SQL Aloha

Taking Advantage of SQL Server Tools

Reprinted from my editorial in Database Weekly.

An important question I think you should be asking yourself, when it comes to your professional development, is "Are You Taking Full Advantage of the SQL Server Tools Available to You?" I think it’s important enough that, when I make presentations at conferences or user groups, I often add ...read more

Questions About SQL Server Backups

SQL Server backups are a “funny” topic to talk about. If you are talking with experienced DBAs, the topic of backups rarely surfaces, as this is a fundamental skill most DBAs learn early in their career. On the other hand, there are thousands of part-time, accidental DBAs who are tasked with making backups, and they ...read more

But We Have Always Done It That Way

I recently ran across the following scenario. A SQL Server instance had been upgraded from SQL Server 2005 to SQL Server 2008. At the same time, the older physical hardware had been replaced by newer hardware. The DBA who had set up and configured the older server was no longer at the organization, and a ...read more

How Do You Handle the Stress of Being a DBA?

This is a reprint of my editorial at SQLServerCentral.com. There is a lively discussion at the SSC forum on this topic, or feel free to comment here.

While being a DBA has many benefits, it can also be a job with many stressful drawbacks. Some of them that come to mind include:

As the organization’s protector of ...read more

A Time and a Place for the SQL Server Maintenance Plan Wizard

Reprinted from my editorial in Database Weekly.
In the course of my job, I get to give a lot of presentations, at various conference and user group events, many of them offering advice to DBAs on how to maintain their SQL Server databases. Aware of its limitations and failings I, like many other experienced DBAs, initially ...read more

The Exceptional DBA’s Code of Conduct

This is a reprint of chapter 11 of my book, How to Become an Exceptional DBA, 2nd Edition, which is available as a free e-book here.
Physicians, attorneys, accountants, engineers, realtors, and many other professionals have written guidelines designed to discourage misconduct and illegal activity, and to promote the ethical conduct of their members. In fact, ...read more

Handling Inconvenient Requests

"You can have everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." – Zig Ziglar

Early in my career, I read a lot of books by self-help gurus, seeking advice on how to make my career successful. While I learned a lot ...read more

Challenging the Tyranny of Third-Party Vendors: A DBA’s Manifesto

Over the years, I have dealt with a lot of third-party applications (and their vendors) that use SQL Server as their back-end databases. It has often been an uneasy relationship, fraught with pain and tribulation. The overriding feeling I have gotten from most of these vendors is that they could care less about the DBAs ...read more