Database-Administration

You are handed a SQL Server that someone else set up and has, or more likely has not, maintained over time. You are now responsible for this server, but have limited time to check it out because of your busy schedule. What are your first 3 SQL Server settings to check? 1. Backups This should always without a doubt be the first thing you check. If backups are failing or even are non existent, you need to know about it and make it your first priority to fix. Now that this server is your responsibility, the business is going to look at you when the server crashes and they need a restore. Not being able to recover any data is a great way to get fired! ...

Ever wish your data was a little different so it is easier to query? Don’t fret, we have all had those queries that are gigantic and become too cumbersome to read through or modify. A CTE, a.k.a. Common Table Expression, can be the savior you have been wishing for. They are great for separating different pieces of your query and performing some tasks before your query runs. To use a CTE: ...

Once upon a time a vendor set up a new SQL Server at the company I was working for. For whatever reason they decided it best to not work with the local DBA. A few weeks later a server admin emails me asking if I can help out with an issue they were having. He says the vendor has lost the sa password and cannot connect to the SQL Server instance. After having a good chuckle I agreed to help out and reset the SQL Server sa password. Here is how I did it: ...

I have been back and forth with the idea of blogging for a long time now. I read other people’s blogs daily and I really enjoy them. Constantly I get ideas that I would like to see blogged about, especially from bloggers I currently read. Time and time again I have written down my ideas for blog posts, maybe even managed to get a few paragraphs typed out. Nothing ever came of them besides consuming disk space on my laptop. So here it is, I finally made my first blog post. What was different this time than the other times? 3 things come to mind when I ask myself that question. ...