“Why is my SQL Server slow?” Have you ever asked that question? Have your users? Unfortunately, that’s a commonly asked question. Fortunately, though, something can usually be done about it. Here are fourteen reasons a SQL Server instance could be underperforming. I’ve divided them into four broad categories. Slowness due to resource constraints Often the…
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As the business world becomes more and more data-centric, what questions does your growing company need to ask about its data storage? Recently, we began a series of posts on data strategy by asking whether your company data is an asset or a utility. In this post, we will look at 10 key data storage…
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SQL Server is good. You install it, give it some databases to manage, and let it do it’s thing. When queries come in, it figures out how to resolve them. If it needs some statistics, it creates them. If the database is running out of space, it’ll grow the data file for you. Automatically. And…
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How do you justify investment in IT? That’s a commonly asked question for companies whose core business area is not technology. For many, it is a challenge to justify investment in technology. The primary purpose of IT, as some companies see it, is enabling the operation of the business. It’s not driving revenue. Every business,…
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Microsoft SQL Server is popular. Statistics vary as to just how popular, but most agree that it is one of the most popular database platforms in the world. And for good reason. It’s feature rich, very reliable, highly scalable, and can be made extremely secure. All good things. According to a 2022 survey conducted by…
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If you’ve worked with SQL Server for very long, you’re probably familiar with the concept of indexes. Indexes can help speed up queries by allowing SQL Server to quickly locate specific data values within a table. Indexes are typically much smaller than their underlying tables so they can be searched much more efficiently. (They aren’t…
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Coach John Wooden is a legend. He led his beloved UCLA Bruins to ten NCAA National Championships in twelve years. That is an unparalleled accomplishment in any sport, in any endeavor really. So, I began wondering: what if Coach Wooden led a team of DBAs? What would he do? How Coach Wooden’s approach applies to…
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“If three people are responsible for feeding the dog, the dog is going to starve. You must have clear areas of responsibility.” In his book Risk, retired United States Army General Stanley McChrystal shared this quote. It’s from a mentor he had as a young officer. And It helped shape his career. As a family…
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I was on my morning walk recently when I noticed this laying on the walking path. Some call it a binky. Others a pacifier or fooler. Whatever you call it, it’s an essential piece of equipment for some infants. Without it, their world falls apart. And the calamity is contagious. They, and everyone around them,…
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In today’s world, we are constantly bombarded with a never-ending stream of urgent tasks and deadlines. It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind and lose sight of the big picture. This is where inertia comes into play. And inertia can put your SQL Servers at risk. How urgency creates inertia Inertia is…
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