Service
Health audit
For environments that still run, but need a broader review before the next upgrade, incident, or handover.
Services / SQL Server consulting
SQL Server consulting
I help with SQL Server production issues that need technical review, practical decisions, and clear next steps.
This is for performance trouble, upgrade risk, recovery questions, unclear setup problems, or several of these at the same time.
How the work usually starts
SQL Server consulting usually starts with the environment, the symptom, and what changed recently
Send the SQL Server version, topology, urgency, and the evidence already available: waits, plans, backup history, job output, monitoring, or error logs.
SQL Server consultingProduction reviewWait statsUpgrade rehearsalRestore proofMonitoring gapsClear next actions
Performance troubleUnclear ownershipRecovery questionsPlanned changeRemote reviewSQL Server DBA support
Input
Symptoms, recent change, current deadline.
Review
Performance, recovery, upgrade, monitoring, or ownership risk.
Output
Findings, action order, and what can wait.
Services
SQL Server consulting services
Choose a specific service when the work is mainly performance, recovery, upgrades, or a health audit.
Service
Performance review
For blocking, waits, deadlocks, or broad slowness when the team needs a clearer diagnosis.
Service
Upgrade support
For version changes where compatibility, rehearsal, rollback, or validation need a stronger review.
Service
Recovery readiness
For restore paths, failover assumptions, and disaster recovery plans that need testing or review.
When to book
When to book SQL Server consulting
Book SQL Server consulting when the work crosses several areas. The system may be slow, the upgrade plan may need review, and the recovery process may still be untested.
If the need is clearly performance, recovery readiness, or upgrade support, the narrower service pages are faster. If several problems overlap, start with a broader review.
SQL Server consulting for existing environments
For teams that own a SQL Server environment they did not build and need a clear review of what is already in place.
SQL Server consulting for performance problems
For blocking, waits, deadlocks, slow periods, or workload changes where the cause is still not clear.
SQL Server consulting for planned changes
For upgrades, migrations, rollouts, or infrastructure moves that still need rehearsal, rollback planning, or validation.
SQL Server consulting for recovery questions
For environments where backups exist but restore testing, failover behavior, or recovery timing is not proven.
Coverage
What SQL Server consulting can cover
I can review the SQL Server areas around the reported issue, including performance, recovery, upgrades, monitoring, and day-to-day operations.
Performance
Performance tuning and blocking
Review waits, blocking chains, deadlocks, plan changes, indexing problems, statistics, and workload timing before changing production settings.
WaitsBlockingPlans
Health
Health checks and existing environments
Check backups, restore confidence, maintenance jobs, tempdb, configuration, ownership, alerting, documentation, and recent review gaps.
BackupsJobsTempdb
Change
Upgrade, migration, and compatibility review
Review version targets, compatibility level, deprecated behavior, rehearsal quality, rollback path, downtime, and validation before the change window.
VersionRollbackValidation
Recovery
Recovery, HA, and disaster recovery
Review restore order, RPO and RTO assumptions, failover behavior, Always On or clustering context, backup chain quality, and recovery runbooks.
RestoreRPO/RTOFailover
Operations
Monitoring and operational DBA support
Review SQL Agent jobs, error logs, alert thresholds, failed maintenance, growth trends, security drift, and the signals the team already collects.
AgentErrorsAlerts
Capacity
Architecture and capacity decisions
Review whether the current instance, storage, memory, CPU, edition, licensing, and topology still fit the workload and expected change.
StorageMemoryCPU
Process
How SQL Server consulting works
We start with the problem and the SQL Server environment around it, then review the evidence, agree the next actions, and decide what should wait.
What to send
Version, topology, symptoms, evidence.
What I check
Performance, recovery, upgrade, monitoring.
What you get
Findings, recommendations, action order.
Step
1. Share the SQL Server context
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Step
1. Share the SQL Server context
Send the SQL Server version, topology, current symptom, planned change, and any evidence you already have: waits, plans, backup history, job output, monitoring, or error logs.
Step
2. I review the evidence
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Step
2. I review the evidence
I check the parts that match the problem: performance, recovery, upgrade readiness, monitoring, capacity, security, configuration, or unclear ownership risk.
Step
3. We sort the next actions
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Step
3. We sort the next actions
The review separates urgent production risk from cleanup work, then puts the next actions in a practical order.
Step
4. You get clear findings
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Step
4. You get clear findings
You get the findings, recommended changes, the evidence behind them, and the items that should wait.
Remote DBA and consulting
Remote SQL Server consulting and DBA support
I can help with focused SQL Server consulting for a decision, review, migration, performance problem, or recovery concern.
If ongoing DBA support is the better fit, the review should make that clear.
Working style and pricing
I review the environment, test risky assumptions, and leave the team with a clearer order of work. Remote delivery works for most SQL Server consulting because the work depends on evidence and context.
My hourly rate starts at 140 EUR. Larger scopes can be quoted separately when the problem is already well defined. The first message does not need a polished brief.
Guides and proof
SQL Server consulting guides
These guides cover SQL Server consulting topics that often need more detail than a service card can provide.
Guide
Existing SQL Server environment review
For environments with weak documentation, unclear ownership, or too many unknowns around backups, jobs, configuration, and support.
Open guide
Guide
Remote SQL Server help
For work that can be reviewed and handled remotely: performance checks, upgrade planning, recovery review, and production troubleshooting.
Open guide
Guide
Independent consultant or larger vendor
For teams comparing a direct consultant with a larger vendor, especially when speed, access, and technical ownership matter.
Open guide
Guide
SQL Server performance troubleshooting
For performance problems where waits, blocking, plan changes, and workload timing need to be reviewed together.
Open guide
Related page
Background and experience
My background, roles, and the kind of production SQL Server work I have handled.
Related page
Case studies and proof pages
Anonymized examples of SQL Server audits, upgrades, monitoring gaps, recovery reviews, and production cleanup work.
Related page
SQL Server problems
Common SQL Server symptoms and the checks that usually help narrow them down.
When to bring in SQL Server help
I usually get involved when a SQL Server issue affects production, blocks a planned change, or needs a second review before someone changes settings.
That can mean checking wait stats, blocking, backup history, restore testing, SQL Agent jobs, upgrade notes, server configuration, or monitoring data.
The output should be clear enough to act on: what to fix now, what to check next, and what can wait.
Start with broad SQL Server consulting
Send a short summary: version, environment, urgency, and the main problem or planned change.
FAQ
What is included in SQL Server consulting?
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The work usually covers performance issues, upgrade risk, recovery confidence, unclear ownership, supportability questions, and the broader operational picture around a production SQL Server environment.
Do you provide remote SQL Server consulting?
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Yes. Remote delivery is the default for most review-led SQL Server work when the team can share enough context, access, and evidence.
Does SQL Server consulting include upgrades and migrations?
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Yes. That includes readiness review, rehearsal, rollback planning, validation, and a technical check of the proposed change.
Does SQL Server consulting include performance problems?
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Yes. That includes blocking, waits, deadlocks, broad slowness, unstable workload behavior, and the investigation needed to narrow the real bottleneck.
Is SQL Server consulting only for large companies?
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No. Any team running SQL Server in production can need help with unclear ownership, untested recovery, performance problems, or change risk.
What should I send before SQL Server consulting starts?
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Version, environment type, urgency, whether production is already affected, and a short description of the main issue or planned change are enough.