HOW TO: Determine If You Are Running A 32-bit Version Of SQL Server On A 64-bit O/S

Last week a question came up regarding the ability for a SQL Server 32-bit instance to address more than 4Gb of RAM when running on top of a 64-bit operating system (O/S). My friend Argenis Fernandez (blog | @DBArgenis) has already blogged the answer to this question so I won’t bother repeating those details here. However, … Read more

Automate SQL Server Express Backups with Powershell

Last week I had the honor of presenting at TechEd Europe a session titled “Deploying Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Using Windows Server Core“. Presenting that session gave me the opportunity to learn about administering SQL server using PowerShell, specifically how to administer an instance of SQL Server running on Server Core (PRO TIP: it’s the … Read more

VMWare KB: An Incomplete List of Tips for Configuring Microsoft SQL Server in a Virtual Machine

I wanted to take a moment to point out this VMWare KB article I came across recently. I really do love how the KB article points out the need for accurate disk configurations. I often see misconfigured disks resulting in a performance bottleneck for a virtualized environment. So that part of the KB was great for me to see … Read more

Predictive Analysis: I Bet You Didn’t Know I Would Blog This Today

Quick question: Where would you go to find some basil in your local grocery store? Did you say “by the other herbs?” Or did you say “by the tomatoes?” If you are like me, then you would go looking for basil by the other herbs because, well, that is a natural, logical grouping of products. … Read more

The 3 DBA Mistakes You Don’t Know You Are Making

You have no idea that what you are not doing is causing you pain. Then again, how could you know this? I mean, if you are not doing it, why would you ever think that your inaction could be the very thing that is causing you heartache every time your phone rings in the middle … Read more