Grumpy Old DBA - Beware the darkside !

Not obvious then ?

GrumpyOldDBA — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 12:49:00 GMT

I requested that we service pack a third party app - here's the response I have received a reply back from Engineering that SP4 is certified now with WLE 7.x. Engineering ran some tests against SP4 and it runs fine and doesn't introduce any obvious...(read more)

You couldn't write it - Expired SA account

GrumpyOldDBA — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 16:28:00 GMT

This is the stuff of DBA nightmares ! email trail: Q. Can you reset the SA account on server XXXXX, we think it has expired and now no-one can work. Connect to Server: Surely no-one would set up a Server with an sa account which expires? Thankfully not...(read more)

You Couldn't Write it - Houston we have a problem!

GrumpyOldDBA — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 21:16:00 GMT

Note identities changed to protect the innocent (sic ). In a datacentre I have an iscsi san which provides storage for a SQL Cluster. It developed a fault and required replacement of a few parts, all hot swappable. Although we had suppport/warranty this...(read more)

You Couldn’t Write it !! ( part 1 )

GrumpyOldDBA — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 19:41:00 GMT

This post was inspired by a developer and I think illustrates the gulf that can sometimes exist between IT and the business. I should point out that this post is the diplomatic version! Initially I was sent a simple search for a person with a question...(read more)

Performance issues due to Inactive Terminal Server Ports

GrumpyOldDBA — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 15:03:00 GMT

This is an interesting post and although I don't have any direct issues of performance with any of my Servers I can see the build up in the registry as described. If you make extensive use of DPR / TS sessions you might want to check this out http...(read more)

We all read the instructions first - right ?

GrumpyOldDBA — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:08:00 GMT

I've been working with the bare metal Hyper V and it's been an interesting time, if you haven't ever encountered windows core then it's a bit of a culture shock, as I understand it SQL Server will be running on windows core very soon ...(read more)

x64 Memory Issues - revisited

GrumpyOldDBA — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 08:19:00 GMT

It's funny how things seem to bob to the surface every so often, a bit like revivals of Musicals or the fact you know it's christmas becuase ET is on the TV again. Blake Morrision from the Ask the Performance Team has blogged about issues with...(read more)

Q. When is a HEAP not a HEAP ?

GrumpyOldDBA — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 20:56:00 GMT

A. When it’s on SQL Server. A very important part of Business Analysis is understanding the perceptions of users even if they haven’t clearly stated a requirement, so a SQL Server table without a clustered index is known as a heap ( in fairness I could...(read more)

A follow up to yesterday

GrumpyOldDBA — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 22:02:00 GMT

As I have been asked, here to tidy up yesterdays post is the procedure my startup procedure calls along with the logging table deployed in the DBA database. Just to muddy the water further I have routines for remotely calling the DBAMessages table...(read more)

Hello it’s your server calling

GrumpyOldDBA — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 20:12:00 GMT

This is nothing exciting but I've always found this startup procedure very useful. All this simple procedure does is send you an email if the SQL Service Starts. If your Server is a cluster it will tell you which node you're on. -- On it's...(read more)