A Good SQL Server DBA Makes Lousy Bets
March 6, 2021
The “Prod-Server Casino“ A production environment isn’t anything like a casino, at least not from the perspective of the guests. It needs to practically be guaranteed to succeed (So I guess, the house always winning is sort of similar.) You want everything to be sure in it. It isn’t grand. There aren’t fountains, there aren’t … Read more
Should an MSP Build a SQL Server Consulting Practice?
March 2, 2021
As I reflect on where Straight Path Solutions has gone and what we’ve become – one thing has become clear. We’re a Managed Services Practice in large part. It’s a highly specialized and niche MSP, but the service delivery model we have is really modeled after MSP practices. We have a growing Professional Services “division” … Read more
How to Find a SQL Server Consultant
March 1, 2021
Let’s face it—a lot of the time, your SQL Servers seem to be running just fine. Someone somewhere pressed next a few times, then finished—an application was installed, a database was deployed for that application, and you’ve not looked back—until now. So, you need to find a SQL Server consultant. I’ve been one in various … Read more
It’s Not Your Emergency!
December 16, 2020
The best EMTs and Medics are the ones who realize, “This isn’t my emergency,” early enough. You’ll be a better DBA or technologist the quicker you learn the freedom that comes from that line of thought. (Also, a warning – in this post, I talk about – in vague terms and no medical specificity about … Read more
SQL Server Patching – A Primer
December 10, 2020
With some of the CU and SP misses that happen, what’s a good schedule for patching a SQL Server? What are some things to do before applying a CU to a SQL Server? How can we verify our SP or CU didn’t break anything? And what CU should I apply? The latest? The even number … Read more
Presenting – What I’ve Learned
December 9, 2020
So I totally missed the boat on a GREAT T-SQL Tuesday topic – “What’s something you’ve learned while presenting?” But with a twist – something technical, you’ve learned that you didn’t learn. Well, mine is a bit embarrassing… I’ll share that. Also – I totally skimmed the topic and some of the post titles. I … Read more
The Sound of Silence
December 6, 2020
Oops. I missed a blog post yesterday (Saturday). In fairness, I spent the night running around in the first snowstorm of the season trying to get ready for it (somehow caught off guard – again – by the first storm.) We had to move our cows around and deal with some limbs down and a … Read more
On Intentionality and Making Paths
December 4, 2020
Yes. I’m writing a short blog post about a simple topic. At least simple at first glance. There’s a certain irony in this being the post topic I’m writing about tonight. You see, I set out a goal for myself in December – write a blog post every day. At some point, try and write … Read more
“Are you Overpaying for SQL Server Licensing” Webinar Recap
December 3, 2020
Earlier this week, SIOS invited me to join them in a webinar over at MSSQL tips. You can watch the webinar recording if you register for it in “OnDemand” mode on their site here. Dave Bermingham joined me on the webinar – he’s a great technologist and a long time Microsoft MVP in cloud and … Read more
VMware and SQL Server Best Practices.
December 2, 2020
I wish you knew a few things about VMware and SQL Server best practices. If you’ve ever asked yourself “Why does my storage seem slower on my SQL Server VMs?!”, this post may help. We love VMware in our SQL Server consulting practice. But there are some things you should know and do first. These … Read more