Finding the Leader Blocker
Learn how to identify the head blocker in SQL Server and trace a blocking chain to its source.
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Change in plans for LGBT+ Meetup at PASS Summit 2017
Unfortunately, due to a change in plans, I’m not going to be at PASS Summit this year, so I won’t be hosting this meetup in 2017. Hopefully, next year the event will be back! Still want to meet up? If you’re bummed that this meetup isn’t happening (I know I …
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Shortcuts From an Impatient DBA Recording- DBA Fundamentals
I often get asked, “Do you have any of your sessions recorded so I can watch them online?” And the answer has always been, “No, you’ll have to come see me in person.” I’m a tad of a perfectionist, so if I was going to record something just for publication …
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Multi-Statement TVFs in Dynamics CRM
In this post, I walk through identifying and fixing a serious performance issue with a multi-statement TVF in Dynamics CRM.
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SentryOne Community Ambassador
I share my excitement about joining SentryOne’s Community Ambassador program and what the role means.
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The most important resume tip
Writing a good resume is hard. People will tell you lots of rules about what you should always or never do with your resume. Should you follow those rules? Are things different because of your industry/background/geography/niche? Should you be clever or …
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What’s wrong with DELETE EXISTS?
A closer look at DELETE statements that use EXISTS, and the problems this pattern can hide.
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Why Best Practices Exist: Learning from others' mistakes
The latest malware to make the headlines is really interesting to me. It’s a ransomware worm called Petya. Ransomware is particularly interesting to me as a DBA, because DBAs are responsible for keeping data safe, and ransomware is specifically designed to …
Continue readingLGBT+ Meetup at PASS Summit 2017
UPDATE: Unfortunately, due to a change in plans, I'm not going to be at PASS Summit this year, so I won't be hosting this meetup in 2017. Check out details here. Last year, I organized an (unofficial) PASS Summit LGBT Meetup. It was a bit of a last-minute …
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Transaction log growth during BACKUP
Over on Stack Exchange, someone asked why their transaction log was growing very fast during a full backup. An interesting tidbit to this question is that the database is in SIMPLE recovery – so the log should stay tiny, right? Wrong. While taking a full …
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What the heck is a DTU?
In this post, I explain Azure SQL Database DTUs (Database Transaction Units) and the differences you might see between the documentation and practical usage.
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Blogging at SQLPerformance.com
As part of my role on the SentryOne Product Advisory Council (PAC), I'm going to occasionally be contributing posts over at SQLPerformance.com
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Congratulations 2017 Microsoft MVP!
Earlier this month, I got an email with the subject line “Congratulations 2017 Microsoft MVP!” I immediately commenced doing a Snoopy happy dance (my dog, Callie, picked up on the excitement and joined in). If you aren’t familiar with the MVP Program, you …
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SQLSaturday Boston 2017 Roundup
A recap of SQLSaturday Boston 2017, including the sessions, people, and work behind the event.
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Customizing SSRS Sender Address
In SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS), you can configure the sender address for email subscriptions at the instance level. This means that every email sent from your SSRS server will come from the same address. (On each subscription, you can optionally …
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Keyboard shortcut to close a query tab in SSMS
Shortcuts & tips from an Impatient DBA This series of short posts will demonstrate some lesser-known features, keyboard shortcuts, and other tips that make my day as a DBA more productive. None of these are groundbreaking super-secret features–they are the …
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Building a Twitter-bot RSS Aggregator
I hate RSS readers For some reason, about once a year, I go hunting for a new RSS reader so I can keep track of blogs that I like to read. It’s always the same process: Dig through reviews to find an app that I think I will love. Come up with a list of blogs …
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Community Influencer of the Year
A reflection on being named Community Influencer of the Year and the people who make technology communities welcoming.
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TSQL Tuesday #85: Backup + Recovery + ☁️
It’s T-SQL Tuesday, the blog party that SQL Server expert Adam Machanic (blog) started. This month’s episode is hosted by Kenneth Fisher (blog). The topic: Backup & Recovery Your backups are my bread & butter Backup & recovery are a DBA’s bread & butter. I …
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December SQLSaturdays--DC & Providence, RI
Next month, I’ll be speaking at two SQLSaturday events. Washington, DC - #SqlSat574 - December 3, 2016 The DC SQL Saturday was the first SQL Saturday I spoke at–so this one will always be a special event for me. Hopefully, I’ll be able to speak at this event …
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T-SQL Tuesday #83: Roundup
For this month’s T-SQL Tuesday, I asked people to blog about the same old problems we’ve been dealing with for years. There were some great posts, including a batch of first-time contributors. You’ll notice some overlapping themes as you read through these …
Continue reading(Unofficial) PASS Summit 2016 LGBT Meetup
PASS Summit has tons of opportunities to meet like-minded folks, in addition to seeing old friends. There are the Women In Tech and Birds of a Feather Luncheons. There is the Community Zone. Friends catch up over coffee and meals. There are vendor parties. …
Continue readingWe’re still dealing with the same problems
Back in August, Allan Hirt (blog) tweeted: Allan Hirt@SQLHA twitter In the roughly 25 years of I have been in IT, we’re still dealing with the same problems. 6:23 PM · Aug 30, 2016 I had a slow day, so I generated a storm of responses. This month’s T-SQL …
Continue readingT-SQL Tuesday #83: We're still dealing with the same problems
What is T-SQL Tuesday? T-SQL Tuesday is a monthly blog party hosted by a different blogger each month. This blog party was started by Adam Machanic (blog). You can take part by posting your own participating post that fits the topic of the month and follows …
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