Are your SQL Server instances secure? With new threats to your data emerging every day, it’s a difficult question to answer. And what is even included in the word “secure”? Sure, maybe you’re confident you have security against hacking (or maybe not?), but what about internal security? Are you protected against oops moments? Are there elevated permission assigned that you didn’t know about? Are there troublesome configurations with your SQL Server instance? Do you know what to look for, or even where to start? Here at Straight Path Solutions, we’re big fans of community tools like sp_WhoI ..read more

A couple of weeks ago, I started blogging about part of the journey of creating our SQL Server Consulting firm. I may someday work on more posts on the journey from full-time DBA to doing some side work to leaving with an “anchor client” to going off on my own (and my adventures with Linchpin People and joining up with others), and then the journey that eventually led to creating Straight Path Solutions as we know it today – a busy SQL Server consulting firm offering Senior DBA as a Service to over 100 clients, with a growing team of excellent full-time employees and some partners in areas we ..read more

Principles and Values First In 2011, I set out to be an independent SQL Server consultant. At the time, if you told me I’d be looking back 13 years later as a “CEO” with a team of 15+ FTEs I would have laughed at you, I think. But it happened. I’ve been reflecting back on the journey of building Straight Path recently. From our humble beginnings of one SQL Server geek with an anchor client and a dream to a “real company” with 401(k)s, sabbaticals, and accountants – I’ve often used the word “accidental” to describe what we’ve built here. But a fairer assessment would be – we were intentional ab ..read more

I wrote this to share a series of scripts that help identify if workloads are appropriately separated on the SQL Server host. The main reason we look for this is to avoid I/O contention and waits, which is a challenge that can significantly impact performance. If you are unsure if your server is experiencing I/O contention and waits, visit this Microsoft Learn article for ways to investigate. The strategy to alleviate this is to separate SQL Server workloads (DATA, LOG, TEMPDB, and BACKUPS) onto different drives other than C:\ to avoid the crash that could come with SQL Server file growth eati ..read more

All database administrators know that safeguarding data is paramount and having a strong restore strategy is crucial. In this post, I would like to add another tool to your arsenal that I have found helpful in auditing server health and configurations as it pertains to backups and the backup chain. A backup chain is important when it comes to recovery. If you have full, diff, and log backups going to different backup locations, non-copy-only off-cycle backups from developers or testers, or other strangeness in your server’s backup history, you could be in a world of hurt should you need to res ..read more

Compliance audits ensure that organizations adhere to regulatory guidelines, industry standards, and internal policies. As SQL Server DBAs, you can be prepared for most audits if you already check all of the boxes outlined in this blog post. Each of these points could be its own blog posts, so take your time as you go through each and use this as a general guide on your compliance journey! Understand the Specific Compliance Requirements Different industries and regions have varying compliance regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, CCPA). Begin your process by identifying which ones apply to your orga ..read more

As consultants we are sometimes asked the following question: “We have an old version of SQL that we can’t turn off and no one has access to it. Is there a way to create an account on a server you don’t have access to?” The answer is YES, and it isn’t as difficult as you would expect. In this post, I will walk you through the steps needed to gain access to an instance of SQL Server when no one else can access it.    You will need two things before we get started:  Local administrator access to the server  An outage window because you will have to stop the instance of ..read more

The Hidden Goldmine: SQL Server Due Diligence in Acquisitions Whenever I’m chatting with folks in the investment world, especially those eyeing product or “… as a service” companies that use Microsoft SQL Server, I’ve realized there’s a real need for clear, actionable insights on what to look for in a SQL Server environment. It’s not just about the nuts and bolts; it’s about understanding the broader picture. Helping maximize the ROI on the deal and ensuring the expenses post-acquisition doesn’t sink the entire deal. Not just that – but add in security/ransomware/reliability/data protection/et ..read more

Database maintenance is a critical aspect of the DBA role, ensuring the smooth operation of SQL Server environments. In this blog post, we will explore key tasks and areas of focus for SQL Server DBAs, accompanied by practical tips and insights gained from our experience. From backup and recovery to performance optimization and security, let’s dive into the essential tasks that contribute to a well-maintained and high-performing database system. Database Backup and Recovery Backup and recovery are fundamental responsibilities for DBAs. We emphasize the importance of regularly performing backup ..read more

If you’ve read the Straight Path blog for any period of time, you’ve probably noticed more than a few posts about database backups. You may have also noticed we’re big fans of the Ola Hallengren Maintenance Solution for backups, which creates stored procedures and jobs to handle your regular backups. These scripts and jobs are highly recommended not only because they are incredibly flexible but they are also darn near universal (at least as far as native backups go) because most SQL Server DBAs have used them at one time or another. If you’re using the Ola Hallengren backup, that’s great! Now ..read more