What is the biggest mistake you made in production?
When you have sysadmin access, you are bound to make a big mistake in production at some point in your career - in this post Tara Kizer looks back at what hers were.
Appreciating New Perspectives
Today Steve Jones talks about understanding and having empathy for other points of view.
Resolving could not open a connection to SQL Server errors
Have you ever gotten connectivity errors from SQL Server? Jugal Shah explains the common causes for these errors, and advises on the steps you can take to resolve them.
Database Development Made Easy?
Today Steve Jones has a few thoughts on the complexity and cumbersome nature of database development.
Automating the Synchronization of RDS SQL Server Agent Jobs in a Multi-AZ Environment
Although Azure is the obvious Cloud service to host SQL Server, Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS) for SQL Server is a good choice when your organisation uses AWS. RDS deals with maintenance and monitoring, and supports the use of PowerShell to automate routine tasks. What if a script needs to be triggered by an unscheduled event? Even in this case, RDS can be configured to run scripts to react when something like a failover happens. Laerte Junior shows how easy it is to set up Lambda functions and some PowerShell scripts to automatically synchronise agent jobs after a failover.
Fighting Evil in Your Code: Comments on Comments
One of the most glib generalisations you can make about development work is to say that code should be liberally commented, or conversely that it should never be commented. As always, the truth is more complicated. There are many different types of comment and some types are best treated firmly with the delete key, where others are to be cherished and maintained assiduously. Even though it is hard to find two developers who agree on the topic of commenting, Michael Sorens warily sketches out the issues and the battleground.
Graphing Performance
Are graph databases worth using? Steve Jones looks at a report that questions their value at this time.
TDS Remoting: A Better Way to Create Linked Servers for ODBC Sources
TDS remoting services provide a native SQL experience with local and remote ODBC data sources (contrast with limitations of using OLE DB).
Implementing Azure SQL Data Sync in the Azure Portal
Azure SQL Data Sync, which has been lingering in the Preview mode since its introduction seven years ago, no longer requires the use of the Azure classic portal; you can finally access it by using the current Azure portal. Marcin Policht steps you through the process of implementing Azure SQL Data Sync using this interface.
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
Have you done a Mid year check in?
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Have you done a Mid...
From SQL Server On-Premises to Claude Desktop: How I built a Full MCP Pipeline
Comments posted to this topic are about the item From SQL Server On-Premises to...
Independence Day 2026
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Independence Day 2026
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