Your SQL Server Is Whispering…Are You Listening?
Early Warnings of a Meltdown (and How to Catch Them) Most SQL Server crashes don’t come out of nowhere. They leave breadcrumbs – red flags that something’s not right....
2025-05-07
82 reads
Kevin3NF
- Interests: Cycling, family, sci-fi, DBA stuff
SQL Server Budgets: How to Justify Cost to Management
Ever tried to request SQL Server funding from the CFO? Your systems, your data, your customer experience – they all rely on that “invisible” database engine humming along behind...
2025-05-01
37 reads
SQL Server Wait Stats
Everything in SQL Server is waiting for something…this is by design. And most people never think about it… Until your application is waiting to complete its request, sell the...
2025-04-30 (first published: 2025-04-16)
371 reads
The Cost of Not Having a DBA
Does skipping a DBA save money? Wait until your system grinds to a halt, your backups fail, or your cloud bill skyrockets. The “DBA? We Don’t Need No Stinkin’...
2025-04-14 (first published: 2025-04-02)
580 reads
Why Your SQL Server Backups Aren’t Enough
SQL Server backups are database insurance – you don’t really appreciate them until disaster strikes. But here’s the kicker: having backups doesn’t mean your data is safe. If you’re...
2025-04-09
136 reads
SQL Server Source Control on a $0 Budget
The Source Control Dilemma Every DBA has been there. Trying to keep track of database schema changes while developers have their fancy Git repositories and version control workflows. Meanwhile,...
2025-03-27
121 reads
SQL Server Performance – What IT Leaders Need to Know
IT leaders have a lot on their plates! Budgets, staffing, security, uptime, and keeping everything running smoothly. When SQL Server performance becomes an issue, a common reaction is often...
2025-03-26 (first published: 2025-03-13)
6,939 reads
Mistakes IT Shops Without a DBA Make
We get it. There’s no budget for a DBA on staff, or even a contract support firm like Dallas DBAs. You are not alone! There are thousands of firms...
2025-03-19 (first published: 2025-03-07)
598 reads
Our SQL Server is Slow! What Do I Do First?
Don’t Panic! It’s a vague but common complaint, frequently with no additional details. Before blindly restarting SQL Server, let’s walk through quick checks that don’t require deep DBA skills....
2025-03-19
242 reads
SQL Server Time Bombs
Common Reasons for Emergency SQL calls If you are a production DBA (or Accidental prod DBA) you’ve gotten that frantic call in the middle of the night. Or maybe...
2025-03-12 (first published: 2025-02-28)
539 reads
Blogs
The PASS Summit on Tour in the Netherlands
By Steve Jones
The PASS Summit goes on tour this year, with the final date the first...
Azure SQL Managed Instance: Boost Performance with Read-Scale Out
By Arun Sirpal
The Business Critical tier of Azure SQL Managed Instance offers the read-scale out feature...
Free Cloud Environment Setup: A Beginner’s Guide
By Rohit Garg
Cloud computing is essential for modern development, data storage, and scalable applications. Setting up...
Forums
How a Legacy Logic Choked SQL Server in a 30-Year-Old Factory
Comments posted to this topic are about the item How a Legacy Logic Choked...
Sometimes, Troubleshooting Is Hard
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Sometimes, Troubleshooting Is Hard
Dimensional Modeling Case Study, Part 4 – Dynamic Time Duration Dimension
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Dimensional Modeling Case Study, Part...
Question of the Day
The Updated Columns List
I have this table in SQL Server 2022:
CREATE TABLE CustomerLarge (CustomerID INT NOT NULL IDENTITY(1, 1) CONSTRAINT CustomerLargePK PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED , CustomerName VARCHAR(20) , CustomerContactFirstName VARCHAR(40) , CustomerContactLastName VARCHAR(40) , Address VARCHAR(20) , Address2 VARCHAR(20) , City VARCHAR(20) , CountryCode CHAR(3) , Postal VARCHAR(20) ) GOIf I check the columns_updated() function return in a trigger, what is the data returned? See possible answers