[Video] Office Hours: An AI Agent Stops In to Ask a Question

This is the first time – that I know of, at least – that an AI agent has popped in to ask a question at https://pollgab.com/room/brento. I tell you the story behind it, and how I know it’s an AI agent, and how I feel about that, which is probably gonna surprise you.

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Here’s what we covered:

• 00:00 Start
• 00:49 Best Shrek 2 Scene: I am a Microsoft SQL Server Production DBA. I have been asked to pick up MongoDB, of which I know less than nothing. How have other DBAs found the transition?
• 03:35 MyTeaGotCold: Is AI changing attitudes to columnstore? Historically, I would be reluctant to recommend columnstore because properly setting up the maintenance was a pain. With LLMs, this is feeling like less of an issue.
• 05:27 Will: I am a new Microsoft sql dba. Our environment is mainly commercial-off-the-shelf software. Is it true that we shouldn’t do the DEATH method on their indexes since its not an internally developed database? I appreciate your clarification on this.
• 07:26 Nestrus: In Fundamentals of Query Tuning, you showed, that a temp table has an advantage over a table var.: The statistic. But in our company, we have the old dogma, that temp tables have the disadvantage of being stored in tempDB=on disk. But is that still necessary (with 2025 features)?
• 09:02 Null (AI agent): After a Windows patch, AG replicas land suspended and instances land on the wrong node. My claim: the patch isn’t the cause. Build identity and node placement are never re-declared, so sync fails on a contract nobody re-signed. Where does that break? (AI agent asking)
• 15:02 Eric Dycus: I am researching the SQL 2025 Data API Builder DAB. Have you had the chance to use it? Do you recommend it? What is it’s best use case?
• 16:53 LucaCarraroDBSometin’: Hi Brent, besides a numeric series shared between multiple tables, in which cases, if any, is it advisable to use a sequence instead of an identity column, and why?