Your client or boss just said, "Find out why this SQL Server is slow." You've already done a free SQL Server health check, and now you wanna investigate deeper.
Step 1: Download & run sp_BlitzFirst.
Start with wait stats, which tell you what the SQL Server has been waiting on since the service was last started, or since someone cleared wait stats with DBCC SQLPERF, whichever is more recent.
Your boss or client came to you and said, "Give me a quick health check on this SQL Server." Step 1: Download & run sp_Blitz. Go to our download page and get our First Responder Kit. There's a bunch of scripts and white papers in there, but the one to start with is sp_Blitz.sql. Open…
StackExchange users often ask, "Why is my server slow?" Here's a few tips to get better, faster answers. Server information You may have already included server information in your question, but it may not be sufficient. Run sp_Blitz to output a lot of server information fast. [crayon-6aa61cc41ce44025101446/] Click on the XML mumbo jumbo and post the…
Step By Step
When you think about setting up maintenance, a persistent fear is that tasks may step on each other. You probably don't want backups and CHECKDB and statistics maintenance running at the same time as statistics maintenance (notice I didn't say index maintenance, here, because you're smart and you skip it?). You may also throw in some other steps, like cleanup tasks something.
One of my most popular sessions is Watch Brent Tune Queries. I've updated it every year, tuning different queries, showing new tools like SentryOne's Plan Explorer, StatisticsParser.com, SSMS's plan comparison, and SSMS 2017's new scenario evaluation tool. One hour is never enough - there's so many tricks and tips I want to show in action, walking people through how I use them in a tuning scenario.
You’re a systems administrator or database administrator who wants to protect your production SQL Server. However, you don’t have a separate data center or another colo site.
You’re looking for instructions on:
Step 1. Run sp_Blitz and look for urgent warnings. sp_Blitz is one of the free scripts in our First Responder Kit. Just open the sp_Blitz.sql, run that to create the stored procedure, and type:
[crayon-6aa61cc41e34c169442607/]
It returns a prioritized list of things that are wrong, broken, or dangerous about your SQL Server. Focus on things in priority 1 through 50 - these are the big, urgent issues that can get you fired, or can cause showstopper problems:
The instant you encounter corruption in a production SQL Server database, stop. Read this entire article first to understand the big picture, and then come back here to take action. First, understand that you shouldn't start by trying to repair the corruption. You may be facing a storage subsystem problem where your storage is corrupting…
The statute of limitations has passed, so this week on SQL Server Radio, I get together with Guy Glantser and Matan Yungman to talk about our favorite oops moments. I talked about my very first database disaster ever - done back when I was in my 20s and working for a photo studio, using Xenix, long…
HW - if all you do is rack & stack hardware, you can manage thousands of boxes. You see this at Facebook/Google type scales.
OS - when you're responsible for troubleshooting operating system problems (as opposed to simply re-imaging the box from scratch), you can manage hundreds of boxes or VMs.
I saw a DBA.StackExchange.com question and had to laugh out loud:
"Is there a cool way of performing CU updates for SQL Server on hundreds of machines?"
No, and it has nothing to do with technology.
When the DBA reports to you, ask yourself two questions:
"What would I fire the DBA for?"
"How can I prove that they're not doing that?"
Stop. Before you think about upgrading your existing SQL Server to the latest version, think it through.
Your hardware is old. Even if it's just a couple of years old, the latest advances in processors, memory, and storage mean it's practically an antique.
Servers are like milk cartons: both need an expiration date printed clearly on the outside.When a project needs a new database server, I ask the business users, "How long does this server need to last?"Inevitably somebody gives the flip answer of, "Forever." I laugh along with the group and then wait with a calm smile…
We write a lot about best practices, we teach customers best practices, and we publish popular references for best practices about all sorts of things like performance monitoring, SQL Server Setup, and Availability Groups. But the internet is a sea of information and many SQL Server instances have unique needs. How does a SQL developer…
In theory, before you introduce a new system - database server, load balancer, virtualization infrastructure, etc - you build a robust runbook that documents how you'll handle every conceivable scenario. When there's any kind of failure, you'll simply turn to chapter X and start going through a precise checklist that will guide you to the promised land of uptime.
You need to poop. Maybe not right now, but in general, you need to breathe, eat, drink, sleep, and poop. If you can't do any of those things, then the rest of your needs will take a back seat until you can accomplish the basics.
Psychology professor Abraham Maslow designed Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to illustrate how us meatbags prioritize our daily tasks. It's usually visualized with a pyramid:
When I want to check out a piece of software, one of the first things I look for (after the price tag) is the support matrix. I want to know what versions of SQL Server and Windows they support. I lined that up with the available machines I had in-house, picked the right platform, and got started.
In a recent webcast on disaster recovery planning for small businesses, I talked about building a bug-out bag.
Every IT professional should have a bug-out bag in the trunk of their car with enough stuff to let them hit the road for 24-48 hours straight. This gear helps you react more confidently to minor problems and major disasters. Here's what I've got in my bug-out bag:
