSS relational databases, PostgreSQL, and the options you have for this database in the Microsoft Azure cloud. It’s worth noting these products are large with many detailed aspects, so consider this article a cursory, high-level overview of each offering.

Comparing DBA, DBRE, and SRE Roles

As I navigate further into my career, I’m finding the scope of my role has shifted over the years. I thought I’d take some time to help relay the differences I’ve seen between traditional database administrators (DBAs), database reliability engineers (DBREs), and site reliability engineers (SREs). Before I start, I want to get a disclaimer out of the way: some of the comparisons here reflect only what I’ve seen and may not match what you’ve experienced.

An Introduction to Database Sharding With SQL Server

One of my favorite consulting questions to ask when dealing with a scalability problem is, “If you could change the system design with the knowledge you have today, what would/wouldn’t you change and why?” Sometimes it’s best to ask this question on a one-on-one basis with different developers, DBAs, report writers, and architects to get honest answers that aren’t intimidated by the other people sitting in a meeting or to avoid potential debating and arguing over a solution.

Importance of Data Warehouse Automation

The enterprise data warehouse (EDW) provides access to business data stored in a denormalized structure called a star schema, which makes it easy to analyze, visualize, and forecast essential business metrics. Business intelligence (BI) reporting makes use of the data warehouse for real-time self-service dashboards, custom visualizations, data marts, decision-making reports, and machine learning (ML).

Importance of Data Warehouse Automation

The enterprise data warehouse (EDW) provides access to business data stored in a denormalized structure called a star schema, which makes it easy to analyze, visualize, and forecast essential business metrics. Business intelligence (BI) reporting makes use of the data warehouse for real-time self-service dashboards, custom visualizations, data marts, decision-making reports, and machine learning (ML).

How Customers Drive Our Continuous Innovation

With more than 300,000 customers, a thriving community of 185,000 THWACK® users, frequent SWUG™ events, and some 650,000 developers certified on SolarWinds® products, we have a unique ability to keep our fingers on the pulse of what our clients need to better manage, monitor, and understand their complex environments. We’re reminded every day how these customer interactions collectively serve as a crucial competitive advantage.

What's a Webhook?

If you’re a developer or site reliability engineer, you might have noticed options to use webhooks in your cloud monitoring or automation settings. And if you have a great deal of experience developing APIs, you probably know what a webhook is. For the rest of the world, a webhook (also known as a web callback or an HTTP push API) is a way for an application to provide other applications with information in real time.

Three Ways a Proactive Defense Strategy Can Prevent Cyberattacks

Schools and local municipalities have always been vulnerable to cyberattacks, but in recent years, especially since the pandemic's beginning, they have been increasingly more prone to threats. According to a statement by DHS, ransomware attacks " crippled state and local agencies in 2020," calling for a State and Local Cybersecurity Improvement Act to set a baseline for new changes with cybersecurity efforts at the state and local level.