SQL Server Is Slow – Part 2 of 4(?)
The 10-Minute Outside-In Triage Don’t Blame SQL First It’s 9:05 AM and your helpdesk lights up: “The SQL Server is down. Nothing works.” By 9:07, everyone is staring at...
2025-09-24
24 reads
Kevin3NF
- Interests: Cycling, family, sci-fi, DBA stuff
SQL Server Failover Cluster Instances
Old Reliable Still Matters If you’ve been around SQL Server for a while, you’ve heard of Failover Cluster Instances (FCIs). They’ve been part of SQL’s high availability toolbox since...
2025-09-19 (first published: 2025-09-03)
210 reads
SQL Server Log Shipping: The Tried and True of DR
It’s not glamorous, but it works In a world where shiny new HA/DR features get all the press, there’s one SQL Server technology that just keeps doing its job....
2025-09-15 (first published: 2025-08-27)
217 reads
SQL Server Availability Groups
Flexibility and Scale at the Database Level When SQL Server 2012 introduced Availability Groups (AGs), they changed the HA/DR game. Unlike Failover Cluster Instances (FCIs), which protect the whole...
2025-09-10
23 reads
SQL Server I/O Bottlenecks: It’s Not Always the Disk’s Fault
“SQL Server is slow.” We’ve all heard it. But that doesn’t always mean SQL Server is the problem. And “slow” means nothing without context and ability to verify. More...
2025-08-27 (first published: 2025-08-06)
503 reads
SQL Server Backups: The Basics
If you’re responsible for a SQL Server instance, you need working, consistent backups. Not just a .bak file here and there, but a plan that runs automatically and covers...
2025-08-20
30 reads
SQL Server Maintenance Plans
If you’re a DBA, sysadmin, IT manager, or Accidental DBA, you’ve probably seen SQL Server’s built-in Maintenance Plans. They live right there in SSMS under the “Management” node, quietly...
2025-08-15 (first published: 2025-07-30)
426 reads
DBCC CHECKDB: Just Because It’s Quiet Doesn’t Mean It’s Safe
Corruption isn’t a “maybe someday” problem – what you need to do now. Stop. Don’t panic. You just ran DBCC CHECKDB for the first time in a while (or...
2025-08-13
23 reads
SQL Server Post-Install Configurations
The SQL Server installer has gotten better: tempdb configuration, MAXDOP, and even max memory can now be configured during setup. But don’t be fooled: there’s still a post-install checklist...
2025-07-23
69 reads
SQL Server Database Compatibility Levels
Why You Shouldn’t Overlook This Quiet but Critical SQL Server Setting If you’ve ever upgraded a SQL Server instance and something just broke in your application, chances are...
2025-07-16
455 reads
Blogs
The DIY Cost of Masking Test Data For Smaller Organizations
By Steve Jones
One of the things I’ve tried hard to do in database development situations if...
T-SQL Tuesday #196 – Two risky career decisions I made
By DataOnWheels
The T-SQL Tuesday topic this month comes James Serra. What career risks have you...
T-SQL Tuesday #192: What career risks have you taken?
This T-SQL Tuesday is hosted by the one and only James Serra – literally...
Forums
XACT_ABORT being set to ON by web services
We have two "identical" instances of an ASP.NET web service (or so I have...
OPENQUERY Flexibility
Comments posted to this topic are about the item OPENQUERY Flexibility
A Full Shutdown
Comments posted to this topic are about the item A Full Shutdown
Question of the Day
OPENQUERY Flexibility
Which of these are valid OPENQUERY() uses?
See possible answers