Official Pythian Blog - three streams, three perspectives

2019 Tech Geek Gift Giving Guide

It’s that time of year again!  Each year around the holidays, we offer gift ideas for the tech geek on your list — any data lover, IT pro, or fan of cool technology. And this year is no exception. The…

Pythian Announces Support for AWS Outposts As A Launch Partner

Today at AWS re:Invent, Amazon Web Services (AWS)’s most important tech conference of the year, AWS Outposts was announced. As Amazon says in its release notes, “AWS Outposts is a natural extension of AWS cloud services towards on-premises and bringing…

Datascape Podcast Episode 37 – Recapping Microsoft Ignite 2019 with Warner

If you don’t want to read through a 78-page PDF document but still want to know what went down at Microsoft Ignite 2019, then this episode is for you! Warner Chaves joins us for our third recap episode of the…

Cutting Costs And Building Sales By Migrating To Google Cloud Platform

If you’re running any kind of e-commerce enterprise, you already know that your business lives and dies by the speed of your page loads. Online shoppers are notoriously impatient, and every second of delay for the user increases the likelihood…

Cloud Maturity: How cricket, fashion and mining organizations adopted cloud for data success 

Lynda Partner, Pythian VP Marketing and Analytics as a Service, presenting tales of cloud analytics success at BDA Confex 2019 in London, UK. It’s not often said that cricket batsmen, luxury fashion buyers, and mining engineers have much in common…

Top big data analytics trends hold true as we look toward 2020

The overall importance of data and information within organizations has continued to grow. We’ve also seen the continued rise of megatrends like IoT, big data – even too much data – and of course, machine learning. That’s along with the…

How the England and Wales Cricket Board scored with big data

The England and Wales Cricket Board governs every aspect of the sport in those two countries, and it holds massive amounts of data generated by professional and amateur players alike. Since its founding in 1997, the ECB has collected information…

How to migrate from Teradata to Google BigQuery

Google BigQuery is a serverless, highly scalable, low-cost enterprise data warehouse that helps data analysts become more productive. It enables extremely fast analytics on a petabyte scale. And its pay-as-you-go model makes it attractive for organizations looking to move away…

Join Pythian for Percona Live Europe 2019 Amsterdam

Percona Live is always a great opportunity to learn from the best and brightest in the open-source database community. This time, Percona Live Europe is being held at the Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, The Netherlands from September 30 to October…

Can you run Hadoop in the cloud?

As a solutions architect at Pythian, I often get questions from clients about the many solutions available to them to address their big data needs. Between Hadoop, cloud-based, and hybrid solutions, finding the best option for their unique needs can…

The top 8 things every database practitioner should know

I’ve been interviewing and mentoring candidates for technical database positions for almost ten years, and a common question from those who either don’t make it or feel they’re not ready yet to apply to the position they’re looking for is:…

Report: Data Warehouses Are Heading To The Cloud

Unisphere Research Report uncovers the trends that are driving analytics workloads to the cloud, including real-time analytics and machine learning.   Data strategies are now commonplace, machine learning adoption has doubled in a year, and data warehouses are still a go-to…

Pythian migrates company’s global assets to GCP without downtime

Many businesses migrate to the cloud to take advantage of cost savings and improved agility. Optiva, a Canada-based company that develops software for communications service providers, recently migrated to Google Cloud Platform (GCP) with help from Pythian’s team of experts. Since…

Making a business case for Machine Learning

The first step to kick off a Machine Learning (ML) project is to have a written proposition for the business problem, and second, to frame the ML problem. Before even discussing an ML method, it is necessary first to understand…

Comparing Data Science at an AI Startup and a Consulting Company

The difference between data science consultants and a data science team at a company depending on machine learning (ML) solutions is significant. In the first instance, the consultants need to have a good understanding of both the business and technology….

Datascape Podcast Episode 35 – Google Cloud Bigtable with Sandy Ghai

Today on the Datascape Podcast we are joined by Sandy Ghai, who is the Product Manager for Google Cloud Bigtable. Sandy is here to discuss her work and the ever-changing world of the cloud and why it is so exciting….

Low hanging fruit items that alleviate DataOps operational pressures

Data is hard. It has been always hard and it’s not getting easier.  We always have more of it, there are more sources to integrate, it changes all of the time, the quality is questionable and the business wants all…

Datascape Podcast Ep 34 – Recapping Microsoft Build 2019 with Warner Chaves

Today on the Datascape Podcast we are joined by Warner Chaves to discuss the most exciting announcements from the recent Microsoft Build 2019 Conference! We run through a host of different products and services with Warner, hand-picking the most most…

Australian Red Cross gains speed, stability, and savings by optimizing cloud platforms

When the Australian Red Cross, a leading humanitarian aid and community services charity and an auxiliary to the Australian government, realized that their data platform was no longer performing optimally for their critical applications, they turned to Pythian for help….

Hadoop to the cloud: Is it time to make the move?

When Hadoop was introduced, it promised a faster time to insight because of simpler modeling using cheaper hardware. But over time, organizations have been finding that Hadoop’s complexity and need for specialized skills are adding cost and headaches. Now instead…

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MariaDB Temporal Tables: Uncut & Uncensored (Part III)

(This is the third of a series of blog posts covering MariaDB Temporal Tables. The first and second in the series introduced the topic.)  “Who are you?” said the Caterpillar. This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice…

2019 Tech Geek Gift Giving Guide

It’s that time of year again!  Each year around the holidays, we offer gift ideas for the tech geek on your list — any data lover, IT pro, or fan of cool technology. And this year is no exception. The…

Mining GoldenGate Error Logs for Consumption Rates of Trail Files

After resolving Oracle GoldenGate issues, a question typically asked is, “When will the process catch up?” The usual method to find out is to use the lag command; however, I was more interested to see the rate of the trail…

Pythian Announces Support for AWS Outposts As A Launch Partner

Today at AWS re:Invent, Amazon Web Services (AWS)’s most important tech conference of the year, AWS Outposts was announced. As Amazon says in its release notes, “AWS Outposts is a natural extension of AWS cloud services towards on-premises and bringing…

MariaDB Temporal Tables: Uncut & Uncensored (Part II)

(This is the second of a series of blog posts covering MariaDB Temporal Tables. The first blog post can be found here.) There are really four dimensions, three which we call the three planes of Space, and a fourth, Time….

Mining Autoupgrade Results

We wanted to define a consistent process for upgrading databases using an autoupgrade method for single instance databases: Create directory for autoupgrade/log: $ORACLE_BASE/admin/$ORACLE_UNQNAME/autoupgrade/log, where $ORACLE_UNQNAME=db_unique_name Create upgrade.config as shown: $ORACLE_BASE/admin/$ORACLE_UNQNAME/${ORACLE_UNQNAME}_upgrade.config global.autoupg_log_dir=$ORACLE_BASE/admin/$ORACLE_UNQNAME/autoupgrade/log upg1.log_dir=$ORACLE_BASE/admin/$ORACLE_UNQNAME/autoupgrade/log upg1.dbname=$ORACLE_UNQNAME upg1.sid=$ORACLE_SID upg1.start_time=NOW upg1.source_home=/oracle/app/product/11.2/dbhome_1 upg1.target_home=/oracle/app/product/12.2/dbhome_1 upg1.upgrade_node=localhost upg1.target_version=12.2 upg1.timezone_upg=no…

MariaDB Temporal Tables: Uncut & Uncensored (Part I)

(This is the first of a series of blog posts covering MariaDB Temporal Tables.) “You must remember this, a kiss is still a kiss. A sigh is just a sigh; the fundamental things apply, as time goes by.” Sam (Dooley…

Live Kernel Updates Without Downtime in New RHEL 8.1, 7.7 and 7.6 Release

Most often companies scheduling downtime for patching of the Linux kernel in a production environment follow strict ITIL processes and make arrangements to be fail-safe in order to keep the production environment up and running. Patching is an important part…

Scaling ProxySQL rapidly in Kubernetes

It’s not uncommon these days for us to use a high availability stack for MySQL consisting of Orchestrator, Consul, and ProxySQL. You can read more details about this stack by reading Matthias Crauwels’ blog post How To Autoscale ProxySQL In…

Top 5 Extreme Programming (XP) Tools Every Team Should Use

What is XP? Extreme Programming, or commonly known as “XP”, is an Agile method with a primary focus on software development, specifically software development best practices. As you read this article, see if you can think of ways that the…

Datascape Podcast Episode 37 – Recapping Microsoft Ignite 2019 with Warner

If you don’t want to read through a 78-page PDF document but still want to know what went down at Microsoft Ignite 2019, then this episode is for you! Warner Chaves joins us for our third recap episode of the…

Do Not Mix Different Patch Types

I was preparing to apply a July 2019 path for a single instance database without ASM. Here are the available patch types for Oracle Database: PSU, SPU(CPU), Bundle Patches (Versions 12.1 & lower) via Doc ID 2118136.2 Review current patch…

Why you should not uninstall Database Vault from a CDB

Now that we are fully into database upgrades, here is an important item to be aware of: As you may know, the Database Vault (DV) option could be reported as not installed in source when converting non-CDB to PDB, and…

MySQL high availability with ProxySQL, Consul and Orchestrator

In this post, we will explore one approach to MySQL high availability with ProxySQL, Consul and Orchestrator. This is a follow up to my previous post about a similar architecture but using HAProxy instead. I’ve re-used some of the content…

How To Resolve Database Software Install To Incorrect Location

We were recently required to install database software to /u01/app/oracle/12.2/db1. However, when using GUI to install database, software was installed to /u01/app/oracle/12.2.0.1/db1 by mistake. This post will demonstrate an incorrect method to resolve the issue, and then the correct method….

How reliable is autoupgrade.jar analyze mode?

According to the Oracle documentation About Oracle Database AutoUpgrade, AutoUpgrade utility identifies issues before upgrades, deploys upgrades, performs postupgrade actions, and starts the upgraded Oracle Database. I am currently working on a project to upgrade a database from 11.2.0.4 to…

How to fix Error: OMSPatcher finds that previous patching session is not yet completed

When planning a patch for a client’s OMS, I found the following: OMSPatcher finds that previous patching session is not yet completed. Please refer log file “/u01/app/oracle/middleware/cfgtoollogs/omspatcher/28018178/omspatcher_2019-07-09_23-44-58PM_deploy.log” for the previous session and execute the script “/u01/app/oracle/middleware/.omspatcher_storage/oms_session/scripts_2019-07-09_23-44-39PM/run_script_singleoms_resume.sh” to complete the previous…

Cutting Costs And Building Sales By Migrating To Google Cloud Platform

If you’re running any kind of e-commerce enterprise, you already know that your business lives and dies by the speed of your page loads. Online shoppers are notoriously impatient, and every second of delay for the user increases the likelihood…

Custom fix required for txkCfgOC4JApp.pl when using latest JDK with Oracle E-Business Suite R12.1.3

A while back, we had a seasonal technology stack update for one of our client’s R12.1.3 Oracle E-Business Suite instance. One of the changes introduced was Oracle JDK 7 Update 241, which has a lot of known SSL/TLS protocol and…

Observations and Insights from TensorFlow World 2019

Google and O’Reilly came together to present TensorFlow World 2019. TensorFlow World is the first conference for the TensorFlow community. For those who are not familiar with it, TensorFlow is an intensive computing framework designed to build, train and serve…

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22 Ways to Make Remote Work, Work!

If I offered you a job that would allow you to live anywhere you wanted, where you could wake up and start work at any time, and never be stuck in traffic… would that check some of the boxes on…

Achieving rock-solid maintenance with template-based action plans

Pythian has always been serious about reducing human mistakes. Our consultants have always been required to log all terminal outputs for the work we execute so that the information is available to our clients, and to make sure the same…

A day in the life of a Red Cross volunteer

In addition to my day job working as a team manager at Pythian, I am fortunate to be part of a specialist Red Cross volunteer team called an Emergency Response Unit (ERU). There are many of these ERUs around the…

First time presenter, what a feeling!

It’s been a couple weeks now, and the dust has settled but not the sentiment. I am talking about my very first public presentation performed at Spain Oracle Users Group (SPOUG) during the Technical SPOUG Day 2018 on September 25th….

Mentorship can be a valuable tool for professional growth

Mentoring has been defined as a professional relationship between a mentor (more experienced) and a mentee (less experienced) to develop certain skills and knowledge that will enhance personal and professional growth. Mentors are usually assigned to junior members of a…

The life of a happy remote DBA

Life is a balancing act between the personal and professional. It is a journey and this journey should be filled with joy and happiness. It should also give you a chance to learn, to grow and to cherish moments, spending…

Technical training – good for business and career

Whether you are just starting out or have been working with technology and want to expand your skill set, training never hurts anyone. In some situations, your own company encourages it and wants to help you excel. You may be…

Pythian BORG: bringing on recruited gurus

When university graduation was rushing up on me and I hadn’t the first idea how I would start my career, my parents gave me the best advice I’ve ever received: Find meaningful work that you’re passionate about and collaborate with…

The life of a Pythian road warrior

I’m sitting here on March 16th, the day before Saint Patties day and I am thinking about what I will need for my trip to Salt Lake City next week. I work for Pythian in the Principal Consulting Group. We are…

The value of lifelong learning

When I was asked to write a blog post about two conferences I attended this year, I had to sit down and think. Think about how learning is such an essential aspect of my life, both personally and a professionally….

A Team Manager’s perspective on success at Pythian

To all managers out there, especially in the IT sector, to be truly successful you don’t need to be the most technical savvy person on your team.

Diversity: pursuing your dreams

Seven months ago, I was fortunate to start a new career journey with Pythian. At first I found working in IT intimidating as I was working with such a wide variety of technical subject matter experts on a daily basis,…

Kickstart your career

Working at Pythian has probably been one of the best decisions I could have made towards developing my technical skills as well as growing my skills as a person. When I first got the interview, I knew nothing of the…

From co-op to full time!

My experience with Pythian was like a co-op fairy tale. As a 4th-year student entering my last co-op term, I was looking for something more than just a regular administrative job. I was seeking a role in which I could…

The Pythian community gives back: movember and the holiday food drive

They say you can’t create an org culture, you can only guide it. As a growing IT services company with 400+ employees spread across 35+ countries, one of our biggest opportunities is not technological but cultural. An inherent challenge we…

My internship experience at Pythian

I remember nervously walking out of one of King’s Cross St Pancras Station’s numerous exits searching for the 7 Stanley Building. I wandered through the morning rush in the heart of London, and I was overwhelmed, out of place and…

Pythian at All Things Open 2017

All Things Open 2017 is coming up fast, and Pythian is proud to be supporting one of the largest open source-focused conferences in the US! All Things Open is a conference in Raleigh, North Carolina on October 23-24, 2017. ATO…

Has “Google-ing it” gotten better over time?

Just Thinking… Have you noticed the subtle shift in how we search for information on the Internet…? In the past when I wanted to find something, I would start a web browser (before Tabs came along) and go to www.google.co.nz….

How to hold a great team meeting with remote employees

I want to talk about something that I initially did very poorly when I first became a remote manager in hopes you can learn from my mistakes – Team Meetings. When I started having my first team meetings as a…

My co-op experience at Pythian

I returned to Pythian for my co-op term this past winter (it’s worth mentioning that previous to this, I had already completed two four month terms as a Software Development Intern at the company). The fact that I came back…

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