SQL Server Case of the Week: The tempdb Data File That Couldn’t Be Removed
January 23, 2026
Summary of tempdb data file issue It’s important to keep the data files in tempdb equally sized, because SQL Server’s internal algorithm wants to use tempdb files that have the most space. Equal sizes help you get equal distribution across all files, reducing the likelihood of contention on a single file. Context: Mismatched tempdb data
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
Accelerated Database Recovery in SQL Server 2025
June 19, 2025
Accelerated Database Recovery (ADR) was introduced in SQL Server 2019. Its main purpose is to allow for faster database recovery in the event of a crash or unexpected shutdown. Traditionally, the database engine handles crash recovery through a series of phases—analysis, redo, and undo—which can be inefficient and slow, especially when dealing with long-running transactions.
Introducing sp_CheckTempdb: Check Your SQL Server tempdb for Performance Issues
May 8, 2025
Most database folks might know the tempdb database in SQL Server is used for temporary tables, but many folks don’t realize all the other things that use this critical system database. It’s also used by table variables, cursors, aggregations, joins, and sorts. And by memory spills when you don’t have enough memory. And by integrity
How to Optimize SQL Server Performance by Separating Workloads
January 25, 2024
I wrote this to share a series of scripts that help identify if workloads are appropriately separated on the SQL Server host. The main reason we look for this is to avoid I/O contention and waits, which is a challenge that can significantly impact performance. If you are unsure if your server is experiencing I/O
5 common Problems to Troubleshoot with sp_WhoIsActive in SQL Server
January 31, 2023
Fix blocking, full logs, tempdb bloat, memory waits, and “what’s running now” in minutes with these five sp_WhoIsActive commands. Use this tool today to solve your own SQL Server issues. Need more help? We can help with our SQL Server Consulting services or our DBA services. 5 Common SQL Server Problems to Fix with sp_WhoIsActive
SQL Server Migration Considerations from a Jr. DBA
November 16, 2022
SQL Server migrations are a necessary and expected part of keeping a modern SQL Server deployment. We have worked with many clients on migration projects, and I have organized some considerations for you and your team before, during, and after your SQL Server migration. We recommend working with a SQL server DBA on these kinds
A Simple SQL Server Health Checklist
June 30, 2022
Being part of a consulting team has given me experience with many environments, and part of the work I do every week is to check for the various best practices and monitor server health across over 20 environments. This post condenses the tools that can help and the configurations that are most likely to cause