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Picking up the pieces after the DBA has left: taking ownership of a SQL Server instance
WARNING: This post contains information that can get you fired if you use it without express written permission. In some jurisdictions it might get you jail time as well. Let’s assume you are a consultant, and a customer has called you in a panic because they have lost access to their production environment. Let’s assume
-> Continue reading Picking up the pieces after the DBA has left: taking ownership of a SQL Server instance
sql2xls goes cross-platform
Last year I released sql2xls, a free open-source tool which lets you throw a bunch of scripts into a folder, run them automatically against SQL Server and get the results back in a nicely-formatted Excel file, one tab per script. A year later, I am happy to announce that the tool now runs cross-platform. You
-> Continue reading sql2xls goes cross-platform
On the continuity of business
With entire countries shutting their borders, and people being forced to stay home and isolate themselves for as long as possible while health departments ramp up to handle this pandemic, the question of business continuity has been raised. This is where our training as data professionals comes in. The classic DBA must make sure that
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Join me in Victoria this Saturday
I will be presenting a new session, “Database administration through the ages,” at SQL Saturday #950 in Victoria this coming weekend. This is one of my favourite SQL Saturdays of the year because I love Vancouver Island (even when it rains, and despite breaking my foot there). In this session I look at what it
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Deprecated and discontinued features in SQL Server
My co-authors and I recently wrapped up the book SQL Server 2019 Administration Inside Out, which should be hitting the shelves in the next week or two. At the end of Chapter 1 I have a small note about deprecated and discontinued features, and this post expands on that section. The following statements are true:
-> Continue reading Deprecated and discontinued features in SQL Server
Join me at SQLBits 2020 (maybe)
(Last edited on March 11, 2020) The SQLBits conference, which was to take place in London between March 31st and April 4th, has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. SQLBits will now take place from September 29 to October 4, 2020. I was not selected to present a session this year, and I have
-> Continue reading Join me at SQLBits 2020 (maybe)
Disaster recovery, tools edition
I just completed a chapter for another book where I spoke about the Recovery Point Objective (how much data you are prepared to lose) and Recovery Time Objective (how long you have to bring your environment up again) after a disaster, and while I never get tired of repeating myself, that’s SQL Server. What happens
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Dealing with rejection
“Dear speaker This serves as notice that your session submission was not selected for our upcoming event. We had a lot of sessions to sort through, and unfortunately there were not enough spots available to take everyone. Please submit for next year. The conference organizers” I’m a user group leader, a former SQL Saturday organizer,
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I’m a DBA. Do I really need to know Kubernetes?
Welcome to February 2020. It’s the second month of the year 2020! I remember sitting at a server with SQL Server 6.5 installed on it, worrying about the Y2K bug. It feels like yesterday. While I haven’t been a database administrator for all that time between then and now, I have been exposed to broad
-> Continue reading I’m a DBA. Do I really need to know Kubernetes?
What is a strong password anyway?
Background Fellow Microsoft MVP Troy Hunt (blog | Twitter) has been operating the website Have I Been Pwned (HIBP) for a number of years now. For the record, “pwned” is pronounced like “owned” but with a “p” in front of it. Don’t use the term in public unless you’re in a room full of information security
-> Continue reading What is a strong password anyway?