Preparing for the Unthinkable - a Disaster/Recovery Implementation
Functionality to help maintain a Disaster/Recovery (D/R) Environment synchronized with production is introduced and the associated challenges are discussed.
Unteachable Disaster Recovery Techniques
There are some skills which are extensions of your instincts, and which you can only learn though years of experience. Matt Simmons has this brought home by the fact that he was recently minutes away from a data-loss disaster, and he doesn't quite know how he prevented it.
Disaster After Disaster
A disaster can easily lead to another disaster. Can you respond to multiple problems? Have you even considered the cascade effects of a large disaster?
In The Real World - Disaster!
A real world account of disaster recovery. (This article is being republished after the recent hurricane that hit the US East Coast).
Handling Backups for Rapid Resilience
The backup and restore system in SQL Server hasn't changed a great deal over the years despite a huge growth in the typical size of databases. When disaster strikes, and an important service is taken offline while a restore is performed, there is often time to reflect on whether it might be possible to design databases for a more rapid recovery of the most critical parts of a database application.
Departures from Origins and Arrivals at Destinations
A suggested design for creating flight schedules makes querying easy. Includes basic airport and airlines data. Get started now with this tricky query problem.
Test Your Restores
Part of an effective response to a disaster situation is practice and testing of your skills and procedures. Steve Jones reminds us this is important today.
SQL Server Backup Questions We Were Too Shy to Ask
During presentations about doing database backups and restores, there seem to be two two types of questions that are commonly asked, Those that come from the floor during the presentation, and those that are asked in private afterwards. These are sometimes more interesting, and challenging to answer well.
Data Distribution with SQL Server Replication
This paper provides a foundation for understanding data replication as well as a discussion of the criteria for selecting an appropriate replication technology.
Grace Under Pressure
When a disaster strikes, how will you respond? Will you not only successfully recover, but will you do so with professionalism and grace under pressure? Steve Jones tells you how you can.
Blogs
Moving On-Prem PostgreSQL to the Cloud: Picking the Right Path for Big Tables
Every PostgreSQL migration eventually hits the same fork in the road. The database is...
A Spread of Vacation
By Steve Jones
I’m off on vacation today. Which is a little weird as I just got...
How AgentDBA Identifies Backup Failures
By Arun Sirpal
Every DBA has a box like this. Sitting untouched for months. Nobody’s proud of...
Forums
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From SQL Server On-Premises to Claude Desktop: How I built a Full MCP Pipeline
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Independence Day 2026
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Question of the Day
Independence Day 2026
In the original Independence Day movie (1996), what type of computer did Jeff Goldblum use to connect to the alien mainframe? Take a guess, don't look it up or ask AI.
See possible answers