Lock Escalation, and Why You Shouldn’t Disable It!
Lock escalation affects every SQL Server database. Understanding when and why SQL Server escalates row-level locks to table locks and what you can do about it is essential knowledge for any DBA managing concurrent workloads.
Should I use (max) size for all my nvarchar/varchar columns?
Should you use VARCHAR(MAX) for all your string columns? No. Here’s why MAX costs you indexing, memory grants, and storage efficiency with demos you can run yourself.
Monitoring SQL Server Agent Job Failures with SolarWinds DPA Custom Alerts
DPA’s built-in job failure alert fires on every step failure including intentional ones. These two custom SQL alert queries filter to step_id = 0, catching only genuine job-level failures.
SSRS and Multi-Subnet Failover: The Connection String That Doesn’t Exist
SSRS has no way to specify MultiSubnetFailover=True in its ReportServer database connection. Here’s how to automate SSRS reconfiguration after an AG failover across subnets using rsconfig.exe, sp_update_jobstep, and a SQL Agent alert.
A Junior DBA’s Field Guide to This Series: What Your Mentor Forgot to Explain
A companion guide for junior DBAs navigating the ALTER DBA ADD AGENT series. Maps the vocabulary walls, production safety gaps, and confidence calibration challenges that experienced readers won’t even notice.
SQL Server Patching Pre/Post Checks with AI
Generate matched pre-patch and post-patch validation scripts with AI for safe SQL Server patching.