Jayanth Katta | Technology, Life, Health & Learning

Introduction Backups are one of those things we rarely think about—until the moment we need them the most. In a recent scenario, I had to design a solution to move and retain large SQL Server backups (around 2TB) from on-premises to Azure for a short duration. What initially seemed simple quickly evolved into a design problem involving cost, performance, automation, and reliability . This post walks through the thinking, decisions, and lessons learned. The Problem Multiple SQL Server databases One large database (~2TB) Daily backups required for 2 weeks Fast restore capability needed Cost-sensitive solution This wasn’t just backup—it was controlled, intentional data movement . The Questions That Matter This is where the real engineering begins: Do we need Hot, Cool, or Archive storage? What if restore is needed immediately? Should we copy .bak files or backup directly? How do we automate safely? What happens if authentication expires? How do we handle large databases efficiently? Thes...

  Why do I have adult conversations with Ameya? Why do I tell her how my day went, honestly, not filtered? Why do I share when I felt bad because someone at work wasn’t kind to me? And the bigger question, how would an 18-month-old even understand any of this? Maybe she doesn’t. Not today. But I believe children are always listening. Not just to words, but to tone, to emotion, to how we carry ourselves after life nudges us the wrong way. When I speak to her, I’m not trying to be understood in the moment. I’m trying to build something deeper, an environment where honesty is normal, emotions are not hidden, and recovery is more important than reaction. I want her to see that it’s okay to feel hurt, but also important to let go. That not every bad moment deserves a permanent place in your mind. One day, years from now, maybe she’ll come home from school and say something like, “Dad, my friend was rude to me today. It didn’t feel good, but it’s okay. It’s not important. You are...

  Change is hard… but it is possible. I say that not as motivation, but as experience. I’ve struggled to change my food habits. I’ve tried to stay consistent with exercise. I’ve pushed myself to think differently, to become better. Every time I start, there’s energy. Motivation shows up, strong and convincing. For a few days, sometimes weeks, I feel like I’ve finally figured it out. And then… it fades. Not suddenly. Not dramatically. Just slowly enough that I don’t notice until I’m back in the same loop I promised I’d escape. I used to think something was wrong with me. But maybe it’s not that simple. Maybe it’s the constant comparison. Maybe it’s the invisible competition with people I don’t even know. Maybe it’s impatience — wanting results before the process has had time to work. Or maybe it’s stress… the kind that doesn’t announce itself, but quietly drains discipline. So I started asking myself different questions. What if I stopped comparing myself to others? What if I on...

  When I was growing up, money was always spoken about with one main instruction. Save. Save what you can. Don’t waste money. Keep something aside for the future. Those lessons were sincere and practical. They helped families stay safe during uncertain times. Saving money was seen as responsibility and discipline. But as I grew older, I slowly realized something important. While we were taught how to save money , very few of us were taught how to invest money . Saving protects what you have. Investing grows what you have. That difference changes everything over a lifetime. Learning Later in Life Like many people, I entered adulthood focused mostly on earning and saving. Work hard, earn a paycheck, and keep a portion aside. That was the pattern. Only later did I start learning about investing, compounding, and ownership. I began to understand that money, when invested wisely and given enough time, has the ability to grow quietly in the background. It does not happen overnight. It...

When people talk about giving their children a good life, they often talk about education, money, or opportunities. Those things matter. But the older I get, the more I realize there is something even more important. Health. I want my child to grow up without the quiet worry of wondering what might happen to her parents. I don’t want her to carry that burden while she is trying to build her own life. The truth is, our children watch us more than they listen to us. They see how we live. They see the choices we make every day. If I wake up early to move my body, if I choose real food over convenience, if I take care of my mind and my energy, I am not just doing it for myself. I am doing it so that one day my child can look at me and feel peace. Peace knowing that her parents took care of themselves. Peace knowing that she doesn’t have to pause her life to worry about ours. I want to be present for the long road ahead. To walk beside her through different stages of life. To see wh...

Investing, for me, is not about excitement. It is about patience. For many years I watched the markets the way most people do. Numbers moving, headlines shouting, predictions everywhere. It all felt noisy. Over time I realized that real wealth is not built in moments of excitement. It grows quietly through discipline and consistency. My interest in stocks and ETFs comes from a simple belief. The world continues to innovate, companies continue to grow, and patient investors benefit from that growth if they are willing to wait. I do not try to predict short-term market movements. I focus on learning, investing regularly, and thinking in decades rather than days. I am especially drawn to long-term investing because it mirrors many other parts of life. Health improves through small daily habits. Knowledge grows through years of curiosity. Wealth grows through time and compounding. None of these things happen overnight. This section of the website is simply a place where I document my j...