Get required permissions for DMVs
Part of my job at work is to update Transact-SQL reference content. System dynamic management views (DMVs) have permissions that are managed in the SQL Server Database Engine source code, so it’s a little tricky…
I don’t blog anymore, but not because I work at Microsoft
Last year I had a health scare that got my blood pressure at 200-and-something over 100-and-something, soon to be wired up to an IV drip, put through a CT scanner, and a couple of weeks…
Just one more thing, an essay on troubleshooting
Over the weekend I watched — for the first time in my life — an episode of the long-running ABC and NBC police show Columbo, starring Peter Falk. I originally knew him from the film…
Choco upgrade, y’all
Chocolatey is a package manager for Windows, like the built-in package managers on Linux, and third-party ones on macOS like Homebrew and MacPorts. The idea is this: when you’re setting up a machine, you don’t…
Things to check when restoring a database
Whenever I restore a database — especially one I obtained outside of my regular environment (for example a customer database, a development database, or even a sample database like WideWorldImporters) — there are a few…
Which configuration changes in SQL Server require a restart?
SQL Server is a complex beast, with many configuration options that can range from recommended to completely avoided. Since the release of SQL Server 2016, several options that were recommended post-install have been rolled into…
These are the extensions I have installed on Azure Data Studio
At last week’s presentation to the Edmonton SQL Server user group, I spoke at length about the many extensions that are available for Azure Data Studio, and was asked by Chris Wood to share all…
Installing SQL Server on Windows? Don’t forget these two useful switches
A few days ago on Twitter I wrote: Couldn’t connect to new SQL Server install because I forgot to enable TCP/IP. I’m the lead author for a Microsoft Press book about SQL Server administration. Aside…
Proposed SQL Server defaults: max server memory
(This post was updated on 1 August 2022.) A few months ago I suggested that the following settings should be the default for most SQL Server instances: Set cost threshold for parallelism to 50 Disable…
Proposed SQL Server defaults: disable priority boost
(This post was updated on 5 February 2022.) A few months ago I suggested that the following settings should be the default for most SQL Server instances: Set cost threshold for parallelism to 50 Disable…
Proposed SQL Server defaults: disable lightweight pooling
(This post was updated on 5 February 2022.) A few months ago I suggested that the following settings should be the default for most SQL Server instances. Set cost threshold for parallelism to 50 Disable…
Proposed SQL Server defaults: cost threshold for parallelism
(This post was updated on 5 February 2022). A few months ago I suggested that the following settings should be the default for most SQL Server instances: Set cost threshold for parallelism to 50 Disable…
Fix SQL Server with one click
(This post was updated on 5 February 2022.) Tempting headline, isn’t it? It might even seem like clickbait, but that’s not the intention. The SQL Server default configuration is not recommended for production environments, and…
Updated Max Server Memory Script
Earlier this year I released a free T-SQL script that will calculate the correct amount of RAM you should allocate to SQL Server, assuming it is a standalone instance. After attending the PASS Summit in Seattle in…
Max Server Memory Revisited
Some time ago, I added a free resource to this site to help DBAs know how much max server memory should be assigned to SQL Server, based on an algorithm by Jonathan Kehayias. On 19…