Updated First Responder Kit and Consultant Toolkit for February 2024

Last Updated 2 months ago

New this month: better sp_BlitzIndex performance on databases with tens of thousands of objects, sp_DatabaseRestore can run test scripts, and David Wiseman and Sean Killeen implemented basic automated testing for the First Responder Kit.

How I Use the First Responder Kit — Wanna watch me use it? Take the class.

To get the new version:

Download the updated FirstResponderKit.zip
Azure Data Studio users with the First Responder Kit extension:
ctrl/command+shift+p, First Responder Kit: Import.
PowerShell users: run Install-DbaFirstResponderKit from dbatools
Get The Consultant Toolkit to quickly export the First Responder Kit results into an easy-to-share spreadsheet

Consultant Toolkit Changes

I updated it to this month’s First Responder Kit, but no changes to querymanifest.json or the spreadsheet. If you’ve customized those, no changes are necessary this month: just copy your spreadsheet and querymanifest.json into the new release’s folder. However, in the Dec 2023 release, we we did update those files, so if you haven’t updated the Consultant Toolkit in a while and you’ve customized it, read that version’s release notes about updating.

sp_Blitz Changes

Enhancement: add non-default database configuration check for Accelerated Database Recovery. (#3411, thanks Erik Darling.)
Fix: skip drive info and SSRS/AS/IS checks on Managed Instances. (#3441, thanks Vlad Drumea.)
Fix: skip xp_regread when we don’t have permissions. (#3425, thanks Erik Darling.)
Fix: avoid duplicate rows on AGs. (#3402, thanks gotqn.)
Fix: permissions checks not working as intended. (#3377, thanks Montro1981.)

sp_BlitzCache Changes

Fix: typo. (#3421, thanks twitthoeft-gls.)

sp_BlitzIndex Changes

Enhancement: faster performance on databases with tens of thousands of objects or more. (#3394, thanks Henrik Stein Poulsen and Rich Benner.)
Fix: if a partitioned table had both columnstore and rowstore indexes, the columnstore visualization section showed extra blank rows. (#3415, thanks Chris May.)
Fix: improving language friendliness. (#3423, thanks Sean Killeen.)

sp_DatabaseRestore Changes

Enhancement: new @RunStoredProcAfterRestore parameter lets you specify a stored procedure name in the form of dbo.sp_Whatever to run after the restore completes. (#3429, thanks Greg Dodds.)
Enhancement: new @FileNamePrefix parameter to add to the names of all restored files. Useful when you need to restore different backups of the same database into the same directory. (#3431, thanks Lukasz Biegus.)

For Support

When you have questions about how the tools work, talk with the community in the #FirstResponderKit Slack channel. Be patient: it’s staffed by volunteers with day jobs. If it’s your first time in the community Slack, get started here.

When you find a bug or want something changed, read the contributing.md file.

When you have a question about what the scripts found, first make sure you read the “More Details” URL for any warning you find. We put a lot of work into documentation, and we wouldn’t want someone to yell at you to go read the fine manual. After that, when you’ve still got questions about how something works in SQL Server, post a question at DBA.StackExchange.com and the community (that includes me!) will help. Include exact errors and any applicable screenshots, your SQL Server version number (including the build #), and the version of the tool you’re working with.