This is part of a series on setting up SQL Server availability groups on Linux. It details how to enable High Availability Disaster Recovery (HADR) on SQL Server, including creating master keys, certificates, and availability groups. Clear instructions are provided for configuring SQL Server and Pacemaker to ensure data redundancy and high availability. Follow these steps to enhance the reliability of your SQL Server instances on Ubuntu 20.04.
The Application Role: Implementing Application Roles with SQL Server
A straightforward guide to implementing application roles in SQL Server, focusing on enhancing security and managing database permissions for applications. This guide covers the creation, activation, and management of application roles, ensuring applications have the necessary access while minimizing the risk of unauthorized actions. Learn about key concepts such as role activation, permission assignment, and reverting security contexts. Follow best practices to effectively use application roles and improve the overall security and manageability of your SQL Server databases.
Creating SQL Server AGs on Linux: Part 1 – Installing and Configuring Pacemaker
This post is the first part of a series on setting up SQL Server availability groups on Linux. It covers the installation and configuration of Pacemaker on Ubuntu 20.04, creating the Pacemaker cluster, and configuring essential cluster properties. Designed for SQL Server DBAs with limited Linux experience, this guide lays the foundation for a robust high availability environment.
SQL Server AG Readonly Secondaries and their Associated Overhead
In SQL Server Always On Availability Groups, configuring read-access for one or more secondary replicas introduces additional overhead to the primary databases. This overhead, specifically a 14-byte addition to modified, inserted, or deleted data rows, is essential for the row versioning feature that ensures data consistency across replicas. Row versioning allows secondary replicas to perform read operations without being affected by ongoing changes on the primary replica, ensuring a consistent view of the data. Understanding this overhead and its impact on storage and performance is crucial for optimizing SQL Server environments.
Ten Ways Senior DBAs Distinguish Themselves from their Junior Colleagues
Aspiring to become a senior SQL Server DBA involves much more than just accumulating years of experience. It’s about deepening your understanding of SQL Server, honing your skills, and continuously adapting to new technologies and methodologies. Senior DBAs are often the backbone of an organization’s database infrastructure, ensuring stability, performance, and security. They have a profound knowledge of SQL Server and are proficient in handling complex scenarios that junior DBAs might find challenging. This journey requires dedication, a thirst for knowledge, and the willingness to tackle demanding tasks head-on.
Exploring the Azure SQL Migration Extension
Migrating databases to the cloud can be a daunting task, especially for organizations with large, complex SQL Server environments. Fortunately, Azure Data Studio offers an extension designed to simplify this process: the Azure SQL Migration extension. This powerful tool streamlines the migration of SQL Server databases to various Azure SQL destinations, providing a comprehensive suite of features to ensure a smooth transition. In this post, we’ll explore the key features of the Azure SQL Migration extension and how it can assist you in your cloud migration journey.
Five SQL Server Error Log Messages You Should Care About
SQL Server error logs are a treasure trove of information, containing important details about the health and performance of your database server. These logs are essential for troubleshooting issues, identifying potential problems before they escalate, and ensuring the overall stability of your SQL Server environment. By regularly monitoring and understanding the contents of these logs, database administrators (DBAs) can proactively manage their servers and avoid catastrophic failures. In this blog post, we will highlight five specific error log messages that should immediately catch your attention, explain what they mean, and outline the steps you should take when you encounter them.
Understanding SQL Server Checkpoints
In SQL Server, checkpoints are essential for maintaining data integrity and ensuring efficient recovery. During a checkpoint, changes made in memory (dirty pages) are written to disk, ensuring that the database state can be accurately recovered in the event of a failure. This process is governed by a mechanism called Write-Ahead Logging (WAL), which ensures that all log records related to changes are written to disk before the corresponding data pages.
Five Mistakes Made by Junior SQL Server Database Administrators
Starting as a new SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) can be an overwhelming experience. There is a vast amount of knowledge to absorb, ranging from understanding the intricacies of SQL Server to mastering best practices in database management. Amidst this learning curve, it’s easy to overlook important aspects that can have significant impacts on database performance and integrity. In this post, we will explore five common mistakes made by junior DBAs, why they are problematic, and how to handle each issue properly.
Mastering Partition Switching in Transactional Replication
Learn how to effectively manage partition switching in SQL Server transactional replication environments. This guide covers key properties such as @allow_partition_switch and @replicate_partition_switch, the benefits and challenges of using partition switching, and important considerations for ensuring consistency and performance. We also discuss unsupported scenarios and provide best practices for setting up partition switching in your replicated databases.