Tag: Database Admin

  • How to Check Table Sizes in SQL Server

    There are many ways to check the size of a table in SQL Server. The way you will do it will likely depend on what your task at-hand is. For example, a quick look at the Disk Usage by Top Tables report on a database you’ve never seen…

    Read More


  • Backing Up a SQL Server Database

    Backing up a database is something I’ve always found easier done within a query window. There’s not much to it; That’s what I’m used to writing. I’ve no need to worry about the copy_only option these days, or check SQL Server Editions to see if I can use…

    Read More


  • Restoring a SQL Server Database

    This is a simple guide to restoring a full backup file in SQL Server, providing an overview of a few options that are available during the process. It is always a good idea to read through Microsoft’s documentation on database restores before proceeding. This will ensure that you…

    Read More


  • Monitoring Database Growth Events in SQL Server

    Database growth events occur when a SQL Server database file reaches its capacity and automatically grows to accommodate more data. These events are configured in the database properties, where you can define growth increments in MB or GB. Properly configuring these settings is important for maintaining performance, as…

    Read More


  • Reset Default PostgreSQL User Password

    A common scenario working with Postgres is when you have forgotten your default Postgres user password. This is the password you will have entered during your Postgres installation. This is a guide on how to reset the default Postgres user password. This should hopefully help you resolve this…

    Read More


  • How To Install PostgreSQL on Windows

    PostgreSQL is a free open-source RDMS that is widely used and forked. Other than PostgreSQL itself, Redshift is the only other forked database I’ve ever touched. This blog post is a very simple wizard run-through of installing PostgreSQL and Stack Builder on Windows for testing. # Install PostgreSQL…

    Read More


  • Show Available Disk Space in SQL Server

    This blog post is to share a script that you can run in SQL Server (versions 2008 R2 and above) which shows the available disk space for all local volumes on a SQL Server host. I’m also including a quick note on how to get this information with…

    Read More


  • Killing SQL Server Processes (SPIDs)

    Sometimes in SQL Server, you encounter processes that need to be terminated—whether it’s a query running wild, consuming too many resources, or holding up others. In this demo, we’ll set up a blocking SPID to simulate such a scenario, then resolve it by identifying and killing the offending…

    Read More


  • Renaming a computer that hosts SQL Server

    When changing the hostname of a computer running SQL Server, system metadata must be updated so that remote connections and applications do not lose connectivity. Those that use @@SERVERNAME or query sys.servers for the hostname that is. Microsoft’s documentation pages are a must read as always. Some considerations include;…

    Read More


  • Installing SQL Server 2017

    Installing SQL is a straight-forward task… but it’s important that things are in-place from the get-go to prevent having to make changes on a live system. There are a few best practises that can be defined within the installation wizard and many to be applied post install. This…

    Read More