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Database management has never been this easy. The Straight Path team is full of database gurus who can help you speed it up, sort it out or set it up right. And they do it with a pleasant attitude (in a world where unpleasant exchanges are all too common). Fast, flexible and armed with state-of-the-art tools and knowledge, database issues are no match. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Straight Path on behalf of multiple of our clients and they’ve become a key partner of ours. A growing business means a growing system – and a growing need to keep the systems properly optimized. Client satisfaction has increased because problems are solved and workflows are positively impacted. As a result, I am sleeping like a baby knowing our databases are being watched and managed diligently. I don’t know what we’d do without them.

Dean Tammam, Red Key Solutions

how to audit sql server database backup chains

Audit Your Database Backup Chain!

All database administrators know that safeguarding data is paramount and having a strong restore strategy is crucial. In this post, I would like to add another tool to your arsenal that I have found helpful in auditing server health and configurations as it pertains to backups and the backup chain. A backup chain is important … Read more

Don’t Touch that SQL ServerShrink Database Button!

Updated [2016] This post continues to be a popular destination for searches like “How do I shrink a database?”  I made some copy edits. I also wanted to reiterate a default position: It isn’t usually a good idea to shrink your SQL Server database. There are exceptions, but they are exceptions. This post is part 1 in a series … Read more

Good information on upgrade to 2008

The SQL Server Customer Advisory Team has a great blog and they have a good article here about upgrading to 2008. Lot of reasons to upgrade to 2008 (especially if you are on SQL Server 2000 or earlier). Check it out; http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlcat/archive/2008/12/08/ultimate-guide-to-upgrading-to-sql-server-2008.aspx

Good use for WITH RECOMPILE

Haven’t looked into all of the details underneath but at the surface probably a good reminder of where WITH RECOMPILE can be helpful… Using SQL Server Reporting Services, a workaround was used (this is the part I want to look into more) to basically get a blank report showing when a user first links to … Read more

Rolling Back (or is it??)

Interesting Issue Today/Yesterday – A query was using a linked server to grab data from DB2 via an ODBC connection. Normal execution time is about 15 minutes. This had run on for at least 7 hours when it was decided to kill it, appeared to be doing nothing but causing blocks (due to Intent Shared … Read more