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Tips for using indexes in SQL Server 2008 (Part 2)
In this article, you can find some helpful tips to performance tune and optimize SQL Server 2008 indexes.
SSWUG TV – In this episode, we have a two-part interview with SQL Azure MVP Ike Ellis and updates coming from the Microsoft Build conference.
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Systems on Auto-Pilot – One Approach and Notes
As a final note on the auto-pilot questions, I wanted to include this from Mike: "I’ve been administering SQL Server for almost 10 years now and it runs great on autopilot as long as you watch a few key things.
I have created an app to snapshot data every night so I can watch these things and make sure they behave. Disk Space: Insure autogrowth in both databases and transaction logs doesn’t cause the server to run out of space.
exec xp_fixeddrives
Job Completion: Monitor job failures.
Do not rely on e-mail task completion notices!
What happens if Agent Manager is off line?
exec sp_help_job Backup
Status: Monitor MSDB to insure backups are being completed.
Sometimes a job will be hung for days so you won’t get a job failure. The only way to find out it’s broken in that case is to query MSDB for last backup date.
select * from msdb..backupset
All this data is available via management studio or OSQL. I do mine by using OSQL in batch files. There are also a number of products that can perform those tasks but they are generally very expensive."
So there you have it. It’s a must to automate, but have the steps in place to check the state of your automation. Also, I’d recommend having a specific timeframe to review the automation and make sure you’re covering all of the bases. Don’t assume you thought of everything the first time around, go back and re-check, get updated best practices, see if there are new recommendations and that type of thing. You won’t be sorry.