http://edge.technet.com/Media/Real-World-DBA-Episode-5--The-DBA-Checklist/ This week: In the news, learn how you could win an Xbox, just for finding a bug. In this week’s feature, you’ll learn how to create your own DBA checklist. The web link shows...

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Real-World-DBA-Episode-3--Does-Join-Order-Matter/ This Week In the news, Microsoft releases a web-based database service. In this week’s feature I’m joined by Joe Webb, who answers the question “Does Join Order Matter...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the management reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking the SQL Server Agent node. From the menu...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the Security reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking the Logins node underneath the Security...

I normally don't just point out other links in this blog, because I figure that you read this one for original content. But today I'll break that rule for two reasons: The link is just so cool, and I got a visit from the "Flu Kitty" last night so I'm...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the Security reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking the Logins node underneath the Security...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the database reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking a database name. From the menu that appears...

In a couple of other posts, I’ve covered some of the challenges and strategies for dealing with those challenges that DBAs face. I mentioned that in my experience, the answers depend on the “kind” of DBA you are. I've covered the “single-seat” DBA and...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the Security reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking the Logins node underneath the Security...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the Management reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking the Management node. From the menu that...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio and today we’re in the management reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking the Management node. From the menu that...

Well, I had another post I had planned for today, but after reviewing some customer bugs and some newsgroups where I give out free help (on my own time, mind you) I had to change my mind. I've seen this behavior in grocery stores, online forums, and bug...

I'm continuing my series on the Standard Reports in SQL Server Management Studio , and today we’re in the management reports. You can find these reports by starting SQL Server Management Studio and right-clicking the Management node. From the menu that...

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Real-World-DBA-Episode-2-Using-the-Right-Identity/ (Note - there was one section in the podcast where I was not clear about the intent of a statement. Please see the "Addendum" section below for more on that!) This...

I’ve been asked what the most effective management processes are, and of course the answer is (as always) “it depends”. It depends because the size of the shop often dictates how much time you have to devote to your systems, how big those systems are...

You may already know that you get some real benefits by pairing up SQL Server 2005 on Windows server 2003. You get to tie out SQL Server accounts to some of the Windows Security Policies, for instance. This trend continues with SQL Server 2008 on Windows...

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Episode-4-Prepping-for-Install/ This week: In the news, Microsoft has updated the community links for SQL Server. In this week’s feature, I’ll explain the “big deal” about preparing for an installation, the web link...

I posted another entry about a question I received as to the most effective management processes are for a DBA, and in that post I mentioned that the answer was "it depends". There are a lot of ways to slice and dice the information, but I think a convenient...

One of the primary jobs of both developers and DBAs is optimization, or its more common name, performance tuning. Lots of the management tools improvements for SQL Server 2008 are aimed at performance, such as the new activity Monitor. Using the...

As part of my job I model quite a few things. I'm familiar with serveral modeling languages, and the two I use most often are Business Process Model Notation (BPMN) and the Unified Modeling Language (UML). I find that a picture is worth a thousand specs...

I started working in this team last August, so I really came in near the end of the new work on SQL Server 2008. Thankfully I was still able to get quite a few improvements and changes into a few of the management tools in the last few months. I am compiling...

As most of you know, I'm big on practical advice. My Podcast is even called the "Real World DBA" . I think until something becomes concrete, it's tough to buy off on it. On the other hand... I work in theoretical settings all day long. I deal with...

Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with a DBA who was visiting us from Australia. He is an amazing fellow. He originally set out to be a doctor, but found that he was losing his sight. He switched to studying law, but found that he enjoyed technology...