DBA

SQL Server logins can implement the same password policies found in Active Directory to make sure that strong passwords are being used. Unfortunately, especially for servers upgraded from previous versions, the password policies are often disabled and some logins have very weak passwords. In particular, some logins could have the password set as equal to the login name, which would by one of the first things I would try to hack a server. [Read More]

As a DBA, you probably have your toolbox full of scripts, procedures and functions that you use for the day-to-day administration of your instances. I’m no exception and my hard drive is full of scripts that I tend to accumulate and never throw away, even if I know I will never need (or find?) them again. However, my preferred way to organize and maintain my administration scripts is a database called “TOOLS”, which contains all the scripts I regularly use. [Read More]

The contest is over and the winner is Jeff Moden! Champagne! I won’t repeat all the reasons why I think that Jeff deserves the award, I just want to say that I could not agree more with this result. To say it with Grant Fritchey’s (blog|twitter) words: “Of the year? I think I’d put it down to of the decade, but that’s not what the contest was.” The exceptional DBA 2011 Jeff Moden will receive: [Read More]

Time has come for the annual Exceptional DBA Awards contest, sponsored by Red Gate and judged by four really exceptional DBAs: Steve Jones (blog|twitter) Rodney Landrum (blog|twitter) Brad McGehee (blog|twitter) Brent Ozar (blog|twitter) The judges picked their finalists and it would really be hard to choose the winner if I didn’t happen to know one of them. I won’t talk around it: please vote for Jeff Moden! I don’t know the other three finalists and I am sure that they really are very good DBAs, probably exceptional DBAs, otherwise they would not have made it to the final showdown. [Read More]