THWACK Monthly Mission – November 2024

In this monthly mission, go ahead and flex on ‘em; we won’t stop you. Show off your ultimate DBA skills or use this time to learn how to impress with your new database observability knowledge. If you manage to stun with a month of shiny green check marks, you could win an Apple iPad (10th Generation)! While we know THWACKsters have many skills, your DBAbilities will have you stunning like a pro after this month.

NOVEMBER MISSION

Use the mission’s resources to complete the tasks and answer the questions for a chance to win!

Answer each question correctly during the week and you'll be entered for a chance to win the weekly prize.

Answer all 20 questions correctly over the course of the month and you'll be entered for a chance to win the grand prize.

150 points are being awarded for each correctly answered question. There are 20 questions, which means you can earn a maximum of 3,000 points for this mission.

Weekly Prize:

Week 1: Amazon Echo Spot
Week 2: COURANT MAG: 3
Week 3: Nespresso Vertuo Pop+
Week 4: Polaroid Now+ (2nd Generation)
Grand Prize: Apple iPad (10th Generation)

PLEASE NOTE: All mission prizes will be drawn on Monday, December 2, 2024. We must issue the prizes as they’re described, there are no substitutions.

MISSION SHORTCUT

Complete the steps below between Monday, November 4, 2024, and Sunday, December 1, 2024, to be entered to win a Beats Pill (2024 Release)!

Shortcut steps:

1.Log into: https://database.demo.solarwinds.com/iwc/login.iwc
2.Expand the MSSQLServer group and click on DPASQL2K17.
3.Locate SQL query ID 5191936729 and open its query details page.
4.Take a screenshot of the "Top Waits for SQL" graph and share it.

SUBMIT RESPONSE

MISSION RULES

A new question will open every day (Monday - Friday) starting on November 4, 2024. Once a question has opened, it will remain open until December 1, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. CT.

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Mission Terms & Conditions: US, UK, and Canada | Germany

Mission Shortcut Terms & Conditions: US, UK, and Canada | Germany

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Monthly Mission

November 2024 Mission

Comments

BaldFeegle

I selected:

CPU usage
Memory consumption
Storage I/O

but got a message telling me I got the answer wrong because coffee breaks don't need to be monitored. I'm pretty sure that I got the question right because 1, 2, & 3 are the only metrics. Coffee breaks aren't a metric and Real-time and historical insights are delivered by the metrics but aren't metrics themselves.

ecklerwr1

Hopefully this month I won't blow the last question lol!

merrelle

you forgot the last item

smttysmth02gt

I got today's answer correct but no points were added.

BaldFeegle

I don't get it.

donaar

I did not select coffee but says I did. Huh!

hetadlock

Same as others. Answered correctly. Did not select coffee.

danielv

You are overthinking it. Usually with these you just need to select what's written on the hint page verbatim. Even if that item isn't specifically a 'metric' by those in the know.

Ayohliveearrow

Yeah, I suspect a few of us a tad too literal in our definition of "metrics", which led us to choose poorly for today's answer.

fakeusername

How many coffee breaks the database admin takes per day - This could lead to an IPee issue.

Gazbert

What the hell? I didn't select coffee as an answer but got this message @kpina

Week 1: Day 1

Not quite! While coffee breaks are crucial for keeping your DBA sane, they don’t tell much about database performance.

smttysmth02gt

Received points for today's question, but still missing points for yesterday's question. @kpina

minfante1

Me too, no points for correct answer for yesterday but got points for today's.

kpina

thanks for the heads up @smttysmth02gt , I'll look into this!

kpina

It's also possible you missed another one of the correct options and didn't select ALL that applied.

kpina

It's also possible you missed another one of the correct options and didn't select ALL that applied.

kpina

It's also possible you missed another one of the correct options and didn't select ALL that applied.

hetadlock

Meh.

govitallen

I want to be like Kim

bobbylama

today's question, to A or not to A....

maliron

Not to mention excessive logging.

routermonkey

"Real-time and historical insights" is not a metric.

ecklerwr1

Let's hope this month is better than last month... I got burned on like the last question last month!

surnaihai899

@kpina missing points from last month's survey

aanthonisse

You want to have one tool to monitor cloud and on-premises databases, with alert thresholds customized to database specific situations.

donrobert5

No November 2024 THWACK Mission Participant?

Walshy

Hey @surnaihai899 , I've just sent you a PM to look into this

jgun1969

I selected Real Time and Historical insights and it told me that I selected coffee breaks. The code for the question interface needs some work.

kpina

If it was a select all that apply question, it's likely that one of the answer options was missing.

ImNishat

I think day-6 answer is not correct

raymondo

I don't know which answers you gave but I see no issues with it

stuartd

Loving the incorrect responses to today's [Day 7 / Nov 12th] question. Gave me a smile, diolch.

jeremymayfield

For Day 7 although Meditation was so tempting as was encouring to work harder, I did in the end get the answer correct. Whew, it was a tough decision though.

gmarlowe

Gotta say, I'm really enjoying the tone of this month's questions. Just a smattering of snark, a hint of humor, and three cups of coverage.

gmarlowe

IPee4 vs IPee6 is *always* an issue...

-_-

Week 2: Day 8:

One of the answers seems correct, but it is not mentioned in the article (ONLY use the hint link for this question)

michael.kent

I want to challenge the answers to today's question. Checking Login history was one of the first things I would always do. The database was usually slow as "Bob" was running one of his crazy queries again.

chippershredder

Week 2: Day 7

surnaihai899

@kpina Week 2: Day 8 , I ticked A,B,C, It shows i answered the question wrong, How is this wrong, This is a wacky response. After submitting it gave me response saying "color scheme of the DBMI isn't quite something that could cause a bottleneck.

jeremymayfield

Although the response is not right for your choice, you answered incorrectly. In this case you chose 1 too many. Not two, or three, not zero, but 1. the Third of the three makes 1, of the one, the third of the three.

jeremymayfield

Remember it's based on the article hint, not what we might do as a DBA or admin. We must unlearn what you have learned....

surnaihai899

I am trying to process your response at 1 AM IST

-_-

Ah, the legend of our average Thwack User—let’s get it straight this time, a tale of confidence and a dash of beautiful chaos, where three options, not two, became the stars of an overzealous answer adventure.

Our ever-mysterious Thwack User stepped up to the multiple-choice question like a champion facing their destiny, brimming with unshakeable self-assurance. Preparation? Sure, that might be recommended for some, but this Thwack User preferred to navigate life by the gleam of instinct and a belief in their own nearly mystical powers of deduction.

Before them lay the question, innocent but brimming with hidden complexity, with four answers arrayed in what appeared to be a friendly lineup. And right above those choices was the oft-overlooked hint link. Ah, yes, a benevolent source of guidance that could have revealed all. But did they consult it? Of course not. The hint remained unclicked, an artifact of their unwavering confidence. Who needs a hint when you already have all the right answers dancing in your head?

Our hero dove in. The first choice seemed undeniably promising. With a nod of approval, they clicked. The second choice? It shone even brighter, making perfect sense in that brilliantly deceptive way that wrong answers do when presented with enough panache. So, they selected that one too, feeling the glow of a well-made decision.

But then—ah, the seduction of the third choice! It called to them with a subtle allure, whispering that perhaps it too held a piece of the puzzle. Who were they to refuse such an invitation? One can’t help but admire the confidence that prompted them to click that third option. After all, why stop at two when you can expand your net of certainty? Three answers felt thorough, complete, a masterpiece of coverage.

And so, with three clicks locked in, our Thwack User waited for the moment of truth, expecting perhaps to bask in the glory of multiple-choice mastery. But alas, the results came back with a verdict both swift and merciless: only two answers were correct. Only two! Their ambitious three-pronged strategy had crashed headlong into the unyielding wall of quiz design.

Meanwhile, that forsaken hint link remained, glowing quietly, having never been called upon to assist. Was this Thwack User humbled? Perhaps. Did they learn the true value of the hint, or at least the virtue of a little restraint? Who knows? But in that moment, one thing was clear: they had made being wrong into something truly memorable. A bold misstep, a dramatic flair in the world of overthinking—and, in a way, a story worthy of retelling.

surnaihai899

Really??

Octane13

Wonders of ChatGPT

tobyw_loop1

Day 8 - user login history may help diagnose problems, surely...

jeremymayfield

Batting 1000 this month but this has been challenging. It makes me question my knowledge.

jenningsfj

For day 12, I feel like I'm looking at the wrong hint page. Anyone else struggling with this one?

ecklerwr1

The hint for day 12 seems a little thin? DPA doesn't use feature the SaaS tool uses we learned earlier this month. I'm trigger shy.

jwlccsi

After submitting today (Nov 19), I was marked Incorrect for selecting C & D. I selected neither.

minfante1

it could be that you didn't select ALL of the correct options.

ecklerwr1

Yeah I'm having trouble with it.

jenningsfj

I ended up just selecting the options that made sense to me and luckily got it right that way. Looking back at the hint knowing the correct answers, I still don't see them there.

yaquaholic

Nov 19 just told me that I incorrectly selected two options that I certainly did not select.

Could someone have a check please, I don't think it's right.

ecklerwr1

This was no where in the hint or the product yesterday "Reviewing execution plans regularly to spot query inefficiencies" I have the product.

jwlccsi

Won't argue that I might have been wrong, but not for the reason stated. The "Incorrect" message was very specific.

-_-

It's there, but worded different.