The Coen brothers are taking on their first tech-related film Fargo, based on the popular TV show of the same name (the movie will be released March 15). With it, they have managed to get many of us in the tech world excited to see it. But this excitement comes at a price: SQL Server admins everywhere are worried about what the movie might do to their database servers. SQL Server admins beware: The Coen brothers are coming for you
Why Microsoft is going after DBAs
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Microsoft has a long history of targeting the IT professionals who use its competitors’ products. In fact, with Windows 10, they’ve created an entire OS designed to force businesses to migrate from their preferred operating system. But now they’re going after DBAs in a new and frightening way. Their latest attack is Fargo, a movie and TV show streaming service that’s set in 1980s North Dakota and revolves around a series of murders that take place in small-town America.
Why Fargo Matters
The Fargo TV show and movie may be an entertaining story, but it’s also a reminder that SQL’s new in-memory OLTP engine is going to be a game changer. With this engine, SQL can now compete with Oracle and SAP HANA when it comes to speed and scalability. Fargo is still in preview mode (read the full story here) so we don’t know when Microsoft will release it.
Movie vs. Real Life – How They Compare
While the movie portrays the Fargo crime spree as a largely successful endeavor, in reality, it was anything but. The first robbery took place on December 13, 1987 and resulted in $32,000 of stolen cash from an Oldsmobile dealership. However, the criminals had to abandon their getaway car about two miles down the road after a collision with a police car. Their next stop was at Buck’s Auto, where they tried to steal cars but were unable to break into any of them.
Technical Difficulties – What Could Go Wrong?
Some of the worst things that could happen to a SQL Server admin would be ransomware, a data corruption attack, or an error in the code. But one of the most common ways SQL server administrators can get themselves into trouble is with a power outage. Even when we do everything right, it’s possible to lose power to our systems and not have any way of getting it back up again.

Data Corruption in Plain Text – What Could Go Worse?
As an SQL Server DBA, we always have to be ready for anything. But this week, a new threat emerged in the form of a new film by the Coen brothers called Fargo. Anyone who’s seen their work before knows that they specialize in dark humor and tragic endings. So what happens when they come after us? Well, it could go worse than data corruption in plain text.
Bots and Ghosts – Oh My!
The popular TV show, Fargo, a murder mystery set in Minnesota and loosely based on a true story, is back for its third season. This time around, the show’s producers have chosen to look at how the internet and computers have changed things since they first set up the show. In particular, they’re interested in the security of our computer systems and how easy it is to hack them. I like the way they portray these issues because it’s not too technical – anyone can understand what’s going on.
Worst Case Scenario
The Big Lebowski is a 1998 American comedy film written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. The story follows slacker Jeff The Dude Lebowski, played by Jeff Bridges, and his adventures with his friends Walter Sobchak, played by John Goodman, and Donny Kerabatsos, played by Steve Buscemi.