Posts by Brent Ozar

Brent Ozar

2779 posts

https://www.brentozar.com

I make Microsoft SQL Server go faster. I love teaching, travel, cars, and laughing. I'm based out of Las Vegas. He/him.

Stop Shrinking Your Database Files. Seriously. Now.

Last Updated October 9, 2019

Brent Ozar

Production Database Administration

301

I had sworn to myself that if I saw one more helpful article about how to shrink your SQL Server database files with DBCC SHRINKFILE or how to back up your log with TRUNCATE_ONLY, I was going to write a rant about it. Epic Advice Fail SQL Server Magazine just tweeted about their latest article,…

We’re Moving to Chicago

Last Updated August 19, 2009

Brent Ozar

Erika and I have moved a lot lately! Chicago Skyline In 2005, we left Houston, Texas and moved to Miami Beach, Florida so Erika could pursue her education as an air traffic controller. In early 2008, when she finished her degree and got an offer from the FAA, we moved back to Houston. Later that…

SQL Server 2008 R2: Into the Clouds

Last Updated September 14, 2022

Brent Ozar

SQL Server

R2’s new Data-Tier Application (DAC) capabilities give the DBA to manage databases as if they were more like virtual servers. Today I’m going to talk about what that means short-term and long-term. Short-Term: Nothing To See Here, Move Along I don’t think most DBAs will see a .dacpack file in the wild for years: It’s…

SQL Server 2008 R2 Hands-On Lab

Last Updated August 12, 2009

Brent Ozar

Wanna play with R2, but you don’t have the time to do it? Yeah, I remember what it was like having a real job. R2 Splash Screen That’s where I come in. It’s my job to learn the latest and greatest from our friends in Redmond, and I’ve already got my SQL Server 2008 R2…

SQL Server 2008 R2: The DAC Pack

Last Updated August 23, 2009

Brent Ozar

R2 makes it easier for DBAs to move databases around from server to server in much the same way virtualization admins move guest OS’s around between physical hosts. In my last blog post about SQL Server 2008 R2, I explained that databases are becoming more like virtual servers, and today I’ll talk about what that…

Blog Quiz from Chris Shaw

Last Updated August 11, 2009

Brent Ozar

Today’s quiz from Chris Shaw is a two-parter, and for once in a web quiz, the second part really is a quiz. 1. Do you feel that you have a reliable SAN solution? If so, what’s the secret? Your SAN Admins The key to getting a reliable SAN solution that no human being can mess…

SQL Server 2008 R2: Think Virtualization

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Brent Ozar

Virtualization

How are my servers doing? How are my databases doing? If my boss came in and asked which servers needed more horsepower or which ones could be consolidated together, how would I come up with an answer? I’ve always found it funny that DBAs and sysadmins don’t have good answers to these questions. We roll…

Download the SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise CTP

Last Updated August 10, 2009

Brent Ozar

Ladies and gentlemen, start your downloads. The SQL Server 2008 R2 community preview is now available for downloading. Read the Data Platform Insider blog entry for more details. The download link in that blog entry didn’t work for me, but the ever-insightful Wesley Backelant pointed out that it’s available in MSDN/Technet too. In your product…

Twitter Down to a Denial of Service Attack

Last Updated August 6, 2009

Brent Ozar

I’ve gotten quite a few questions over email about Twitter being down, and here’s a couple of tips. When you wonder whether a site is up or not, check DownForEveryoneOrJustMe.com. When you’re having a Twitter problem, check the Twitter status blog. When you’re bored because everything’s down, go to a random Wikipedia article. Update 11:30AM…

Virtualization Isn’t The Answer To Sprawl

Last Updated September 5, 2009

Brent Ozar

Denis Gobo (Blog – Twitter) wrote an article yesterday about SQL Server sprawl – the problem of database servers popping up from under desks, datacenter corners, and developer cubicles. Part of the problem stems from SQL Server 2005 and earlier not requiring a license key, so they didn’t need a keygen hack or fake serial…

Are DBAs Losing Power?

Last Updated August 4, 2009

Brent Ozar

Billy Bosworth (Blog (not updated recently)), the head honcho of the database business unit at Quest Software, has been posing an interesting question lately: “Are DBAs losing their power?” We used to be all-powerful. When we walked into a development team meeting, we could pound our fist on the table, demand a primary key on…

New Twitter home page means search is king

Last Updated September 5, 2009

Brent Ozar

Tonight, Twitter changed their public page – the one you see before you log in – to focus on something completely different: New Twitter Home Page Now the home page revolves around search by saying, “See what people are saying about…”, offering a big prominent search box, and showing the trending topics at the bottom…

Microsoft Office 2008 SP2 for Mac Fail

Last Updated August 6, 2009

Brent Ozar

Microsoft just put out a service pack for Microsoft Office 2008 for the Mac. Don’t install it. Nothing about this service pack appears to be unusual until you try to open certain files in Excel, PowerPoint or Word: Microsoft PowerPoint Error Clicking Yes takes you to a page titled, “I can’t open an Office document…

We Finished the Chicago-Mac Race (Last)

Last Updated July 23, 2018

Brent Ozar

SQL Server

The good news: in the official press release announcing the winners of the Chicago-Mac sailing race, the Hannah Frances was included along with the winners. Hannah Frances Skipper Mike Cook Receiving the Pickle Boat Trophy The bad news was the way we got mentioned: “While 33 boats chose to retire, most citing reasons related to…

July 2009 PowerShell Poll

Last Updated July 27, 2009

Brent Ozar

Chad Miller put out a new SQL Server PowerPack for Quest’s free PowerShell tool, PowerGUI, which got me to thinking – I wonder if there’s been more PowerShell adoption lately? [poll id=”2″] And because the results can get skewed by job description: [poll id=”3″] Thanks for taking the time to answer! Your feedback is a…

The Ozar Family Tradition of Performance Monitoring

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Brent Ozar

Monitoring, Wait Stats

When my Grandpa Ozar wanted to find out if his 10 megabyte 5.25″ hard drive was responding fast enough to handle his database loads, he monitored the Perfmon counter Physical Disk: Disk Queue Length.

Things have changed since Grandpa’s time, though, and now it’s time to learn a new performance tuning trick – SQL Server waits.

Why Your Servers Need a Physical

Last Updated November 1, 2009

Brent Ozar

I’ve been really lucky so far: I hardly ever get sick. Steak Tartare Every now and then, I engage in risky eating behavior and I come down with food poisoning. I should know better, but I just can’t help myself when I get the chance to try steak tartare, sushi, deep fried goat cheese or…

Two DBAs Walk Into a Bar

Last Updated September 5, 2009

Brent Ozar

Every year, Quest Software convenes a Customer Advisory Board at the home office in Aliso Viejo, California. We bring some of our highly experienced customers out for a couple of days to talk about what’s happening with technology, and good times are had by all. At the welcome reception, I was struck by how many…

Nice Overalls You Got There

Last Updated July 23, 2018

Brent Ozar

Humor

Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night stays long-distance sailors from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. Chicago-Mac race sailors stand a pretty good chance of running into bad weather, so I picked up a set of foulies. Not Pictured – Dignity Pictured here: bibs, just one part of the foul…

SQL Azure Pricing: $10 for 1GB, $100 for 10GB

Last Updated February 13, 2017

Brent Ozar

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft’s pricing for SQL Server in the cloud, SQL Azure, has been announced. It’s free for now, but around November it’ll be: $9.99 per month for 0-1GB $99.99 per month up to 10GB SQL Azure There’s currently a 10GB maximum size cap for SQL Azure. For larger data storage needs, you’ll need to break the…