T-SQL Tuesday (aka #TSQL2sday) is a monthly SQL Server blogger event started back in late 2009 by Adam Machanic (blog | twitter). The first topic was about Date/Time Tricks. Read the original TSQL2sday call-out. Each month a different SQL Server blogger…
Are you a lone lemming or the master of your domain? Many organizations hire only one database administrator. This lone DBA is in a unique position which can be both rewarding and challenging. I have spent years as a lone…
Wahooo! Today is a day to celebrate. I just realized that I have achieved level 3 in my Epic Life Quest. Stay tuned as I work my way to level 4. I plan to include being a Microsoft Certified Solutions…
Recently, but not for the first time, I was confronted with a server administrator that didn’t want to allocate more than one vCPU to a SQL Server machine in a development environment. His exact words ring over and over in my…
RedGate sells a product call SQL Multi Script. The product allows you to asynchronously execute T-SQL scripts to large quantities of servers. There are a number of useful administrative tasks which can be made easier with this product. One task,…
I have worked with a large organization (150,000+ employees). This organization has a central location and hundreds of subordinate sites. Headquarters (HQ) has dictated that the Symantec NetBackup MS SQL Client will be used for all SQL Server backups. Each site has…
Implicit conversions are convenient. Implicit conversions are EVIL! When talking to professionals about implicit conversions, I’ve heard a few different comments, such as: (a developer) Don’t waste time converting if the engine does it for you. (a DBA) Sure it…
I have compiled a list of trace flags which I recommend enabling by default on all of you SQL Server instances and ones which are simply, useful. Check out the page and bookmark it for reference as I will be…
Having autogrowth enabled on your SQL Server instance is great! Even in IT shops where you diligently right-size your database files (which is a good idea), autogrowth is the perfect emergency feature. It will increase the size of your files, as needed, until…
Often we need to know the number of records in a table. If you are looking for something very specific, such as the number of non-NULL values in a particular column, learn how to use COUNT() correctly with this post…