Leave the Databases to Us.
Are you asking too much?
Predictability
Performance
Scalability
Affordability
We don’t think so.
But complicated licensing schemes, distant software vendors, and hackers are battling against you every step of the way.
Let’s make it a fair fight.
Together, we can make things work. You leave the databases to us, which leaves the business to you. Isn’t that how it should work?

[Alert] SQL Server 2008 End of Life
Microsoft is ending support for SQL Server 2008 on 9-July, 2019.
This FREE checklist will help you make sure you’re prepared for your SQL Server upgrade with a solid plan! You need to understand these important considerations before, during, and after your upgrade.
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SQL Server Remote DBA: FlexDBA
When we had come to Straight Path our databases were showing the wear and burden of an unfocused and costly remote DBA firm. We needed to quickly improve performance and stability in order to maintain customer satisfaction on the product side, and we had a backlog of technical debt that seemed only to grow deeper. Since engaging with Straight Path we have improved our reliability and performance for the customer-facing aspects of our databases, from day-to-day fires, improving methods for growth and scale-out, consolidation, and efficiency, to unglamorous but important items such as replication, improved monitoring/alerting, and backups. I especially appreciate the team’s quick responses to emergencies, as well as the forthright and focused involvement during projects and planning. I would recommend Straight Path to anyone who requires a thoughtful, personal approach to their database needs. Understanding the data structures and engines is obviously important, but the ability to also understand these items in the context of the business and the teams who rely on them is what differentiates this service from others.
SQL Server Blog
TDE, Instant File Initialization, and Treating the Patient
So maybe you read the post title, and you already have an idea where this post is going... In the heat of the moment, I didn't. Long story short - we had a client who was having some ugly excessive autogrowths causing a nasty cycle. Their autogrowth wouldn't complete...
DBAs Beware: “Hacker destroys VFEmail service, wipes backups”
My headline is borrowed from a headline on Malwarebytes blog post. In fact, many headlines like it are across the internet right now. This post is going to sound fairly similar to an earlier post I published, "Ex-Admin Deletes All Customer Data and Wipes Servers"....
Hey DBAs: Be Prepared
I'm a big fan of bringing ideas and concept in from other industries to the world of technologists, particularly those of us in professions operating in and around data. I've written posts before about lessons from aviation, a string of failures at the Secret Service,...
Welcome Tara Kizer!
So you probably saw the announcement from our friend Brent Ozar last week. He's going to be focusing on his really cool training and tools and a bit less on consulting. When that announcement came, it didn't take very long for a couple people on the team to nudge me...
Straight Path Solutions is Announcing the Arrival of Mike Clark
Back in June, I wrote a blog post called "We're Growing Again!". I thought I would likely be writing another one maybe by the end of Q4 this year, possibly in Q1. After all, three years ago it was just me. Two years ago, it was just Bruce and me at the company....
Alt-Shift: The Value of a Tribe
In 2018, remote work is a fairly popular gig among techies. It seems that each year that goes by, I know more folks who work at home the majority of the time, and quite a few more each year who effectively do all the time. This is great. It's great for the family....
Straight Path Solutions Welcomes Jack Corbett!
Hey there, Dear Readers! I hope you are well. Thanks for coming by and reading this post. If you're my mom, you've been reading this blog of mine since the start back in 2008 or thereabouts. If you aren't mom, maybe you know a little of the history of Straight Path....
“Ex-Admin Deletes All Customer Data and Wipes Servers”
My headline is borrowed from a headline on bleepingcomputer.com. This just happened to a Dutch hosting provider in 2017. You can read the article. Actually, you must read the article. If you didn't here's the basic gist: An administrator quits or was fired or...
SQL Server Security Basics
This isn't the complete guide to securing a SQL Server, but these are some of the more common things I bump into and wish I wouldn't when it comes to SQL Server Security. Read these practices, understand them by searching the web or come here and ask me for questions...
SQL Server Max Memory Best Practices
In this Straight Up SQL Server Tips series, we're going back to basics. Many of these are findings in our SQL Server Health Checks or things I bump into on the forums and Q&A sites when I'm out answering questions. Today we're talking a bit about the SQL Server...