SQL PASS Summit 2015
Another amazing PASS Summit week is complete and I am sitting in SEA-TAC airport, waiting for my flight back to the east coast (at the time I wrote this). I am going to hop on the red-eye in about an…
Counting NULLs and sub-sets of data
Quick Tip: Counting NULLs and sub-sets of data You have been asked to produce a chart which will visualize a few data points. Total work orders. Total closed work orders (work orders with EndDate populated). Total open work orders (work…
Help! I am Locked Out of my SQL Server Instance
Beginning with SQL Server 2008, local administrators are no longer SQL Server sysadmins by default. Microsoft removed this feature in an attempt to increase security. I agree with the change. The principle of least privilege would imply that even system administrators…
Building up the PowerShell community
Last week I involved in a conversation with some SQL professionals who are also skilled with PowerShell. The SQL Server community is used to having a tool to connect them directly to gurus who are dedicated to helping others, the…
Policy Based Management Templates – TSQL2sDay #70
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…
Lone DBA, Lemming or Master of your Domain
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…
Ding Level 3 in My Epic Life Quest
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…
Do we care about development environment performance?
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…
Adding Your Entire Enterprise into Red-Gate SQL Multi Script Distribution List
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,…
Discovering Symantec NetBackup
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…