Free SQL Server Health Check with dbatools
April 2, 2026
After a longer break than expected, I am back to the dbatools for SQL Server DBAs blog series, and this one is a monster! In fact, this project is so big that I think it will be better to release it incrementally. This will allow you clone the repository, test and modify it in your
SQL Server Case of the Week: Migrating away from a Contained Availability Group.
February 6, 2026
Summary A client was running a Contained Availability Group in SQL Server 2022, but wasn’t using the AG Listener for their application connections. This negated most of the benefits the Contained AG was designed to provide. They also had some security misunderstandings and missteps, as this was built for them without any real knowledge transfer
SQL Server Case of the Week: Login Complexity When Using Contained Availability Groups in SQL Server 2022
January 30, 2026
Summary of the Login Issue After building a contained availability group in SQL Server, a customer was experiencing intermittent issues connecting to their primary database. Our investigation revealed that the SQL Authentication login being used had been created both within the context of the contained AG as well as directly on the primary node but had different SIDs in
dbatools Command Failing: “The Parameter is Incorrect”
October 31, 2025
This week’s case of the week post comes from Jack Corbett. Quick Summary When attempting to use Copy-DBACredential in dbatools, I received the error “The parameter is incorrect,” yet other commands connecting to the same servers worked. Context I was working with a client to do an upgrade/migration from SQL Server 2016 to SQL Server
Deploy SQL Server With This One Script (dbatools)
September 3, 2025
In this and the next two blog posts I will be bringing diverse dbatools commands into scripts that can handle a complete deployment, do a checkup of major health and configuration metrics, and do a true up of a pre-existing instance. This post will cover the complete deployment, which if you have been reading the
Save Time On SQL Server Installs With Install-DbaInstance (dbatoools)
August 11, 2025
As DBAs we install SQL Server for various reasons regularly. If you could save time for each installation for more critical tasks, would you? In this blog post, we will audit the dbatools command Install-Dbainstance. I will test, review, and evaluate the script based on a series of identical steps. Our goal is to provide
How to Quickly Load CSV Files Into SQL Server Using Import-DbaCsv (dbatools)
July 22, 2025
Most businesses are rotten with Excel sheets and CSV exports from various tools and as my mentor puts it “Excel is the world’s database”. The dbatools command Import-DbaCsv enables the quick load of CSV tables into SQL Server, which then opens up the world of fast transformation and use in other tools such as PowerBI,
How to Automatically Install SQL Server Service Packs and Cumulative Updates with Update-DbaInstance (dbatools)
July 17, 2025
Keeping your SQL Server instance up to date with the latest service packs and cumulative updates is one of the key components of SQL Server security. In this blog post, we will audit the dbatools command Update-DbaInstance, which can save you hours every month and help keep your environment more secure. I will test, review,
How to Automatically Validate SQL Server Backups With Test-DbaLastBackup (Dbatools)
June 24, 2025
In this blog post, we will audit the dbatools command Test-DbaLastBackup. I will test, review, and evaluate the script based on a series of identical steps. Our goal is to provide insights, warnings, and recommendations to help you use this script effectively and safely. Test-DbaLastBackup is a powerful tool to automate the validation of a