For the latest in our series of SQL Server Howlers, we asked Gail Shaw which common SQL Server mistakes and misunderstandings lead to tearful DBAs and plaintive cries for help on the forums.  Read more...

Phil Factor demonstrates how to generate T-SQL scripts for databases, selected database objects, or table contents from PowerShell and SMO.  Read more...

To kick off a series of DBA worst case scenarios, we asked Phil Factor to confess. He came up with a classic: The mistaken belief that a backup WITH CHECKSUM guaranteed a good backup that could be restored, and the ensuing disaster.  Read more...

Managing backups on a handful of servers should be a relatively straightforward process, but what about DBAs that need to automate to stay on top of large numbers of servers? What options are available, and how do they compare? Grant Fritchey looks at what's out there.  Read more...

Backups are an everyday part of DBA life, whereas restores tend to happen on call at 3 a.m. In this article, Grant Fritchey looks at what you should be doing to make your restores as quick and seamless as possible.  Read more...

The software industry is, just occasionally, more absurd than one would dare to imagine. Having spent most of his working life in its clutches, Phil Factor has pretty much "seen it all" and what's more he's prepared to tell what he knows. The second edition of Phil's "Confessions of an IT Manager" contains Phil's full repertoire of tales of institutional mayhem and software projects gone awry.  Read more...

As a developer, DBA or manager, you may not really want to know all about XML, replication or Reporting Services, but if your next project uses one or more of these technologies heavily then the best place to start is with the 'jungle roof' view of each topic that this Crib Sheet compendium provides.  Read more...