Ongoing support
Monthly SQL DBA support
Regular SQL Server help for backups, jobs, monitoring, performance issues, recovery checks, and planned changes.
Backups, jobs, monitoring
Performance and failed jobs
Upgrades and rollback planning
SQL Server
SQL Server guides
Practical SQL Server guides, checklists, and references for database-related work.
Use these SQL Server guides when you know your way around database administration and need another idea for what to check, improve, or fix.
Search SQL Server pages
Find guides, checklists, update references, error-code pages, and operational articles.
Guide lookup
sql
Technical archive
SQL Server guides
Search when you know the symptom. Use filters when you want a narrower SQL Server reading list.
Type
Topic
Latest
GuideRecoveryRead
SQL Server Always On setup prerequisites
Availability Group and FCI prerequisite planning for nodes, edition limits, NICs, FQDNs, IPs, DNS, witness, storage, ports, and listeners.
2 Jun 2026GuidePerformanceReadSQL Server joins guide
Join types, ON clauses, APPLY, duplicate-row traps, and the query-shape issues behind slow or wrong SQL Server reports.
2 Jun 2026All guides
ChecklistOperationsFirst readRead
SQL Server health check checklist
Ownership, backups, maintenance, monitoring, config drift, and what to fix first.
30 May 2026TopicPerformanceReadSQL Server slow performance
Use this when the system is just slow enough to hurt work, but the root cause is still fuzzy and every quick guess points somewhere else.
29 May 2026GuideOperationsReadSQL Server ownership gap guide
How weak SQL Server ownership creates drift, and what a minimum workable model looks like.
24 May 2026GuidePlanned changeFirst readReadSQL Server update guide
CU vs GDR, build-number interpretation, and how to separate a patch decision from a real upgrade decision.
23 May 2026GuideOperationsReadSQL Server maintenance plan guide
What good SQL Server maintenance actually covers, what default maintenance plans miss, and how older environments drift into false comfort.
23 May 2026GuideOperationsReadSQL Server production readiness guide
How to judge whether a SQL Server environment is truly ready for production pressure, change, and recovery instead of merely quiet for now.
23 May 2026GuideOperationsReadSQL Server sizing guide
Workload profiling, hardware fit, capacity pressure, and the platform questions that sit behind recurring SQL stress.
23 May 2026GuideOperationsReadSQL Server stability review guide
How to review recurring instability in a SQL Server environment, separate repeated patterns from noise, and decide what to fix first.
23 May 2026ReferenceReferenceReadSQL Server error codes
Single-page Microsoft-sourced Database Engine error lookup with severity, event logging, messages, and official source links.
6 May 2026ReferenceReferenceReadSQL Server latest updates
Live SQL Server supported-build and version-history reference built from Microsoft's update source.
5 May 2026GuideRecoveryFirst readReadSQL Server backup guide
Backup strategy, retention, restore testing, and the gaps that only show up when recovery work becomes real.
19 Apr 2026GuidePerformanceFirst readReadSQL Server blocking guide
Blocking chains, head blockers, transaction scope, and the production-safe path to diagnosing recurring contention.
19 Apr 2026GuidePerformanceFirst readReadSQL Server deadlocks guide
Deadlock capture, transaction overlap, indexing causes, and the concurrency patterns behind repeated deadlock victims.
19 Apr 2026GuideOperationsFirst readReadSQL Server monitoring guide
Baselines, waits, alerting, backup monitoring, and the missing data that make incidents harder to explain.
19 Apr 2026GuideRecoveryFirst readReadSQL Server recovery guide
Restore readiness, recovery timing, dependency traps, and the runbook discipline that shortens incidents.
19 Apr 2026GuideOperationsFirst readReadSQL Server tempdb guide
Tempdb setup, growth behavior, version-store pressure, and the workload clues that usually sit behind tempdb pain.
19 Apr 2026GuidePlanned changeFirst readReadSQL Server upgrade guide
Upgrade path, compatibility levels, dependencies, rollback testing, Query Store, and post-change validation.
19 Apr 2026GuideOperationsReadSQL Server environment assessment guide
How to assess versions, databases, backups, jobs, alerts, access, linked servers, dependencies, and HA/DR before cleanup or change work.
19 Apr 2026GuideRecoveryReadSQL Server failover guide
Failover testing, HA tradeoffs, and the operational load that still exists after redundancy is in place.
19 Apr 2026GuideOperationsReadSQL Server hardening guide
Permissions, exposure, patch posture, service accounts, and the security basics that should be checked without making production brittle.
19 Apr 2026GuideOperationsReadSQL Server health check guide
Environment review, operational drift, restore testing, and the wider DBA questions behind a proper SQL review.
19 Apr 2026GuidePerformanceReadSQL Server indexing guide
Access-path review, write tradeoffs, and workload-based indexing decisions instead of tuning folklore.
19 Apr 2026GuidePlanned changeReadSQL Server migration guide
Inventory, dependency mapping, test runs, rollback design, and cutover planning for real production moves.
19 Apr 2026GuidePerformanceReadSQL Server waits guide
How to read SQL Server wait patterns more usefully, separate useful data from noise, and connect waits back to workload behavior.
19 Apr 2026ChecklistOperationsReadSQL Server daily operations checklist
Jobs, backups, alerts, capacity drift, handoff notes, and repeat warning signs.
19 Apr 2026ChecklistPlanned changeReadSQL Server migration checklist
Scope, dependencies, test run, cutover, rollback, and post-move validation.
19 Apr 2026ChecklistRecoveryReadSQL Server recovery runbook checklist
Restore sequence, recovery timing, dependencies, validation, and incident ownership.
19 Apr 2026ChecklistPlanned changeReadSQL Server upgrade checklist
Support posture, compatibility, test run, rollback, and post-change validation.
19 Apr 2026ChecklistOperationsReadSQL Server weekly review checklist
Repeat incidents, drift, capacity trends, unfinished follow-up, and next-week priorities.
19 Apr 2026Services
SQL Server help I offer
If you did not find the guide you needed, have a look at the offers below. Send me the SQL Server problem and we can work out the right next step.
Consulting
SQL Server consulting
Broad SQL Server help when performance, recovery, upgrades, ownership, or supportability need to be checked together.
Performance
Performance issues
For slow periods, blocking, waits, and workload behavior that still needs a clear diagnosis.
Recovery
Backup or restore issues
For backups, restore tests, recovery timing, and runbooks that have not been properly tested.
Upgrade
Patching or upgrade planning
For version changes, compatibility checks, rollback planning, and patching risk that needs a safer plan.
Environment review
Full environment review
For older or handed-over SQL Server setups where backups, jobs, monitoring, and ownership need checking.
Need help?
Need someone to look at the SQL Server itself?
If the guide is not enough, send the version, symptom, urgency, and what changed recently.