Since we introduced sp_CheckBackup last year we’ve gotten some great feedback on ways to improve this tool that helps you quickly and easily review the backup history for your SQL Server databases. We’ve even noticed a few things ourselves that we wanted to change as we used it more internally here at Straight Path Solutions. … Read more
Most businesses are rotten with Excel sheets and CSV exports from various tools and as my mentor puts it “Excel is the world’s database”. The dbatools command Import-DbaCsv enables the quick load of CSV tables into SQL Server, which then opens up the world of fast transformation and use in other tools such as PowerBI, … Read more
Keeping your SQL Server instance up to date with the latest service packs and cumulative updates is one of the key components of SQL Server security. In this blog post, we will audit the dbatools command Update-DbaInstance, which can save you hours every month and help keep your environment more secure. I will test, review, … Read more
No hearing, or breathing… No movement, no colors… Just silence… Sounds peaceful. Sounds serene. And in a world where entropy didn’t exist, it could even stay that way. That’s not our world, though. Our SQL Servers (in whatever flavor they exist) don’t live in utopia. They live in a world where bad actors are trying … Read more
On patch Tuesday this week, Microsoft released an Important severity security update (a CVSS base score of 7.5) The details of this 0-day exploit are available to read at the NIST site, and the Microsoft security update site. In short, the exploit that Microsoft has discovered and subsequently fixed can allow information disclosure. (That’s the … Read more
In this blog post, we will audit the dbatools command Test-DbaLastBackup. I will test, review, and evaluate the script based on a series of identical steps. Our goal is to provide insights, warnings, and recommendations to help you use this script effectively and safely. Test-DbaLastBackup is a powerful tool to automate the validation of a … Read more
Accelerated Database Recovery (ADR) was introduced in SQL Server 2019. Its main purpose is to allow for faster database recovery in the event of a crash or unexpected shutdown. Traditionally, the database engine handles crash recovery through a series of phases—analysis, redo, and undo—which can be inefficient and slow, especially when dealing with long-running transactions. … Read more