I’m Speaking – SQL Saturday Charlotte!

October 2, 2017October 2, 2017 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

On Saturday October 14 I’ll be speaking at SQL Saturday Charlotte. I’m excited to be presenting a lively session about Environmental SQL Server Troubleshooting. If you want a preview you can check out some of my previous posts:

There are about 45 different sessions scheduled ranging from beginner to advanced – something for everyone.

Drive – Your Motivation at Work is Calling

September 26, 2017September 26, 2017 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

What Moves You?

Motivation is what moves us to action. What motivates you at work? For some it is pay, others prestige, and others a wide array of things: recognition, seeing results, making a difference, working with interesting people, etc. Sometimes you need to get motivated – this article is for exactly that.

T-SQL Tuesday #94 – Embrace the Shell of Power! Get into Powershell with dbatools

September 12, 2017April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar2 Comments

The topic of this months T-SQL Tuesday #94 (hosted by Rob Sewell b/t) is all about PowerShell.

The question: What are you going to automate today?

I’m Speaking – SQL Saturday Spartanburg!

September 1, 2017October 2, 2017 Jeff MlakarLeave a comment

On Saturday September 23 I’ll be speaking at SQL Saturday Spartanburg. I’m excited to be presenting a lively session about Environmental SQL Server Troubleshooting. If you want a preview you can check out some of my previous posts:

How to Learn SQL Server For Free Starter Pack

August 21, 2017January 31, 2018 Jeff Mlakar8 Comments

Do you want to learn SQL Server but don’t have any money? Are you thinking about working more seriously with SQL Server? Do you wonder what you need to do to get ahead or become a SQL Server DBA or developer?

I can help. You need a SQL Server Starter Pack. Read on for how to learn it on your own, on your own time, and all for free!

T-SQL Tuesday #93 – Interview get-help

August 8, 2017April 17, 2018 Jeff Mlakar6 Comments

The topic of this months T-SQL Tuesday #93 (hosted by Kendra Little / @Kendra_Little) is Interviewing Patterns & Anti-Patterns. The question: What advice to you have for people preparing for or going through an interview?

It is a big question with many different perspectives and factors:

Entry level vs experienced professional
Startup vs enterprise
DBA vs developer

Instead of delving into each specific domain I will discuss some insights that have served me well. I hope they will help you too. Whether you are interviewing for a Senior DBA role or an entry level BI developer some things remain the same.

MSDTC Troubleshooting – Basic Guide Part 2

August 6, 2017January 31, 2018 Jeff Mlakar3 Comments

Now that the basics of MSDTC have been covered in Part 1 we can move on to troubleshooting more specific issues. Here I cover other tricks that can ruin your day. There was a period of time where it felt like all I did was diagnose and fix MSDTC issues. This is the outcome of that frustration – a guide that you may find helpful and prevent the stress I experienced. So without further ado…

MSDTC Troubleshooting – Basic Guide

July 31, 2017January 31, 2018 Jeff Mlakar3 Comments

If you haven’t worked with MSDTC before you might mistake it for a simple straight forward service which is easy to setup, configure, and troubleshoot. I too once thought that until I stumbled into the thick forest of MSDTC with those promises and didn’t return for years all grizzly and worn (ok it wasn’t that bad).

What comes next is my contribution to those who follow into the dark denizens of MSDTC hoping to fix things so they can go home.

Microsoft SQL Server Environmental Checks

July 25, 2017January 31, 2018 Jeff Mlakar10 Comments

When called in to diagnose a performance issue, what are the 1st things you review? How much of the environment do you check before going straight to the line of code you think is at fault? Because of the urgency many DBAs and developers make the mistake of diving straight into the code looking for an answer. What if the solution is not in the code but rather in the overall environment? Environmental troubleshooting is often a quick and overlooked method for discovering and configuring SQL Server. Perform at a higher level without the need for application change controls!

NOTE: this article is the summary of a 3 part series on optimizing SQL Server configurations along with Windows Server and VMware. Please read these first then return to read the rest.

Part 1: SQL Server Environmental Diagnostics Guide
Part 2: SQL Server Environmental Diagnostics Guide – Windows Server
Part 3: SQL Server Environmental Diagnostics Guide – VMware

SQL Server Environmental Diagnostics Guide – VMware

July 20, 2017January 31, 2018 Jeff Mlakar3 Comments

Nowadays everyone virtualizes. SQL Server is no exception. VMware is the most common hypervisor by far (sorry Hyper-V) so it is very beneficial for DBAs to know their way around vSphere, understand how to optimally configure SQL Server and VMware to work together, and know the red flags to watch for performance.

This is part 2 of a 3 part series about SQL Server Environmental Diagnostics. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 as well.