Category: Backups/Recovery

SQL Server 2016 End of Extended Support

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Many organizations are still running SQL Server 2016 in production. Sadly, many are running versions older than 2016 as well, however with SQL Server 2016, the end of extended support runs out very soon. July 14th, 2026, to be precise. After this date, there will be no additional updates unless you have an agreement for […]

SQL Server Upgrades

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I’ve had this conversation at least a 1000 times over the course of my career working with SQL Server and teaching classes. Is it better to upgrade in place or do a side by side upgrade. There are pros and cons to each method, however I’ll say upfront that my preference is a side-by-side upgrade […]

How to Reset the SA Password When You Get Locked Out

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Getting locked out of a SQL Server instance can happen due to a number of situations. The most common scenario I’ve encountered is when a SQL Server is moved from one domain to another without the domain being trusted or having a local SQL admin account. I recently encountered another incident where a DBA was […]

SQL Server Best Practices

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Many technologists dislike the term ‘Best Practice’ because what works for one environment might not work for another. I prefer the term ‘Industry Best Practice,’ prefaced with the caveat: ‘For most environments, this is a solid starting point and a widely accepted standard.’ With that in mind, here are several key configurations I wish every customer would […]

How To Restore Change Data Capture – CDC Tables When Restoring a SQL Server Database

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I have recently had the privilege of working with multiple clients who have been taking advantage of Change Data Capture “CDC”. Change Data Capture is a feature that utilizes SQL Server Agent to log inserts, updates, and deletes occurring in a table. It makes these data changes available to be consumed in a relational format. […]

How to Protect Against Ransomware as a DBA

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Over the years I’ve been called in to work with numerous clients that were hit with ransomware. Even the times that the customer paid the ransom to unlock their encrypted files, there were still issues. Often times there were still issues with the files where they will not restore or data/log files can’t attach to […]