A big part of my DBA career has centered around identifying and sharing SQL Server DBA best practices. There are literally hundreds of different best practices, and as you might expect, not every best practice applies to every SQL Server environment. That means, that as a DBA, you must evaluate the many commonly accepted best practices and determine which ones best meet your particular needs.
Category Archives: Free Stuff
Free SQL Server DMV Starter Pack
The SQL Server DMV Starter Pack is a free eBook (84 pages) that describes 28 different ways that DMVs can be used with SQL Server. Not only is each way described in detail, but sample code is included so you can begin using the DMVs immediately. The book covers these uses of DMVs.
PAL 2.0 Beta Released
Back in 2008, I wrote a blog post about version 1 of the Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) tool. This free tool, available from pal.codeplex.com, has been enhanced, and Version 2.0, Beta 1.1, is currently available for download. I have just downloaded and installed it myself, although I haven’t had much chance to use it yet. When I have time, I will write a review of the new version. In the meantime, I recommend you download it and give it a try. It’s a great tool for analyzing Performance Monitor Logs, and it is also a great source for determining which Performance Monitor counters, and thresholds, should be used when analyzing SQL Server’s performance.
New Free eBook: Defensive Database Programming with SQL Server
Simple-Talk Publishing has released a new, free 291 page eBook called Defensive Database Programming with SQL Server, by Alex Kuznetsov. Here is what the book covers, as described from the book’s introduction.
“Resilient T-SQL code is code that is designed to last, and to be safely reused by others. The goal of defensive database programming, and of this book, is to help you to produce resilient T-SQL code that robustly and gracefully handles cases of unintended use, and is resilient to common changes to the database environment.
Learn How Vendors Price Their Software
As DBAs, we are often put in the position of purchasing software from third-party vendors. If you are like me, you are probably amazed at the wide variation in software prices, and how the price of a product seems to bear little relationship with its actual cost. For example, why is the SQL Server Enterprise Edition so much more expensive than the SQL Server Standard Edition?
Searching for Objects or Text Strings Using SQL Search
As a DBA, at one time or another, you will need to quickly find an object within a database, such as a table, view, or stored procedure. In other cases, it is handy to be able to search objects to locate specific text strings. Depending on which version of SQL Server you are using, you have had several choices.
Brad M McGehee 