The Southwest Missouri SQL Server Users Group (SWMOSSUG) is dedicated to providing SQL Server Education and Career Guidance for IT professionals. While the group focuses on DBAs, T-SQL Developers, and BI Professionals, anyone who works with SQL Server is invited to attend. Membership is free.

SWMOSSUG is a chapter of… Read more

I have been told by hundreds of DBAs that I have the best DBA job in the world as Director of DBA Education for Red Gate Software. And this has been very true. In the five plus years I have been with Red Gate I have traveled over 500,000… Read more

I think all of us have had poor, good, and great managers at one time or another in our career. So this month’s question is “If you could pick your manager, what ideal qualities would he or she have?” Not only tell us what you think a manager’s ideal qualities… Read more

Reprinted from my editorial in the Simple-Talk Newsletter.

It’s hard to believe, but it was five years ago that Red Gate Software started sponsoring the Exceptional DBA of the Year Awards. The award, which was inspired by my book: How to Become an Exceptional DBA, has uncovered a number… Read more

When I was a novice DBA, I spent little time documenting my SQL Servers. But as I became more experienced, I realized the importance of having complete, up-to-date documentation for all of the SQL Servers I manage.

Some of the benefits of documentation include: 1) It is easier and quicker… Read more

Dynamic Management Objects (DMVs and DMFs) are some of the most useful tools for the DBA. So this month’s question is “Which DMV(s) do you most often use when managing your SQL Server instances, and why?” While the question uses the more generic DMV terminology, go ahead and tell us… Read more

If you haven’t heard yet, Red Gate Software is sponsoring a six city tour of the United States of its SQL in the City conference. This one day free conference will be held at the following cities.

• New York, NY: Friday, September 28, 2012
• Austin, TX: Monday,…

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Reprinted from my Database Weekly editorial.

Forget what you thought you knew about SQL Server certification, as Microsoft has completely redesigned the SQL Server 2012 certification program, making is more difficult, costly, and time-consuming to attain. In addition, whether you like it or not, not only will you… Read more

As we have done for the last several years, SQLServerCentral.com will be offering its own track at SQL Server Connections (a part of the greater DevConnections event) in Las Vegas, NV, October 29 – November 1, 2012, at the Bellagio Hotel. This is in addition to the SQL Server tracks… Read more

I was just at SQLRally in Dallas, and I was speaking to a DBA friend of mine over lunch. He made the comment that his manager thought he spent too much time at work taking care of the organization’s data. He told me that he spent so much time at… Read more

In the April 2012 Question of the Month, I asked readers to tell me their favorite DBA books. I have compiled the results, and below are the most popular books my blog’s readers picked. If you are looking for a good SQL Server book to learn from, then you might… Read more

Now that SQL Server 2012 has been released, this month’s question is “How soon will you begin implementing SQL Server 2012?” If you have done so already, share with us your experience. If you will be waiting to implement 2012, tell us why.

Post your responses to the SQL Server… Read more

This is a reprint from my editorial in Database Weekly. Also, check out the May Question of the Month, as it is also directly related to this topic.

Often when I speak at user groups and conferences, I ask attendees what versions of SQL Server they are running. As… Read more

Red Gate Software and SQLServerCentral.com will be one of the sponsors for the upcoming SQL Server 2012 & SharePoint Connections to be held in Kongresshaus Berchtesgaden, Germany, May 8-9, 2012.

The SQL Server 2012 and SharePoint Connections conference agenda brings  together more than 40 top-ranking experts from Microsoft, along with… Read more

Over and over again, I get asked which DBA books I recommend. With this in mind, this month’s qustion is “What’s your favorite DBA book, and why?” Share with us your favorite book titles, authors, and why you like them. You can list more than one favorite book if you… Read more

Red Gate Software has announced “SQL in the City: London,” to be held on Friday, July 13, 2012, at the One Wimpole Street Conference Center, London England. This one day, free event includes five different sessions in each of three different tracks:  Database Administration Track, Developer Track, and the Red… Read more

There is one thing every DBA knows with certainty, and that is that databases grow with time. MDFs grow, backups grow, and it never stops. The more data we have, the more work SQL Server has to perform in order to deal with it all; whether it’s executing a query… Read more

Tuning poorly performing queries is one of the most important jobs of the DBA. With this in mind, this month’s qustion is “What tool(s) do you use to help you identify and tune slow performing queries?” This can include tools that come with SQL Server, your own custom-written scripts, or… Read more

If you are attending the PASS SQLRally this May in Dallas, I will be presenting a one day preconference session called “How to Perform a SQL Server Health Check”. Here’s the abstract for the session:

Are all the SQL Server instances you manage healthy, running optimally, and providing the high…

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I was very surprised to see the results of my latest poll, which asked “When was the last time you tuned your transaction logs?”

According to those DBAs who responded to the poll, about 60% of them said they didn’t know transaction logs could be tuned. And just over 19%… Read more