“I bought some instant water one time but I didn’t know what to add to it.” – Steven Wright, comedian. I’ve always like Steven Wright‘s dry sense of humor and comedic timing. He’s got a lot of other great quotes similar to this one. Ok. But how does this relate to SQL Server? What’s really…
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Users are complaining. One of your SQL Servers is not just slow, but slooooooooooooooooowwwwwww. A 6-syllable slow. We’ve all been there. We’ve all had SQL Servers that are underperforming. But where do you start with performance tuning? Let’s look to a proven approach for decision-making and troubleshooting as our guide – the OODA Loop. The…
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“My SQL Server hasn’t had any problems. It just works. Do I still need a SQL Server Health Check?” The TL;DR answer is yes, it’s good to check on your SQL Server regularly. SQL Server just works, but… The SQL Server development team has done a great job. They’ve created a database platform that is…
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Let’s have a look at implicit type conversions and how they can affect SQL Server’s performance. What are type conversions? Let’s start with the basics. What are data type conversions? (If you’re well-versed in this, feel free to skip ahead a bit.) SQL Server works with different types of data. It works with numbers, character…
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There’s a lot of hype surrounding the next version of SQL Server. And for good reason. SQL Server 2022 is packed with some long awaited niceties, improvements, and enhancements. Here are a few of the SQL Server 2022’s new features we are excited about. Contained Availability Groups Enhancements to Availability Groups and Distributed Availability Groups…
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What do rainy days, backpacking, and SQL Server Disaster Recovery have in common? Over the past several years I’ve been section hiking the Appalachian Trail. For my first trip, I started at the southern terminus, Springer Mountain, Georgia, and hiked northbound for 137 miles to Nantahala, North Carolina. It took just over a week. Each…
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When we examine SQL Servers as part of our SEROShield SQL Server Health Check, we find five commonly overlooked SQL Server settings that can put performance, reliability, and even data at risk. Why are SQL Servers often misconfigured? SQL Server is robust. Microsoft has put a lot of effort into creating a database platform that…
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The moon over my morning walk today. It was bright and beautiful. And under its glow, I realized that my morning walks have become an important routine for me. They are important for my physical and emotional health. They help start the day off on the right foot, so to speak. Similarly, routines are instrumental…
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I sliced into an avocado while making lunch recently. The size of the seed compared to the fruit was shocking! It was huge. There was only a thin layer of fruit surrounding a large, bulbous seed. Interestingly, some avocados are just the opposite – the seed is tiny compared to the amount of fruit inside.…
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So, there you are cleaning up files to make additional space and you find a file named “db.bak.” It’s a SQL Server backup file, that much is clear. But what’s in it? When was it created? Is it important? Or can it go? Why can’t people name backup files so that they describe what’s in…
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