SQL Server trace flags are configuration handles that can be used to enable or disable a specific SQL Server characteristic or to change a specific SQL Server behavior. It is an advanced SQL Server mechanism that allows drilling down into a hidden and advanced SQL Server features to ensure more effective troubleshooting and debugging, advanced […]
So far, we’ve discussed a lot about database backup-and-restore process. The backup database command is an online database copy of the SQL Server database and restore database command gives an option to test the consistency and integrity of the backup file. As we all know, the backup database command bound with many database options. Indeed, […]
It’s a time to turn the corner from “DBA” to “DBA specialist”. This in-depth guide explores the importance of database backup-and-restore features and skills you’ll need to build good backup-and-restore strategies using the available tools and techniques. Along the way, you’ll pick up some interesting insights and most of the concepts of database backup and […]
In this article, we’ll see the how the backup-and-restore meta-data tables store the information in the MSDB database. Also, discuss several T-SQL statements to derive most useful information with reference to data purge, database growth, backup report, restore history and more.
So far, we’ve discussed a lot about database backup commands. In this article, we’ll discuss more on database restore or database recovery processes. When you initiate a restore process, it undergoes a series of internal stages to restore or recover the data to the specific point of time.
In this article, we’ll walk through, some of the refined list of SQL Server backup-and-restore, (or recovery) interview Q&A. Also, it includes the high-level overview and links of the “stairway to backup-and-restore series” articles for detailed information. As you read through the lists of Q&A, you’ll learn most of the features and concepts of Backup-and-Restore […]
In this 18th article of the series, we will discuss the concepts of database backup-and-restore of SQL Server Docker containers using Azure Data Studio. Before proceeding, you need to have Docker engine installed and Azure Data Studio configured on your host machine. This article covers the following topics: Overview of Azure Data Studio (ADS) How […]
In this 17th article of the series (see the full article index at bottom), we will discuss the concepts of database backup-and-restore operations on SQL Server Docker containers. This is certainly the era of containers era and it is buzz right now, so let us understand the importance of backup-and-restore the databases on the Docker […]
So far, we discussed many de-facto details about SQL Server database backup and restore. In this 15th article of the series, we are going to discuss, the file-group and piecemeal database backup and restore process.
In the previous articles, we discussed several ways of taking backup and testing the restore process to ensure the integrity of the backup file. In this article, we’re going to discuss the importance of the database backup reporting. This kind of reporting will be designed to eliminate any unnecessary risk that may arise with the safety […]
The WRITELOG wait type is one of those wait types that can often be seen quite frequently on SQL Server, and that can cause a lot of headaches for DBAs. The WRITELOG wait time represents the time that accumulates while waiting for the content of the transaction log cache to be flushed to the physical […]
When maintaining SQL Server, it is essential to get an accurate perception of how busy it is. Two metrics that are often considered as indicators of how busy SQL Server is are Batch Requests/sec and Transaction/sec. When those metrics trend higher, they often affect all other metrics and make them go higher as well. While […]
A tail-log backup is a special type of transaction log backup. In this type of backup, the log records that have not been backed up are captured. This prevents data loss and maintains the log chain sequence.
This article discusses the concept of SQL Server backup and the various components required to use the Microsoft Azure Blob storage service as a target for the backup. As we all know, disk and tapes were the default destinations of choice until the evolution of the cloud platform. In addition to this, now we can […]
This article is an in-depth guide on how PowerShell can be used to maintain and manage SQL backup on Linux and Windows machines. Here’s an outline of what this article is all about: Introduction Technical specifications How to load SQL Server modules on Windows machine Security – Credential Management The objectives of Backup and Restore […]
In this article in our stairway series on SQL Server backup and restore, we shall discuss the importance of understanding the internals of the page restoration for a database administrator. Most of the time, performing a page-level restore suffices for database availability. A good backup strategy is a key to recovery or restoration, and SQL […]
So far, we’ve discussed several phases of backup that starts with planning, creating, strategizing and implementing. In this article, we are going to see how database administrators can define the strategy to improve backup performance and efficiently manage backups in SQL Server 2017. The following are the topics of discussion: Discuss checkpoints Discuss the enhancements […]
In the previous articles of this series (see the full article TOC at bottom), we discussed the internal structure of both SQL Server tables and indexes, the main guidelines that you can follow to design a proper index, the list of operations that can be performed on the SQL Server indexes, and finally how to […]
Data is the key to your organization’s future, but if it’s outdated, irrelevant, or hidden then it’s no good. Maintenance and administration of databases takes a lot of work. As database administrators, we often tend to automate most of these repetitive tasks. A database refresh is one of the most common tasks performed by most […]
In the article, we’ll walk through the concepts to understand database snapshots, and their benefits and limitations. This article will help you decide when to use a database snapshot, and when to use a backup. In some cases, the database relying on database backup and restoration operation is not a viable option. Let’s dig into […]
Database administrators are often requested to refresh a database, mostly to create a live copy of the production database to the test or development environment. This is done so that the development or the test environment closely resembles the production environment; this way, we prevent many undesirable issues when running the application in the production […]
Database administrators have a lot of tasks and responsibilities but perhaps the most challenging task is performance tuning. Because performance tuning issues can cause huge problems in the business area, database administrators have to monitor performance metrics and have to get immediate, if not sooner, notifications when the performance values cross an optimal state. Generally, […]
In this post, we are going to look at the new feature in SQL Server 2017 – interleaved execution. You need to install SQL Server 2017 CTP 1.3 to try it, if you are ready, let’s start. Now, when a CTP 2.0 of SQL Server 2017 is out, you don’t need to turn on the […]
One of the most important roles of a database administrator is to constantly protect the integrity of the databases and maintain the ability to recover quickly in case of a failure. In light of this, it’s critically important to have a backup-and-recovery strategy in place in order to be ready for an emergency. A key […]
This collection of content will provide an overview of top SQL Server books, with Amazon links for each book. The list is a combination of top Amazon SQL Server books (by the highest number of customer reviews) and the books included on other available ‘Top SQL Server books’ lists (see reference links at the bottom) […]
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