Best Practices

SQL 2008 R2 LoadFest – Session Notes

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I spoke today at the SQL Server 2008 R2 Load Fest put on by Andy Novick of Novick Software. Great turnout, and it is always fun to see so many folks working together on the task of figuring out the nuances of SQL Server installations together. Also good to see that you were able to … Read more

Hey Software Vendors – Get a Clue!

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Psst. Hey Vendor – DBAs are secretly plotting against you! We hate what your products do to our environments. Sometimes we even work to get you replaced by someone else who makes a product in the same space but is “DBA-Approved”… (Quick Edit March of 2021). In the time since writing this post, I’ve grown … Read more

What Service Pack Are Your Client Tools At?

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So you have a plan to apply service packs to your SQL instances. You test them out and try to keep a regular schedule to ensure they are up to date. That is great. What About SQL Server Management Studio? What about the copy of SSMS that a developer is using to create scripts? This … Read more

Day Job Lessons From The Garden

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It’s spring and in addition to our usual vegetable garden and some existing fruit crops, we are putting in a row of 15 blueberry bushes. Well the past two nights I’ve been outside for 3-4 hours digging a trench (about 40′ long by 2.5′ wide and 1′ deep. right, I said feet.) by hand and … Read more

How do -you- install SQL Server? (Part 3)

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Welcome to part 3 in this series on a thought process around SQL Server Installation. In Part 1, we started talking about some basic steps and a thought process for a repeatable success story with your SQL Server installations. Part 2 discussed security, playing around before doing a first install and smoke testing afterwards. Today … Read more