SQL DBA Blog

Blog Posts

  • Keeping SQL Server and Critical Systems Up to Date

    Applying the latest patches to SQL Server, Windows OS, and underlying hardware is a vital part of maintaining secure, high-performing systems. For many organizations, this is done on a regular schedule—monthly, quarterly, or aligned with specific maintenance windows. However, for business-critical, 24/7 systems, patching takes extra planning and…

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  • How to Set the Default Database for SQL Server Users

    This blog post contains a quick guide on how to change your default database when you or your users next log in to SQL Server via SSMS. When you log into SQL Server using SSMS and open a new query window, you will automatically be set to use…

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  • How to Open SSMS as a Different Domain User

    If you’re working with SQL Server in a corporate environment, you might need to connect to the server using a different Domain User account, opening SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) as a another user. This may be required if your computer is joined to a different Domain than…

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  • Troubleshooting Database Mirroring Issues in SQL Server

    Maintaining high availability and data integrity in a SQL Server environment is one of the main priorities as a SQL DBA. One issue we may encounter is Mirrored databases being left in a Disconnected or In Recovery state. In this article, we’ll share the different methods on how…

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  • What’s New in SQL Server 2025

    Microsoft announced SQL Server 2025 at Microsoft Ignite, with major new features focused on AI and integrating Azure SQL DB capabilities into on-premises servers. Check out this Microsoft Announcement post for more information: Announcing Microsoft SQL Server 2025: Enterprise AI-ready database from ground to cloud Key Features –…

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  • Time To Revive This Blog

    As per title, I’m keen to revive this blog here at https://peter-whyte.com. I haven’t been publishing regularly for over a year, and it’s been many years since I changed the theme/design. So here we go, a new theme is in-place, updates are underway to improve the overall design,…

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  • How to Set Environment Variables in PowerShell

    Environment variables store key information on your system that programs can use to influence their behavior. For example, the AWS CLI uses the AWS_REGION variable to determine the region for API requests. This guide will cover:– Listing all environment variables– Retrieving the value of a specific environment variable–…

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  • How to Kill SPIDs in SQL Server

    In SQL Server, Session Process IDs (SPIDs) play a crucial role in identifying and managing SQL connections. The KILL (SPID) command serves as a tool for terminating troublesome sessions. This blog post provides an overview of the KILL command and its practical applications. The following is included in…

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  • Git Log Author Command Example

    If you’re a Git user, you’ll be familiar with the git log command, which allows you to view the commit history for a repository. This blog post is to share an extra tip while using the command, utilising the –author parameter which allows you to filter the commits…

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Useful SQL DBA Scripts

Performance
– Quick Performance Troubleshooting Scripts
– Get Current User Activity & Blocking
– Get Exclusive Locks on Tables
– Get Wait Stats & Top Consuming Queries
– Identify Missing & Unused Indexes
– Get SQL Server Hardware Info
High Availability
– Get Always On Availability Group (AAG) Latency
– Get Mirroring Status & Latency
– Get Replication Latency
– Get Last Node Blip in SQL Server FCI
Maintenance
– Get Estimated Database Backup/Restore Time
– Get Last Database Backup Dates/Times
– Get Database Sizes & Space Used
– Get Table Sizes in SQL
– Get Index & Heap Fragmentation Levels
Security & Auditing
– Get SQL User Permissions and Roles
– Creating SQL Users on Availability Groups
– Audit Failed Login Attempts

Categories

– AWS
– DBA Stories
– Linux
– MySQL
– Other
– Postgres
– PowerShell
– Redshift
– SQL Server
– Windows Server

Tags

Always On Availability Groups (AAG) (3) Certificates & Encryption (3) Change Data Capture (CDC) (2) Database Admin (72) Database Backups & Recovery (13) Database Mirroring (2) Deleting Data (1) Error Messages (4) Git Commands (5) Importing & Exporting Data (2) Linked Servers (3) Linux Admin (2) Logging & Monitoring (1) Measuring Databases (10) Microsoft Patching (2) PowerShell Scripts (1) SQL Server Agent (4) SQL Server Database Files (1) SQL Server Data Types (2) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) (14) SQL Server Network Connectivity (3) SQL Server on Linux (1) SQL Server Patching (2) SQL Server Performance (5) SQL Server Permissions (1) SQL Server Processes (5) SQL Server Replication (2) SQL Server Scripts (13) Windows Admin (21) Windows Authentication (2) Windows Automation (1) Windows Events (2) Windows Firewall (4) Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) (19)