• Detailed view of electronic circuit board components showcasing microchips and technology intricacies.

    What is Policy Based Management

    Policy Based Management gives us centralized management of our SQL Servers.  It allows us to evaluate, configure, and enforce standards across the enterprise.  If you are familiar with… Continue Reading

  • High-angle view of conference programs and name badges on a table, ideal for corporate event visuals.

    Dallas TechFest 2011 Wrap-up

    Dallas TechFest was a 2 day event full of great content!  I’m a SQL guy and most of the conferences I go to are SQL centric.  This event, however, had something… Continue Reading

  • A futuristic robot dog, the Cyberdog, on display in an indoor setting, showcasing advanced robotics technology.

    Beware the CMS Import

    Many people already have connections setup in their local SSMS to all the servers in their environment.  We can import those connections into our CMS so we don’t have… Continue Reading

  • A diverse team of adults collaborating in an office meeting, showcasing teamwork and professionalism.

    T-SQL Tuesday on Wednesday

    This month’s T-SQL Tuesday has been moved to Wednesday.  The topic this month is “crap code”. This is a great topic to showcase what not to do and see… Continue Reading

  • Industrial machinery with robotic arm in a modern manufacturing facility.

    How to setup CMS

    If you need to setup a Central Management Server or just want to check it out, then here is how to do it. Open SQL Server Management Studio… Continue Reading

  • A detailed close-up of a wire fence outdoors with artistic bokeh effect.

    Speaking at Dallas TechFest

    I will be presenting two sessions at Dallas TechFest!  I am honored and excited to be speaking.  Dallas TechFest is a premiere technology conference that includes many technology… Continue Reading

  • Industrial machinery sorting dates on a production line in a factory.

    Disadvantages of using CMS

    There are two drawbacks to how CMS works.  The first one I have already written about, so I won’t cover that in this post.  You can read about… Continue Reading

  • Dynamic close-up of colorful interlocking gears showcasing engineering precision and innovation.

    Advantages of using CMS

    The most obvious advantage of a CMS is that it holds an inventory of all the SQL servers in our environment.  We can now connect to a single place… Continue Reading

  • Lifeguard rescue boats parked on a tranquil beach with a clear blue sky.

    How to move Cluster MSDTC Drive

    I recently had the need to move the MSDTC for a cluster to a new SAN drive.  It’s a quite simple thing to do, but you can’t redirect the MSDTC resource… Continue Reading

  • Close-up shot of a chain link fence with selective focus, creating a moody atmosphere.

    How to move Cluster Quorum Drive

    I recently had the need to move the quorum for a cluster to a new SAN drive.  It’s a quite simple thing to do, but some of the options… Continue Reading

  • A close-up of a hand stopping a row of falling dominoes to illustrate strategy and control.

    SQLAgent Error 435

    Do you get error 435 in the Application event log and your SQLAgent fails to start?  The reason you’re getting this error is that the SQLAgent error log and working… Continue Reading

  • Close-up of an industrial control panel with colorful buttons in a factory setting.

    Why My Policy will not Evaluate System DBs

    Do you have a policy that is supposed to include “Every Database” as part of its condition, but for some reason it never includes the system databases?  The “Every”… Continue Reading