4 ms·

>Just buy a bigger box with double the memory? For what it's worth, a quite staggering number of sites I've fixed up have had databases with varchar ID columns

>Just buy a bigger box with double the memory? For what it's worth, a quite staggering number of sites I've fixed up have had databases with varchar ID columns, and no indexes anywhere. Thankfully the DB sizes have been small enough that fixing this has taken a few seconds to a few minutes max of DB downtime, with instant, seriously-impressive-looking results afterwards.

jimcsharp 11y ago
I wonder when this type of work will go away. I see it everywhere.
- CaptSpify 11y ago
  When companies figure out that hiring "one guy that can do everything by himself!" is a bad idea. So...... not likely anytime soon.
  - mgkimsal 11y ago
    Except... sometimes one guy really can do everything by himself, and do it much better than the other folks. However, usually the person who can do that is "too expensive" and they'd rather spread the cost (or a higher cost) over 3-4 people. It's not just talent/skills - there's more communication overhead when dealing with a team, and when the team has a range of skill levels on it, the comm overhead can make things worse (if not managed well)
    - Joeri 11y ago
      I have seen the one guy replaced by a team of 5. The team got less done than the guy. I have a longstanding suspicion that developer cost climbs slower than developer skill and productivity, meaning companies should always hire the best they can get, because they'll maximize productivity that way.
      - sokoloff 11y ago
        IME, it climbs WAY slower.
  - collyw 11y ago
    I am the one guy fixing these things all by myself.
- beachstartup 11y ago
  it will never. databases are hard and people are idiots. nevermind something as hard as SQL optimization and index design -- there are LOTS of people out there who think creating a new logical database for every new customer is a good idea, resulting in 2000+ databases on a system when there should be 4. people who think HA is a waste of money because nothing has ever failed on them. cheapskates who will under-spec deployments and then yell at you when it doesn't fit their data. people are stupid. do not underestimate the stupidity of your average tech industry "professional". this is why i think there should be a traditional engineering certification process for this stuff. also, i simply don't buy the assertion that any ops or dev can be automated in any meaningful way. the only thing it's doing is making it easier for morons to shoot themselves in the foot by ignoring the experts and then run to the same experts like a little child when everything catches on fire. see: recent story of a guy who deleted 1500 systems at once. oops. are we all doing more, or less work than 5 years ago? has all this cloud and deployment tech made any less work for anyone, or destroyed any jobs? lol no. i repeat emphatically LOL NO. such a claim is just absurd in my view. anyone who claims such a nonsensical statement has never done actual ops work where you get called if shit goes south. the smartest thing amazon ever did was simply give people a button to push to give them more money when they're faced with their own overwhelming stupidity. ain't nobody to blame but yo'self then.
  - leesalminen 11y ago
    > there are LOTS of people out there who think creating a new logical database for every new customer is a good idea, resulting in 2000+ databases on a system when there should be 4. I'm genuinely curious as to why you feel this way?
    - beachstartup 11y ago
      see? LOTS.
    - bpchaps 11y ago
      An ungodly amount of reasons. The ability to manage that many, for one. Those poor devops folk who have to deal with that. On a more technical side as an example, the number of open files can only be so high. You really start to hit the limit when you do things like that, which is when the most interesting kinds application crashes happen. "Just increase the file count." results in "Our report shows that an OldServer did not include a necessary open file limit config change. Engineer #582 has been fired."

jimcsharp 11y ago

I wonder when this type of work will go away. I see it everywhere.

CaptSpify 11y ago
When companies figure out that hiring "one guy that can do everything by himself!" is a bad idea. So...... not likely anytime soon.
- mgkimsal 11y ago
  Except... sometimes one guy really can do everything by himself, and do it much better than the other folks. However, usually the person who can do that is "too expensive" and they'd rather spread the cost (or a higher cost) over 3-4 people. It's not just talent/skills - there's more communication overhead when dealing with a team, and when the team has a range of skill levels on it, the comm overhead can make things worse (if not managed well)
  - Joeri 11y ago
    I have seen the one guy replaced by a team of 5. The team got less done than the guy. I have a longstanding suspicion that developer cost climbs slower than developer skill and productivity, meaning companies should always hire the best they can get, because they'll maximize productivity that way.
    - sokoloff 11y ago
      IME, it climbs WAY slower.
- collyw 11y ago
  I am the one guy fixing these things all by myself.
beachstartup 11y ago
it will never. databases are hard and people are idiots. nevermind something as hard as SQL optimization and index design -- there are LOTS of people out there who think creating a new logical database for every new customer is a good idea, resulting in 2000+ databases on a system when there should be 4. people who think HA is a waste of money because nothing has ever failed on them. cheapskates who will under-spec deployments and then yell at you when it doesn't fit their data. people are stupid. do not underestimate the stupidity of your average tech industry "professional". this is why i think there should be a traditional engineering certification process for this stuff. also, i simply don't buy the assertion that any ops or dev can be automated in any meaningful way. the only thing it's doing is making it easier for morons to shoot themselves in the foot by ignoring the experts and then run to the same experts like a little child when everything catches on fire. see: recent story of a guy who deleted 1500 systems at once. oops. are we all doing more, or less work than 5 years ago? has all this cloud and deployment tech made any less work for anyone, or destroyed any jobs? lol no. i repeat emphatically LOL NO. such a claim is just absurd in my view. anyone who claims such a nonsensical statement has never done actual ops work where you get called if shit goes south. the smartest thing amazon ever did was simply give people a button to push to give them more money when they're faced with their own overwhelming stupidity. ain't nobody to blame but yo'self then.
- leesalminen 11y ago
  > there are LOTS of people out there who think creating a new logical database for every new customer is a good idea, resulting in 2000+ databases on a system when there should be 4. I'm genuinely curious as to why you feel this way?
  - beachstartup 11y ago
    see? LOTS.
  - bpchaps 11y ago
    An ungodly amount of reasons. The ability to manage that many, for one. Those poor devops folk who have to deal with that. On a more technical side as an example, the number of open files can only be so high. You really start to hit the limit when you do things like that, which is when the most interesting kinds application crashes happen. "Just increase the file count." results in "Our report shows that an OldServer did not include a necessary open file limit config change. Engineer #582 has been fired."