Dropbox appears stuck synchronizing files
Normally I don’t like off-topic style posts, and Dropbox is certainly not within my key areas of interest, however, I am an avid user and every now and then I run into a problem that is frustrating...
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Querying Azure DevOps REST API with PowerShell
In previous posts we have talked about trying to use and consume Azure DevOps using PowerShell and utilizing the Azure CLI. In particular, my post titled Use PowerShell to consume your Azure CLI...
View ArticleAzure subscription is not registered to use Cosmos DB namespace
It is usually the simplest things that often leave me feeling like I am a complete dummy. One such issue I ran into fairly recently when trying to deploy Cosmos DB into an Azure subscription. From...
View ArticleEncouraging diversity at technical events – attendees
In the first of this three-part series, I will be exploring a few thoughts and ideas regarding how we can encourage diversity of attendees at technical events. I have been organising events as far back...
View ArticleEncouraging diversity at technical events – speakers
In the second of this three-part series, I will be exploring a few thoughts and ideas regarding how we can encourage diversity of speakers at technical events. I have been organising events as far back...
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Cannot delete old build definitions in Azure DevOps
I have been experiencing a problem for quite a while now in my current environment, in that some of our old builds cannot be deleted. When you attempt to do so it results in the following error: One or...
View ArticleEncouraging diversity at technical events – volunteers and organisers
In the third and final post of this three-part series, I will be exploring a few thoughts and ideas regarding how we can encourage diversity of volunteers and organisers at technical events. I have...
View ArticleHow to restore a deleted Azure DevOps repository
If you are using Azure DevOps, you might be comforted that your Git repo is “in the Cloud” and automatically has availability and disaster guarantees. However you (or someone else) still have the...
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Inconsistent result sets and another case against pessimistic isolation
I’m a big fan of demonstrating when transaction processing goes bad in Database Management Systems because it is a reminder to us all to ensure that we know exactly what we are doing when we write our...
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Removing and maintaining Azure resource group deployments based upon...
Whenever you create or update an Azure resource, a new deployment is created under the resources’ configured resource group. This deployment history is retained ad-infinitum until you eventually hit...
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Querying Azure VM state with PowerShell
I was recently given the task of identifying the state of an Azure VM so that an automation script using the az vm run-command invoke would not fail if the VM was down or under a reboot. I initially...
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Yet another MVP renewal blog post! – my year in reflection
Preamble It has been a really difficult 12 months for us all in so many ways and the COVID19 lockdown probably couldn’t have arrived at a worse time for everyone. I don’t think a day goes by right now...
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SSIS Data Flow Performance Tuning
Yes before you say it, I know SQL Server Integration Services is “old technology” but a lot of people are still using it, and in many cases are either still developing against it, or are looking to...
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Why I stopped blogging
It is perhaps with a sense of embarrassment and disappointment that I look back at these pages and realise that nearly two years have now passed since I posted my last article on my blog. It has...
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Lucky Number Seven?
It would be probably remiss for me not to post about my recent re-award for Microsoft Data Platform MVP this past week, especially given my renewed commitment to resume blogging. The last twelve...
View ArticleA quick introduction to Azure Purview
Azure Purview is Microsoft’s next-generation data catalog service in Azure which is a direct replacement for the first-generation service known as Azure Data Catalog. While some people refer to...
View ArticleEncouraging diversity in leadership roles
Over 33 years ago I started my journey working in Information Technology (I.T.), and it is probably fair to say that I have worked my way slowly up from the absolute bottom of the pile to the modest...
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Why is my Azure solution running slow?
As an Azure data professional, one of the most common questions you are most likely to hear from users is “why do cloud solutions often appear to have performance issues post-deployment“. This...
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Automating pause of Synapse dedicated pool – Part I
Synapse Analytics is an enterprise analytics engine that offers multiple (compute) Pool types that you can use for varying data processing and analytics requirements. Each Pool type has a slightly...
View ArticleHow to restore a deleted Azure DevOps repository
If you are using Azure DevOps, you might be comforted that your Git repo is “in the Cloud” and automatically has availability and disaster guarantees. However you (or someone else) still have the...
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