Alphabet Blocks and a Solid Foundation

Continuing in the theme from last week’s post correlating the DBAs role to aspects of various careers (Pilots, Chefs and Doctors) an illustration came to me this past weekend. I was playing blocks with my 1 year old son. The game with him consists of me trying to hold him back for as long as … Read more

Checklists, Recipes and Algorithms

What do checklists, recipes or algorithms have to do with Database Administration? A lot… If we study a few career paths we can see how a checklist or process flow  makes their lives easier. I love stealing ideas from everyday life, working them into something useful for my DBA career and I think we have … Read more

Where do I start?!?!

As a SQL Server DBA, where do I start? So you are a new DBA. Maybe you are someplace that hasn’t had a DBA, maybe you are someplace that didn’t have a great DBA. Requests are piling up, your head is spinning with the instances you are discovering and people are getting excited that there … Read more

Troubleshooting Methodology

What is a troubleshooting methodology? A lot of the technical problems I encounter with clients or in various roles are not really the fault of the technology at hand. They are either the result of rushed work, apathetic work or botched troubleshooting. Before talking about what troubleshooting is, let’s talk about what it is not. … Read more