Collect and Baseline Wait Statistics (Dear SQL DBA Episode 14)
What are the best tools to collect and baseline wait statistics? Should you write your own? Watch the 18 minute video or read the episode transcript below.
Free Poster: tempdb data files in SQL Server
The tempdb database is a strange place in SQL Server.
Developer Seeks DBA Career (Dear SQL DBA, Episode 13)
A C# developer wants to be a DBA, but is having a hard time landing a job. Should they take a pay cut and go for a Junior level job? Or could there be another path?
Does Adding NOINDEX Change DBCC CHECKDB with PHYSICAL_ONLY?
The NOINDEX option does change the behavior of DBCC CHECKDB (even if you’re already using PHYSICAL_ONLY). Here’s how the two options compare to one another, and how to see the difference yourself in a simple example.
Teach Yourself SQL Server Performance Tuning (Dear SQL DBA Episode 12)
You’d love to have a job tuning SQL Servers, but you don’t have an environment to practice in. Here’s how to teach yourself performance tuning and prepare yourself to land and succeed in job interviews.
SSMS Tips: Templates and Control+Shift+M
Templates are extremely handy for tasks that you need to do repeatedly, but with different parameter values. The coolest part is that once you get the hang of them, you can create your own custom templates.
Altering an INT Column to a BIGINT (Dear SQL DBA Episode 11)
You need to change an INT column to a BIGINT in a large table. Learn why this schema change can make your transaction log explode, and how to avoid it.
Should I Automate my Windows Updates for SQL Server? (Dear SQL DBA Episode 10)
Your boss wants you to automate patching for your SQL Servers. Is that a good idea? How far should you take it? Find out a DBAs perspective.
Why an Upgrade can Cause Performance Regressions (Dear SQL DBA Episode 9)
You finally got approval to move to new hardware and a fresher version of SQL Server. After months of work, you do the migration and then… performance gets worse. What can cause this, and what do you look for?
Free Poster: Cat DBA Says Not Right Meow
You’ve got 99 problems, and the request coming in ain’t one.
Maybe you need to channel your inner Cat DBA, just for a moment.