Brian Swan
Insights on HDInsight
Analyzing Windows Azure Storage Logs
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post that described how to maximize throughput between HDInsight clusters...
Date: 01/30/2014
Accessing Hadoop Logs in HDInsight
One of the questions the HDInsight team sees a lot is a variation of the question “How do I...
Date: 01/06/2014
Maximizing HDInsight throughput to Azure Blob Storage
The HDInsight service supports both HDFS and Windows Azure Storage (BLOB Service) for storing data....
Date: 11/25/2013
Insights on HDInsight
I think it’s about time I dust off this blog and realign it with my current focus: HDInsight....
Date: 11/25/2013
Azure Real World: Managing and Monitoring Drupal Sites on Windows Azure
A few weeks ago, I co-authored an article (with my colleague Rama Ramani) about how the Screen...
Date: 04/17/2012
Reflecting on DrupalCon Denver
I saw a Tweet on Monday that nicely summed up the start to my week:The only thing worse than a...
Date: 03/28/2012
Deploying Drupal at Scale on Microsoft Platform
I find that every conference I attend is a humbling experience. There are just so many knowledgeable...
Date: 03/20/2012
Azure Real World: Migrating a Drupal Site from LAMP to Windows Azure
Last month, the Interoperability team at Microsoft highlighted work done to move the Screen Actors...
Date: 03/19/2012
What is Microsoft Doing at DrupalCon Denver?
Microsoft will be at DrupalCon Denver next week, and I have the good fortune of being one of the...
Date: 03/14/2012
What SQL Server 2012 Means for PHP Developers
Last week, Microsoft held a virtual conference to announce the availability of SQL Server 2012. The...
Date: 03/12/2012
Joomla! 2.5 Adds SQL Server Support!
This is a short post to shareexciting news: Jooma! 2.5, which shipped earlier this week, now has...
Date: 01/26/2012
The SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux is Available!
The first beta release of the SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux is available for download! As...
Date: 11/28/2011
Microsoft Announces SQL Server ODBC Driver for Linux!
In this morning’s keynote address at the Professional Association of SQL Server (PASS) Summit...
Date: 10/13/2011
Why is PHP 5.3 on Windows faster than previous PHP versions?
Last week I had the good fortune of hearing Rasmus Lerdorf speak at the Seattle PHP Meetup. His...
Date: 10/12/2011
Version 3.0 (beta) of the SQL Server Drivers for PHP Released!
A Community Technology Preview (a beta release) of v3.0 of the SQL Server Drivers for PHP was...
Date: 09/22/2011
Starting a New Blog: Windows Azure’s Silver Lining
If you are a regular reader of my blog, you have probably noticed I haven’t been publishing...
Date: 08/23/2011
Consuming SQL Server Result Sets as XML with PHP
At last month’s SQL Server JumpIn! Camp, one of the SQL Server features that generated some...
Date: 07/26/2011
This Week’s Link List (July 15, 2011)
I came across lots of good links this week, but I have to say that I’m most excited about the...
Date: 07/15/2011
PHP Driver for SQL Server – Request for Feature Feedback
Jonathan Guerin, the Program Manager for the SQL Server Driver for PHP, just posted a request for...
Date: 07/14/2011
SQL Server Migration Assistant 5.1 Supports SQL Server v-Next
On the heels of today’s announcement at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference of the...
Date: 07/12/2011
Performance Tuning PHP Apps on Windows with Wincache
A few weeks ago I wrote a post that showed how to improve the performance of PHP applications on...
Date: 07/08/2011
This Week’s Link List (July 1, 2011)
I wish I could attribute my recent lapse in reading to enjoying more time outside in a beautiful,...
Date: 07/01/2011
SQL Server JumpIn! Camp Wrap Up
As I arrived yesterday for day 4 (the last day) of the SQL Server JumpIn! Camp, one participant said...
Date: 06/24/2011
Interview with Ben Waine, 2011 PHP on Azure Contest Winner
I recently had a chance to catch up via e-mail with Ben Waine, winner of the 2011 PHP on Azure...
Date: 06/17/2011
Looking Forward to Next Week’s SQL Server JumpIn! Camp
Next week, Microsoft will host its second SQL Server JumpIn! Camp, and I’m very excited to be...
Date: 06/15/2011
Performance Tuning PHP Apps on Windows/IIS with Output Caching
In this article, I’ll show you how to improve the performance of PHP applications on...
Date: 06/08/2011
This Week’s Link List (June 3, 2011)
For me, the highlight in this week’s list are the first two. Both the SQLSRV and PDO_SQLSRV...
Date: 06/03/2011
This Week’s Link List (May 27, 2011)
Based on my reading list this week, you can infer that I was either very busy with other work or...
Date: 05/27/2011
New Version of Windows Azure SDK for PHP (v 3.0) Available
June 7, 2012 update: The Microsoft Windows Azure team has released a new Windows Azure SDK for PHP....
Date: 05/26/2011
Consuming OData via JSP in Windows Azure
A colleague recently asked me if I knew anything about consuming OData from a Java deployment in...
Date: 05/24/2011
This Week’s Link List (May 20, 2011)
Working on posts for next week didn’t prevent me from doing my weekly reading. Lot’s of...
Date: 05/20/2011
This Week’s Link List (May 13th, 2011)
I happen to think that Friday the 13th is a lucky day (note that I’m knocking on wood as I...
Date: 05/13/2011
Book Review: Easy PHP Websites with the Zend Framework
Several weeks ago (more than I’m willing to admit) Jason Gilmore asked approached me on...
Date: 05/12/2011
Using PDO::quote with Parameterized Queries
I spent some time last week investigating a puzzling issue raised in the SQL Server Driver for PHP...
Date: 05/10/2011
This Week’s Link List (April 29, 2011)
I’m partial to writing, so one of the highlights in this week’s list is the podcast...
Date: 04/29/2011
Sorting Azure Table Entities by Timestamp with PHP
This is a short post that describes one way to sort Windows Azure Table entities by timestamp when...
Date: 04/26/2011
This Week’s Link List (April 22, 2011)
There was a lot of good content this week. Highlights for me included the release of the Windows...
Date: 04/22/2011
How to Use the Storage Emulator with the Windows Azure SDK for PHP
June 7, 2012 update: The Microsoft Windows Azure team has released a new Windows Azure SDK for PHP....
Date: 04/19/2011
This Week’s Link List (April 15th, 2011)
Lot’s of news coming out of MIX11 in Las Vegas this week, some interesting discussion of the...
Date: 04/15/2011
Updating PHP Settings in Windows Azure
I came across this question on Twitter last week: “How can I turn display_errors on for an...
Date: 04/11/2011
This Week’s Link List (April 8, 2011)
Once again, lots going on this week. I found the two articles about Zitec deploying their PHP social...
Date: 04/08/2011
Interview with Mark Brown, Senior Product Manager for Microsoft Web Platform
I recently had a chance to catch up with the very busy Mark Brown, Senior Product Manager for the...
Date: 04/05/2011
This Week’s Link List (April 1, 2011)
I missed posting my weekly reading last week, so this week’s list is longer than usual....
Date: 04/01/2011
Java Access to SQL Azure via the JDBC Driver for SQL Server
I’ve written a couple of posts (here and here) about Java and the JDBC Driver for SQL Server...
Date: 03/29/2011
This Week’s Link List (March 18, 2011)
A shorter than usual list this week as I didn’t have as much time to read, but the quantity is...
Date: 03/18/2011
Windows Azure Command Line Tools for PHP and web.config Files
Last week, Ben Waine blogged about a problem he ran into when using the Windows Azure Command Line...
Date: 03/17/2011
Architecture of the Microsoft JDBC Driver for SQL Server
I recently began investigating the Microsoft JDBC Driver for SQL Server (see my Getting Started with...
Date: 03/15/2011
This Week’s Link List (March 11, 2011)
As evidenced by the number of “Just for Fun” links, this wasn’t my most productive...
Date: 03/11/2011
Interview with Julian Egelstaff, Technical Architect at Freeform Solutions
I recently had a chance to catch up with Julian Egelstaff, Technical Architect at Freeform...
Date: 03/10/2011
SQL Server Driver for PHP Connection Options: Encrypt
This short post adds to my series on connection options in the SQL Server Driver for PHP. I’ll...
Date: 03/08/2011