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Category: Administration

Estimating and Managing Pod Spread in AKS

Published 2023-03-20 by Kevin Feasel

Joji Varghese talks pod distribution in Azure Kubernetes Service:

In Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS), the concept of pod spread is important to ensure that pods are distributed efficiently across nodes in a cluster. This helps to optimize resource utilization, increase application performance, and maintain high availability.

This article outlines a decision-making process for estimating the number of Pods running on an AKS cluster. We will look at pod distribution across designated node pools, distribution based on pod-to-pod dependencies and distribution where pod or node affinities are not specified. Finally, we explore the impact of pod spread on scaling using replicas and the role of the Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA). We will close with a test run of all the above scenarios.

Read on for tips, as well as a few web tools, which you can use to estimate and control pod spread in AKS.

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SQL Server 2022 CU2 Released

Published 2023-03-16 by Kevin Feasel

Srinivas Kandibanda shares the news:

The 2nd cumulative update release for SQL Server 2022 RTM is now available for download at the Microsoft Downloads site. Please note that registration is no longer required to download Cumulative updates.

Click through for a link to get the latest CU, as well as a link leading to notes on what’s in it. One interesting PolyBase-related note is that SQL Server 2022 CU2 finally supports using TNS files when connecting to Oracle databases. That was the norm the last time I semi-seriously used Oracle (quite a while ago), but for PolyBase, you had to specify all connection details separately.

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Using the Log Replay Service to Migrate to Azure SQL MI

Published 2023-03-16 by Kevin Feasel

Rob Carrol makes a move:

The Log Replay Service (LRS) is a new Azure service that allows you to migrate your databases from SQL Server on-premises, SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines, Amazon EC2, Amazon RDS for SQL Server, or Google Compute Engine to Azure SQL Managed Instance. LRS is a free cloud service that uses log shipping technology to enable custom migrations of databases from SQL Server 2008 through 2022.

Read on for some configuration options and tips on how to use the service.

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DBCC CHECKALLOC

Published 2023-03-15 by Kevin Feasel

Steve Stedman helps us understand a DBCC command:

DBCC CHECKALLOC is a database console command (DBCC) in Microsoft SQL Server that can be used to check the allocation and structural integrity of the data and index pages in a database. Checking the allocation and structural integrity of the pages can be useful for identifying and correcting issues with the database that could cause errors or performance issues.

Read on to learn more and see a couple examples of it in action.

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A Review of Postgres Memory Parameters

Published 2023-03-14 by Kevin Feasel

Henrietta Domborvskaya takes a look at memory parameters in Postgres:

Ordinary PostgreSQL users often do not know that PostgreSQL configuration parameters exist, let alone what they are and what they mean. There is a good reason for such ignorance since, in real life, ordinary users don’t have any say in how these parameters are set. Configuration parameters are set not just for a database but for the whole instance, which may have multiple databases, so any individual user will get the same as others get. To be completely transparent, in some cases, the said ordinary users can specify some parameters just for their own uses, but let’s hold our horses for now.

There are over three hundred PostgreSQL configuration parameters, so no wonder that even experienced DBAs often do not know what each of these parameters does. That is perfectly fine; however, there is a widespread belief that somewhere, in the secret vaults of many consulting companies, there is a treasure chest of perfect PostgreSQL parameter settings.

Read on for more information about config parameters in general, followed by several memory-related parameters you can tweak and some guidance on where to begin with them.

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Object Tagging in Snowflake

Published 2023-03-14 by Kevin Feasel

Warner Chaves tags a table:

A tag is a user-defined label that can be attached to a Snowflake object, such as a database, table, or column. Tags can categorize objects based on any criteria that you choose, such as sensitivity, business unit, project, or owner. Once tags have been applied, you can use them to control access to the tagged objects, track usage and costs, and apply policies and rules.

Now let’s apply tagging to a specific use case: identifying sensitive customer data. For example, let’s assume that you have a table in Snowflake called “customers” that contains customer information, including their addresses. We want to categorize the “address” column as sensitive so that we can apply data protection policies and controls.

Click through for a few examples of how to create tags, apply tags to database objects, and review tagged objects.

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Scaling Multiple Azure SQL DBs on a Single Server

Published 2023-03-14 by Kevin Feasel

Laith Ayesh has a script for us:

In a few scenarios, you might need to scale multiple databases on a logical server (not part of elastic pool) at once, the azure portal only allows you to scale each database individually. This can be achieved using the following PowerShell script:

just modify the parameters like SubID, the resource group and server name and then pick the service tier you want and run the script:

Click through for the Powershell script and an important note.

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Tips for AKS Storage Provisioning

Published 2023-03-13 by Kevin Feasel

Joji Varghese gives us a hand:

In an Azure Kubernetes (AKS) cluster, Pods can access physical storage resources such as disks or volumes using Persistent Volumes (PV). To use these resources, Pods need to make a Persistent Volume Claim (PVC), which requests a specific amount of storage from a storage class. This claim can then be matched to an available Persistent Volume. Azure offers several storage solutions that can be used to provision Persistent Volumes in an AKS cluster.

This article will provide real-world guidance on securely using Container Storage Interface (CSI) drivers to provision Azure File Shares and Azure Blob storage in an AKS cluster.

If you’re looking at setting up Azure Kubernetes Service, give this a review.

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Working with IP Addresses in Powershell

Published 2023-03-09 by Kevin Feasel

Bill Kindle takes us through several Powershell cmdlets:

A common SysAdmin task involves managing a PowerShell IP configuration. Typically, one performs this task using the GUI, which is OK. But PowerShell can do the same job and more, which you can put into scripting.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to use a few network management cmdlets in PowerShell to help manage a Windows host’s IP address, gateway, and DNS settings.

Understanding how to do this becomes even more important if you’re running Windows Server Core, where you don’t have too many choices other than rolling with Powershell.

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Checking Percentage of Physical Memory SQL Server is Using

Published 2023-03-09 by Kevin Feasel

Mike Hays does the math:

Note: Unlike other queries I have share here at TheSQLReport, I am the author of this one.   Sharing because I could not find it in my Google Searches.  Tested this back to version SQL Server 2012.   Also please remember that physical_memory_in_use_kb may be a constantly changing number depending on how SQL Server  is configured & the activity of the operating system.

Click through for the query and an example of it in action.

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