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5 Things Every DBA Should NOT Do

February 22, 2011 by John Sansom 15 Comments

Stop Sign

Earlier in the month I shared with you 10 Things That Every DBA Should Do and so it only seems natural to also consider some things that every Database Administrator should NOT be doing right. I’m going to let you in on a little secret here, I have actually done some of these things myself once […]

Filed Under: Administration, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Indexes, Query Optimisation, ShrinkDB, Sysadmin

London UK SQL Server User Group – It’s Back!

February 21, 2011 by John Sansom 1 Comment

Fireworks London Eye

In case you missed it, being tucked away amongst all the other UK SQL Server User Group date announcements that I share on the weekly SQL Server Links round-up, I wanted to make sure that you all know the BIG news is that it’s back on! That’s right, there will be a SQL Server User Group […]

Filed Under: SQL Server Community, SQLServerCentral Syndication

The DBA Ultimate Fitness Workout Plan

February 15, 2011 by John Sansom 8 Comments

If you plan to stay on top of your DBA game then you have to workout regularly. Those of you that know me well know that I like to hit the gym on average 4 times a week and to go running 2-3 times a week. The primary goal of course being to impress the […]

Filed Under: Administration, Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

10 Things Every DBA Should Do

February 8, 2011 by John Sansom 7 Comments

Recently I spoke about how The Best Database Administrators Automate Everything, as well as Document Everything and this got me to thinking in general about things that every Database Administrator (DBA) should be doing. No two Database Administration jobs are the same that’s for sure but there are definitely things that I believe every DBA […]

Filed Under: Administration, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Backups, Baseline, Indexes, Monitoring, Query Tuning, Testing

Your Lack of Documentation is Costing You More Than You Think

February 1, 2011 by John Sansom 14 Comments

You’ve got a mountain of work to get done and not enough time to do it in. There’s simply just not enough time for you to worry about documentation right now but that’s ok though because you plan to come back to it later. Let me guess, you’re still working on that part. The task itself […]

Filed Under: Administration, Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

The Art of the Outstanding DBA

January 25, 2011 by John Sansom 13 Comments

Being average is dull. Are we consistently producing quality that we can be proud of, each and every time? So why settle and deliver ok results when we can deliver outstanding results! Funnily enough being exceptional at what you do is not easy. If it were we’d all be doing it right? It takes time, […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

Why Every DBA Needs a Buddy

January 18, 2011 by John Sansom 7 Comments

Every DBA Needs a Buddy

If you truly desire to be an effective SQL Server Database Administrator then you absolutely must have a buddy. SQL Server is a huge product that is packed full of features to the extent that no one individual can be an expert in all areas. You’re going to need help! The Incredible Value of Peer […]

Filed Under: Administration, Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

T-SQL Tuesday 14: Techie Resolutions for You not Me

January 11, 2011 by John Sansom 12 Comments

Is it just me or has the community done the whole “What are my goals for this year” thing to death in the last couple of weeks? I don’t know about you but I’m eager for this week’s T-SQL Tuesday topic (Techie Reolutions) to not just be an extension of all that stuff. So to put a different spin […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: TSQL Tuesday

The Best Database Administrators Automate Everything

January 4, 2011 by John Sansom 60 Comments

Automation

Do you understand the value of your time? I mean really understand it. Time is your absolute number one most valuable asset. Once it’s gone, that’s it, gone forever. As a Database Administrator (DBA) your skills, services, expertise and ultimately your time will always be in demand. You can only ever deliver on a finite amount of time, that’s […]

Filed Under: Administration, Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Best Practice, Featured, Time Management

TSQL Tuesday 13: Managing Unrealistic Expectations

December 14, 2010 by John Sansom 3 Comments

TSQL Tuesday14: Your Techie Goals for this Year

It’s that time of the month again, no not that one, it’s T-SQL Tuesday time and this weeks topic is hosted by none other than SQLServerCentral’s own Steve Jones. If you don’t know what T-SQL Tuesday is, you’re either new to the SQL community or have had your head buried in the sand for the last year. […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

Life Without a Net – My comment

November 2, 2010 by John Sansom 1 Comment

Did you catch the brilliant and thought provoking editorial post Life Without a Net by Rodney Landrum on SQL Server Central this morning? The post pondered the entertaining thought of what life would be like without the very lifeblood that we all have come to know and love, the internet. What I found particularly interesting about […]

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

The Perfect SQL Server DBA / Developer Role

September 9, 2010 by John Sansom 1 Comment

Whilst enjoying my coffee fix this morning, along with today’s SQL Server Central Email, my attention was caught by Steve Jones’s Editorial comment.The key theme looks at how much you enjoy your current job role and Steve goes on to rightly suggest that you should not settle for anything short of what makes you happy. […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

10 Character Traits of Outstanding DBA’s

August 24, 2010 by John Sansom 42 Comments

Ninja-like focus

What are the character traits of outstanding SQL Server Database Administrators (DBA) ? You know what I’m talking about. There are DBA’s out there that go way above and beyond merely getting the job done. Managing huge workloads with ease and delivering them with class. But how do they do it? I’m certain you have seen and […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: Character Traits, Soft Skills

Seven Reasons You Should Attend SQLBits 7

July 22, 2010 by John Sansom 3 Comments

SQLBits

SQLBits is Europe’s Largest SQL Server Event That’s right, just take a moment to let that point hit home. If you are only able to attend one SQL Server event in Europe this year, this is the one you are going to want to choose! Maybe the PASS Summit 2010 is not a practical option […]

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

Simplify Your DBCC CHECKDB Output

July 14, 2010 by John Sansom 2 Comments

Defend Your Data

If you’re a SQL Server Database Administrator and you don’t know what CHECKDB is then you need to stop whatever it is your are doing right now and read this. Seriously, just go ahead and do it now. It will only take you ten minutes to get to grips with the basics and it could […]

Filed Under: Administration, SQL Server Tips, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

Jump Start Your SQL Server Learning Today (T-SQL Tuesday)

July 13, 2010 by John Sansom 18 Comments

One of the great things about working with SQL Server is the opportunity to be involved in our fantastic SQL Server community. This months T-SQL Tuesday topic asks what we as data professionals do to learn our subject. (You can follow the conversation on Twitter using the #TSQL2sDay tag.) SQL Server is a big topic […]

Filed Under: Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

How to Provide Great Feedback

July 1, 2010 by John Sansom 13 Comments

As a DBA you will encounter processes, code and design decisions within your environment that require change for the better. The most common driver for such change is performance improvement. Oftentimes the changes you wish to drive will require design and implementation by someone other than yourself. Proposing changes(improvements) to an authors existing code/process/design can […]

Filed Under: Performance Tuning, Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

The Politics of SQL Server Performance

June 30, 2010 by John Sansom 11 Comments

Super DBA

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 […]

Filed Under: Administration, Performance Tuning, Professional Development, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

How much memory is each SQL Server database using?

June 25, 2010 by John Sansom 18 Comments

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. […]

Filed Under: DMVs, SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication Tagged With: DMV

Top 5 Free SQL Server Tools

April 28, 2010 by John Sansom 10 Comments

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 […]

Filed Under: SQLServerCentral Syndication, SQLServerPedia Syndication

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