Like most DBA’s I’m sure you often find yourself delivering information to the business concerning the performance of your SQL Server platform but have you ever stopped to consider the wider implications of your actions? As a SQL Server Database Administrator you are responsible for the overall health and well being of your SQL Server […]
How much memory is each SQL Server database using?
Whilst perusing the forums over at SQL Server Central today I stumbled across an interesting question regarding how to identify how much memory is being used by SQL Server on a per database level. As you know SQL Server stores database data and index pages in memory in an area know as the Buffer Pool. […]
Top 5 Free SQL Server Tools
UPDATE: See the more recent post Top 10 Free SQL Server Tools Maybe there is no such thing as a free lunch but who cares when there are awesome tools for SQL Server that are available for free! That’s right, you can make life a whole lot easier for yourself by maximising your valuable time […]
SQLBits VI – The inside scoop
Last Friday I was one of the lucky few to attend the completely free SQLBits VI! This was my first time attending SQLBits and for me the event turned out to be an incredibly valuable experience. The caliber of speakers on show was high and the content covered technically delicious, a real treat. For those that […]
DBA Survival Skills – Think Defensively
No matter how much of a Super Hero DBA you consider yourself to be, I can guarantee you that there that there will come a time when you have to deal with either a disaster scenario or some form of mistake. Interestingly however, it is what happens next that separates the Pro’s from everyone else. Things Can […]
TLC and SQL Server Error Log Management
One of the very first tasks I like to do when presented with a new SQL Server Instance is to review what’s been happening of late in the SQL Server Error Log file. Doing so can often provide a quick insight into items that require my attention. It’s not uncommon to encounter backup failure messages, […]
SQL Snippet: Who owns that SQL Server Job?
Here is a handy T-SQL script that will list all SQL Server Agent Job owners by job. From an administration perspective, this query can come in handy when you need to ensure/validate the job owners on your server. One common mistake that I have seen is that when a user creates a new SQL Server […]
Top 10 Junior DBA Interview Tips
The start of a new year is a time for self reflection and along with it perhaps a desire to do something new with your career. Maybe you are considering becoming a Junior Database Administrator (DBA)? Acquiring your very first role as a Junior DBA is not easy. Just browse any one of the many […]
SQL Snippet: What SQL Server Agent Jobs were running at that time?
Here is a SQL Snippet that can be used to identify the SQL Server Agent Jobs that were running on a server at a particular point in time. This can come in very handy if you need to troubleshoot a performance issue after the fact and want to find out if there were any jobs […]
SQL Snippet: SQL Server Wait Types
Here is a handy little SQL Snippet that will return information about those all important SQL Server Wait Types for your server. It uses the SQL Server Dynamic Management View (DMV) sys.dm_os_wait_stats in order to extrapolate the desired information. A column has also been added to provide details of the percentage of total wait time […]
Blog your way to becoming a better DBA
One of the most rewarding aspects of Blogging is that the content you share and publish has the potential to help others in your community but have you also considered that Blogging can actually make you a better DBA? You see the act of blogging itself provides a number of subtle benefits for your professional […]
SQL Server Essentials – Part 2: Why you should be using the FULL Recovery Model
In Part 1 of the “SQL Server Essentials” series we discussed the Database Administrator’s primary responsibility. Given that your data is so important, how can you manage and ensure it’s safekeeping? Should a data loss event occur, you want to be in a position to enable you to protect the majority, if not all, of […]
The Database Administrator’s Primary Responsibility
You’re busy coding away at your workstation when all of a sudden your manager walks over to you all excited and begins discussing with you, the details of this great new application your company has just aquired. It turns out that he wants you to look after and administer this newly aquired application platform, which […]
Top 5 SQL Forums
As you no doubt already know, there is a ridiculously large amount of SQL Server Information available out there on the internet. Whether you’re browsing forums, web sites or blogs, knowing what the best sources of SQL Server information are and more importantly which one’s you can trust, can be tricky. So to help you […]
DMV Query to identify all active SQL Server Sessions
You may already be aware that I am a big advocate of the SQL Server Dynamic Management Views (DMV’s) and the benifits that they bring to the Database Administrator. They certainly came in handy with a requirement I had recently whereby I needed to identify the IP Address of a specific SQL Server Login and […]
What does it take to be an outstanding SQL Server DBA?
There has been quite a bit of activity this past week in the SQL Server community regarding how to secure a role as a Junior DBA. Brent Ozar has posted a number of articles here and @SQLBatman has also been busy posting Junior DBA Questions. Both authors make some excellent points but what if you […]
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