Mike Walsh 
Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincon Welcome back to the Two Weeks to A Healthy SQL Server series of posts! This is the official “Day One” post. This first step may not be the most glamorous or the biggest payoff, … Read more
Many companies have the wrong people managing their databases. It sounds mean, out of context. But note we didn’t say “bad people” or “mean people,” just the wrong people to ensure a healthy SQL Server. Sometimes it’s even worse than that. It’s not the wrong person, it’s “no person.” Nobody owns its uptime, recoverability, or … Read more
The “Prod-Server Casino“ A production environment isn’t anything like a casino, at least not from the perspective of the guests. It needs to practically be guaranteed to succeed (So I guess, the house always winning is sort of similar.) You want everything to be sure in it. It isn’t grand. There aren’t fountains, there aren’t … Read more
As I reflect on where Straight Path Solutions has gone and what we’ve become – one thing has become clear. We’re a Managed Services Practice in large part. It’s a highly specialized and niche MSP, but the service delivery model we have is really modeled after MSP practices. We have a growing Professional Services “division” … Read more
Let’s face it—a lot of the time, your SQL Servers seem to be running just fine. Someone somewhere pressed next a few times, then finished—an application was installed, a database was deployed for that application, and you’ve not looked back—until now. So, you need to find a SQL Server consultant. I’ve been one in various … Read more
The best EMTs and Medics are the ones who realize, “This isn’t my emergency,” early enough. You’ll be a better DBA or technologist the quicker you learn the freedom that comes from that line of thought. (Also, a warning – in this post, I talk about – in vague terms and no medical specificity about … Read more
With some of the CU and SP misses that happen, what’s a good schedule for patching a SQL Server? What are some things to do before applying a CU to a SQL Server? How can we verify our SP or CU didn’t break anything? And what CU should I apply? The latest? The even number … Read more