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Michael Valentine Jones
Yak DBA Kernel (pronounced Colonel)

7020 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 09:26:36
There seems to a a run lately of "My database is gone. I don't have any backups. How do I get it back?"

Are a lot of people really this careless/clueless? Is it something you just have to be burned by before you understand?

I have had real fights getting people to understand the importance of database backups. A lot of admins seem to feel backups are a "nice to have thing", not a vital part of protecting the data.



Recovering Deleted Databases:
http://www.sqlteam.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=67780

Recovering a deleted database:
http://www.sqlteam.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=67553





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spirit1
Cybernetic Yak Master

11752 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 09:56:14
damn it Bones!!!

can't you fix it?

Go with the flow & have fun! Else fight the flow
Blog thingie: [URL="http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/mladenp"]
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Michael Valentine Jones
Yak DBA Kernel (pronounced Colonel)

7020 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 10:10:54
quote:
Originally posted by spirit1

damn it Bones!!!

can't you fix it?

Go with the flow & have fun! Else fight the flow
Blog thingie: [URL="http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/mladenp"]




I'm a DBA, not a magician!

CODO ERGO SUM
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madhivanan
Premature Yak Congratulator

22864 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 10:13:42
>> "My database is gone. I don't have any backups. How do I get it back?"

Note that It may be one of the Interview questions

Madhivanan

Failing to plan is Planning to fail
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Michael Valentine Jones
Yak DBA Kernel (pronounced Colonel)

7020 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 10:27:39
Interview Question: There were no database or server backups ever made, and the database server was just completely destroyed in a fire. How do I get the database back?


Reminds me of the story of a new IT manager. He asked to see the Disaster Recovery plan. He was given a folder. He looked inside, and found copies of resumes for all the IT staff.





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RickD
Slow But Sure Yak Herding Master

3608 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 10:33:18
There unfortunately are that may out there. We have been looking for a couple of new contractors and permanent staff for about 4 months. We have finally taken 2 contractors on, but were going through about 5 or 6 interviews a week! It p""£es me off that people will try to get a contract paying contract rates when they really know sweet fa about the job..

We did take on 1 contractor about a month and a half ago, not sure how he got through the interview though as I wasn't involved, but he scared me every time he asked a question, really thought I was gonna end up having to work weekends trying to recover the business until the day he was sacked..
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blindman
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker

2365 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 11:15:39
Hey, don't dis' all of us!

My company is pretty picky about the people we hire. I'm frequently called in to do technical interviews on prospective candidates, and I know where you are coming from because my pass rate is about 10%. Part of the problem is clients that do not know the difference between an experienced IT professional and some noob who creates Access files in his mom's basement. And they aren't willing to pay for a qualified professional.

blindman, Senior Database Consultant - Quick Solutions Inc.
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RickD
Slow But Sure Yak Herding Master

3608 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 12:32:29
I'm not dissing contractors, I am one.. I just get fed up with people coming for interviews when they clearly couldn't do the job, especially when they expect to get paid the same, if not more, than me.. lol
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Michael Valentine Jones
Yak DBA Kernel (pronounced Colonel)

7020 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 12:45:39
There are plenty of people out there that deserved to be dissed, and not just guys with no experience.

I interviewed a guy a couple of years ago who couldn’t write simple queries, or explain how to use the DATEADD or SUBSTRING functions.

He had 10 years of SQL Server experience, and he wasn’t lying about that, because one of the guys on my team had worked with him years before this.




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blindman
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker

2365 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 13:33:47
He was probably more "admin" than "architect". I see DBAs fall into those two different camps, and rarely is someone proficient at both. Did you ask him questions about configuring and maintaining database servers?
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Michael Valentine Jones
Yak DBA Kernel (pronounced Colonel)

7020 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 14:21:06
quote:
Originally posted by blindman

He was probably more "admin" than "architect". I see DBAs fall into those two different camps, and rarely is someone proficient at both. Did you ask him questions about configuring and maintaining database servers?


He was supposed to be an architect. He really didn't know anything about administration.



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Kristen
Test

22859 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 17:18:37
>> Note that It may be one of the Interview questions

I'd hire anyone who could answer it!

Kristen
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Michael Valentine Jones
Yak DBA Kernel (pronounced Colonel)

7020 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 18:10:35
quote:
Originally posted by Kristen

>> Note that It may be one of the Interview questions

I'd hire anyone who could answer it!

Kristen


You just have to use the undocumented rowset function, OPENTIMEWARP, and retieve the data from the past.



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Merkin
Funky Drop Bear Fearing SQL Dude!

4970 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-14 : 19:26:18
quote:
Originally posted by blindman

Hey, don't dis' all of us!

My company is pretty picky about the people we hire. I'm frequently called in to do technical interviews on prospective candidates, and I know where you are coming from because my pass rate is about 10%. Part of the problem is clients that do not know the difference between an experienced IT professional and some noob who creates Access files in his mom's basement. And they aren't willing to pay for a qualified professional.

blindman, Senior Database Consultant - Quick Solutions Inc.




Don't knock access. You'll upset Jeff



Damian
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." - Emerson
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elwoos
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker

2052 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-15 : 03:48:28
quote:
Don't knock access. You'll upset Jeff



FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!


steve

-----------

Oh, so they have internet on computers now!
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X002548
Not Just a Number

15586 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-15 : 09:12:16
quote:
Originally posted by Michael Valentine Jones

quote:
Originally posted by spirit1

damn it Bones!!!

can't you fix it?

Go with the flow & have fun! Else fight the flow
Blog thingie: [URL="http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/mladenp"]




I'm a DBA, not a magician!

CODO ERGO SUM




No, no, no...it's

"Damn it Jim, I'm a DBA, not a miracle worker..."



Brett

8-)

Hint: Want your questions answered fast? Follow the direction in this link
http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/brettk/archive/2005/05/25/5276.aspx

Add yourself!
http://www.frappr.com/sqlteam
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JimL
SQL Slinging Yak Ranger

1537 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-15 : 10:48:33
quote:
"My database is gone. I don't have any backups. How do I get it back?"


1. Walk up to DBA and remove his/her head from his/her @$$.

2. Kick same @$$ out front door.

3. Throw personell director that hired him/her out highest window in vicinity.

4. Relace with individuals that actually have a brain.

Jim
Users <> Logic
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blindman
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker

2365 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-16 : 11:27:47
I wouldn't knock Access. It's a great little tool for small, rapid application development. I have the same affection for Access that most guys have for their first car...
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RickD
Slow But Sure Yak Herding Master

3608 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-16 : 12:09:31
Yeah, but it's when you walk into a company and they tell you they have this small app in Access (turns out its 5 or 6 mdb files with queries 20 levels deep streching across all mdb's). Then they tell you that it's your job to upgrade it to SQL!

That's when you start to hate Access..
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blindman
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker

2365 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-16 : 12:57:55
Any app can be poorly written. Access and Excel just lend themselves to mis-use because of their ease of use. We've all seen crappy database designs in SQL Server and Oracle too, right?

And as long as I didn't put in a fixed bid, I'm happy to upgrade their convoluted system!
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mfemenel
Professor Frink

1421 Posts

Posted - 2006-06-16 : 13:35:43
For those of you who have to interview people I have a great question I always like to ask at the end of the interview. "As a developer, what is the longest day in terms of hours you've worked?
" I'm hoping to hear someone give me an answer over 15, although many of us have done more. What I really enjoy are the people who say 8, or my favorite, the one who proudly said 9, I worked through lunch. Two problems with these people. 1 if you aren't smart enough to give me a high number, you shouldn't be hired. 2 if you worked 9 hours you aren't a developer. Most of us are just warming up by then since after 5 is the quiet part of the day when we can think.

Mike
"oh, that monkey is going to pay"
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