Don’t sweat the small stuff, they say. That’s good advice. Much of the time. But with SQL Server, the small stuff is worth sweating. In fact, the small stuff can be big. Letting the small stuff go In life, the small stuff can weigh you down. Worrying about things that don’t really matter can strip…
Read more
You’ve probably heard of running SQL Server in a Docker container. The technology has been around for some years now. However it’s still unexplored territory for many. A SQL Server Docker container image is a lightweight and standalone package that includes everything needed to run SQL Server. It’s often used in DevOps as part of…
Read more
How many tempdb data files should a SQL Server have? And where should they live? What about their growth settings? Should it be by percent? Or, should they grow by a certain size each time? Are there other tempdb configuration settings I should be concerned with? In short: how should I configure my SQL Server…
Read more
Have you seen the job boards recently? Hiring an experienced full-time DBA is expensive. And many companies simply cannot justify that kind of spend for a full time DBA, especially if they have fewer than a couple of dozen instances of SQL Servers in production. The result? Many companies are working without a SQL Server…
Read more
Hardening and protecting your SQL Server environment is not a one-and-done task. It’s a continuous process. Things change. New Applications are added. Logins come and go. Servers are migrated. In such a dynamic environment, auditing data access in your SQL Server environment is critical. If you are responsible for SQL Servers, you likely ask: Who…
Read more
You’re cleaning up some old usernames in a database. The users are no longer needed so you want to drop them and maybe even the server login. You issue the standard DROP USER username; command in the query editor and it immediately comes back with Msg 15138, Level 16, State 1, Line 1 The database…
Read more
Phishing attacks account for more than 80% of all security incidents according to this CSO article Top cybersecurity facts, figures and statistics. And the resulting data breaches cost an average of $3.92 million. With security incidents and data breaches making the news daily, it’s important to secure your networks, including your SQL Servers. That’s not…
Read more
One of the first things we look at when doing a SQL Server Assessment (Health Check) is the SQL Server version and patch level. We don’t stop there, of course. We check a ton of other things that can affect the SQL Server’s performance, its security, and its reliability. But we start with the version…
Read more
If your company uses SQL Server Reporting Services as part of it reporting infrastructure, you’ve probably been asked “What SSRS reports does this user subscribe to?” Often that’s due to a job or role change in the company. Sally is leaving the department and Jonathan is taking over her responsibilities. All of Sally’s reports now…
Read more
SQL Server. Many business depend on it. But how can you tell if your SQL Server is healthy? It’s not always obvious. SQL Server can be pretty forgiving in many ways, until it’s not. And that can put your performance and even your data at risk. The right configuration settings are critical. Unfortunately, it’s easy…
Read more
Recent Comments