Thanks to 2020, many of us don’t remember the last time we took a holiday or vacation. If you were able to get away from the office, kudos to you.…
7 Things DBAs Should Do Before Going On Holiday
Database 102 – Why Is My Query Slow?
As a database administrator (aka DBA, or Default Blame Acceptor) throughout my career, I’ve worked with a myriad of developers, system administrators, and business users who have all had the…
The Database Future Is in the Cloud
I’ve written before about the disappearing DBA, and how the database administration role itself is evolving. I believe the days of tuning indexes are ending, one page at a time.…
Databases 101 – Factors to Consider When Choosing a Database
In part one of this series, we discussed the different types of databases available on the market today. In part two, we discussed how to choose the right database for…
VMDK versus RDM: Which One Do I Need for SQL Server?
When it comes to disk configuration options for virtualized servers running on VMware, you have two options: VMFS virtual file-based disk (VMDK) or a raw device mapping (RDM). Which one…
Hardware or Code? SQL Server Performance Examined
CPUs are running faster now than ever before, solid-state drives are replacing spinning disks, and database servers have terabytes of RAM. Because these resources are plentiful and increasingly affordable, it can seem tempting to solve database performance issues with hardware. But consider this example: if CPU utilization shoots up to 90% on one of your servers and stays at that level for a day or two, is the problem lack of CPU power or something else?