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 … Read more
All database administrators know that safeguarding data is paramount and having a strong restore strategy is crucial. In this post, I would like to add another tool to your arsenal that I have found helpful in auditing server health and configurations as it pertains to backups and the backup chain. A backup chain is important … Read more
Compliance audits ensure that organizations adhere to regulatory guidelines, industry standards, and internal policies. As SQL Server DBAs, you can be prepared for most audits if you already check all of the boxes outlined in this blog post. Each of these points could be its own blog posts, so take your time as you go … Read more
As consultants we are sometimes asked the following question: “We have an old version of SQL that we can’t turn off and no one has access to it. Is there a way to create an account on a server you don’t have access to?” The answer is YES, and it isn’t as difficult as you … Read more
The Hidden Goldmine: SQL Server Due Diligence in Acquisitions Whenever I’m chatting with folks in the investment world, especially those eyeing product or “… as a service” companies that use Microsoft SQL Server, I’ve realized there’s a real need for clear, actionable insights on what to look for in a SQL Server environment. It’s not … Read more
(Note from our founder, Mike Walsh in March of 2025: Since this post has gone live, I want to say we’ve probably made at least $70,000 in buckets of hours specifically related to clients reaching out about issues that could have been avoided and addressed simply be following the advice from David here… While we … Read more
If you’ve read the Straight Path blog for any period of time, you’ve probably noticed more than a few posts about database backups. You may have also noticed we’re big fans of the Ola Hallengren Maintenance Solution for backups, which creates stored procedures and jobs to handle your regular backups. These scripts and jobs are … Read more