On behalf of every database administrator everywhere, I implore you not to run CHKDSK on a system that has a live database installed and running. This includes, but is not limited to: SQL Server PostgreSQL…
Information — in the form of data — usually stored as binary 1s and 0s in an electronic data store, is not immutable. Even the hardiest data storage designed to last for a thousand years,…
One of my special interests as an autistic person is understanding mechanical components of a computer, both analog and digital. In the olden days, we had devices known as hard drives which used one or…
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…
Victoria is on an island off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia. The island is wisely called Vancouver Island. It is beautiful there, and I wouldn’t mind retiring there someday. Those of you who listen…
Recently, I was asked to assist an organization with getting their data back for a SQL Server that had experienced physical hard drive failure. I asked a lot of questions about the configuration of the…
Today’s post is just a bunch of questions, but they are very important questions, all around the main topic of a Backup Retention Policy. How long do you keep backups for every database in your environment (including…
Last week I wondered whether a log backup chain would survive a database migration. Unsurprisingly, the answer is “yes”. I also asked if a log backup taken on the new instance would be usable on…
In this new series, I will share some things that took place early in my career that could have resulted in my looking for new work—but didn’t! This post is also evidence that I haven’t…
Blob Storage Sync tool updated During a SQL Server migration this month, I found some inconsistencies in my Azure Blob Storage Sync tool, so I made several improvements, and fixed an outstanding bug. As you…
I’ve been vocal for some years about the importance of backups, and I have zero sympathy for anyone who does not have good backups*. This comes with (very) painful experience: a few years ago, during…