One of the most common missed configuration settings in SQL Server is the cost threshold for parallelism. By default it is set to 5, meaning that when SQL estimates that the cost of a query will be greater than 5 running a serial plan, SQL will split the plan into...
There may be a situation when you need to move one of your servers that is part of an Availability Group to a different data center and the IP address for that server will change. In this example, we will be moving a DR node from one data center to another and change...
As a SQL Server DBA, there will be times when you will cross over into the system administrator realm of responsibilities or at a minimum explaining them how to fix errors so your SQL environment runs better. WSFC (windows server failover cluster) is setup for...
There comes a time in everyone's life that they need to be concerned about tempdb. I know… we all have configured it correctly and it's running great. The application and all of the developers are using it like crazy …Wait… that may not be a good thing. Right?...
CTEs may not be used for performance but there are times they could help you from a performance standpoint. The following example uses the same logic written in a way to use three different types of temporary objects. It shows what is done with each process using...
When you create a new Availability Group there are a couple of administrative tasks that should be completed before creating your Availability Group within SQL Server. This will elevate any domain permission issues when you are trying to create your Availability Group...
I had an issue where I was trying to create a new Availability Group. During the creation process, it sits at the "Joining 'DBName' to availability group 'AGName' on 'servername'" step for a very long time. You are either forced to cancel and delete the AG or wait...
Transparent Data Encryption(TDE) encrypts SQL and azure database files by encrypting data at rest. In a situation where your physical media such as data, log and backup files get stolen the malicious party can restore/attach the database and retrieve data. TDE...
What's in a name? When it comes to different Relational Database Management systems (RDMS) it can be confusing. The same words have different meaning depending on the software. SQL Server Database Engine has Instances, Logins, Databases, Schema, and User. When a DBA...
You may have heard a lot of talk about some new features and enhancements coming with SQL Server 2017 and for good reason. From database administrators to developers and report writers, there's something new and exciting for just about everyone. While the spotlight...