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How Does Disabling an Index Affect the Index Usage DMV Counters

May 28, 2014 by John Sansom 6 Comments

IndexLetters

A question was posted to #SQLHelp on Twitter asking, if disabling an Index would clear the index usage counters stored in the SQL Server Dynamic Management Views(DMVs)? Great question! Not one that is straightforward to answer via the Twitter medium though, so I wanted to share some more detail here. Consider that the action of disabling a SQL Server Index […]

Filed Under: Administration, DMVs, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

Using sys.dm_os_ring_buffers to Troubleshoot Connectivity Issues

February 19, 2014 by John Sansom 16 Comments

Connectivity

I encountered an interesting question over on the MSDN forums concerning a poster that was reporting experiencing an issue whereby the “sa” account kept being locked out. In scenarios such as this the SQL Server Error Log is your friend, as it can be configured to record failed login attempts for an instance. Of course […]

Filed Under: Administration, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: connectivity, DMV, DMV Queries

Winner – Conference Pass to #SQLServerLive in Las Vegas

February 12, 2014 by John Sansom Leave a Comment

This is a quick post to announce the winner of my blog giveaway for a free conference pass to SQL Server Live! in Las Vegas. Those rather nice folks at SQL Server Live are also offering SQL Brit readers (that’s you lot) an exclusive discount of $500 for their upcoming event in Las Vegas in March. All you have to do to take advantage […]

Filed Under: SQL Server Community, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Competition

PowerShell – Change SQL Server Login Password

January 14, 2014 by John Sansom 12 Comments

Powershell

Here’s a quick post detailing a PowerShell script that can be used to change the password for a SQL Server Login. Regular readers know that I practice the philosophy of Automate Everything and DBA administrative tasks are no exception. I don’t want to be doing the same task by hand twice, if I can help […]

Filed Under: Administration, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Powershell

What’s the Best Path to Becoming a DBA?

January 7, 2014 by John Sansom 9 Comments

Best-Direction-For-A-New-DBA

I received a blog comment from a nice chap recently, concerning a subject that I’m often asked about and I wanted to share my thoughts with you here. I only have a finite number of keystrokes left in me after all, so I’m blogging my thoughts and replying to the comment with a link to this post. Hi John, […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

DBA JumpStart – A SQL Community Ebook for DBAs

December 10, 2013 by John Sansom 8 Comments

DBA JumpStart Ebook

If you could give a DBA just one piece of advice, what would it be? I asked 20 successful and experienced SQL Server professionals this exact question. You can find their answers inside DBA JumpStart, a unique collection of inspiring content just for SQL Server DBAs. Just Another Blog Post It’s hard to believe that […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: ebook

Winner – Conference Pass to SQL Server Live! in Orlando

October 30, 2013 by John Sansom Leave a Comment

SQL Server Live Orlando

This is a quick post to announce the winner of our competition for a FREE conference pass to SQL Server Live! in Orlando. Those rather nice folks at SQL Server Live are also offering SQL Brit readers (that’s you lot) an exclusive discount of $500 for their upcoming event in Orlando this November. All you have to do to take advantage of this offer […]

Filed Under: Link Posts, SQL Server Community, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

Win a Free Conference Pass to SQL Server Live! in Orlando

October 21, 2013 by John Sansom 2 Comments

SQL Server Live Orlando

Taking responsibility for your own Professional Development and making it a priority is essential to being a successful Data Professional. Courtesy SQL Server Live! I’ve got an outstanding opportunity for you to do exactly that. Together we’re giving you the chance to Win a FREE conference pass to SQL Server Live! in Orlando. SQL Server Live! […]

Filed Under: SQL Server Community, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

What’s the Age Limit for Becoming a DBA?

October 1, 2013 by John Sansom 52 Comments

Sunset on the Bosphorus

I received an email from a nice chap recently, concerning a subject that I’m often asked about and I wanted to share my thoughts with you here. Since I only have so many keystrokes left in my life, I am blogging my thoughts and emailing a link. Dear Sir, I am 37 years old. I’ve never worked in […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Featured

Something for the Weekend – SQL Server Links 09/08/13

August 9, 2013 by John Sansom 4 Comments

Microsoft Certified Master: Microsoft SQL Server 2008

It’s Something For The Weekend(SFTW) time, I hope you’ve had a great week! Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been a tad quieter in the SQL community of late. No not because I’ve been slacking off dear reader but because I needed to focus my efforts in on a single goal in order […]

Filed Under: Link Posts, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

SQL Server Crossword #5

August 6, 2013 by John Sansom 1 Comment

Test your SQL Server knowledge in a fun and unique way with this exclusive crossword.

Filed Under: SQL Server Community, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

The Secret to Keeping Your Cool Like an Experienced Production DBA

June 25, 2013 by John Sansom 2 Comments

Your actions as a Database Administrator can make the difference between a disaster being a minor nuisance or a major problem.

In this post I share with you what I have learned about keeping your cool in a crisis and what I believe is the most vital component to effective incident response.

Filed Under: Administration, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

Your Community, Your Voice, Your Forum

May 21, 2013 by John Sansom 2 Comments

Lion Roaring

For me, one of the most rewarding things about blogging are the conversations we have together. The opportunity to connect, share and grow with passionate people from all over the world is a great privilege. I’ve met so many wonderful people through our community, learning something from each of you about technology and even life.

That’s why I started the SQL Brit Community Forum.

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

SQL Server Management Data Warehouse (MDW) – Why it Rocks

April 16, 2013 by John Sansom 17 Comments

MDW Dashboard Report

Ensuring excellent performance for users and customers is a high priority for Database Administrators.

Here I share a free and easy way for you to get valuable insight into the performance of your Microsoft SQL Server instances.

Filed Under: Administration, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Management Data Warehouse

Implicit Conversions and Avoiding Them With Computed Columns

March 25, 2013 by John Sansom 6 Comments

Production execution plan

I recently encountered an interesting performance issue (due to implicit conversions) that I was able to solve using a lesser known technique and I wanted to share it with you here.

Filed Under: Performance Tuning, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Computed Column, Implicit Conversion

How To Be An Expert At What You Do

March 20, 2013 by John Sansom 2 Comments

How To Be An Expert

Experts are always in popular demand and they come in all manner of different flavors.

In this post we look at exactly what it means to be an expert and how you can develop into the expert that you want to be.

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Expert

Career Growth and How You Can Achieve Explosive Results

March 5, 2013 by John Sansom 20 Comments

Bench Press

Continued investment in your professional development for career growth is hard. It’s also essential to being a successful Data Professional.

Discover out how to achieve dramatic career growth and results from your professional development efforts.

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Career, Career Growth, Career Progression, Featured

Something for the Weekend – SQL Server Links 01/03/13

March 1, 2013 by John Sansom 4 Comments

Battenburg Cake

It’s SFTW Time, I hope you’ve had a great week! Make sure you don’t miss this weekly round-up of SQL Server Links, community news and technology banter by Subscribing to the Blog Feed. You can also Get posts delivered direct to your Inbox free via Email. I don’t typically syndicate (that’s share using RSS technology to you non bloggers) […]

Filed Under: Link Posts, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

Restart the SQL Server Agent Service using PowerShell

February 26, 2013 by John Sansom 3 Comments

Powershell

Just a quick one today chaps, to show how you can restart the SQL Server Agent Service using PowerShell.

Filed Under: Administration, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Automation, Powershell, Scripting

Multitasking A Ridiculous Workload – How I Do It

February 19, 2013 by John Sansom 4 Comments

EatThatFrog

There’s no such thing as multitasking. At least, not how most of us think about it. By using the task management system that I share here, you can keep an accurate track of workload, prioritise and ensure that you spend more of your time delivering on what’s really important.

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Multitasking, Time Management

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