A Crash Course in SQL Server Administration for Reluctant Database Administrators
- 1. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event A CRASH COURSE IN SQL SERVER ADMINISTRATION FOR RELUCTANT DATABASE ADMINISTRATORS Chad Petrovay, TMS Administrator, The Morgan Library & Museum
- 2. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event Reluctant DBAs are those of us who haven't had formal training in administering a database and are surviving on a combination of our wits, Books Online (BOL), and technical manuals. - Josef Finsel
- 3. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event THE RELUCTANT DBA •The goal is NOT perfection •The goal is a stable, reliable database server
- 4. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event WHAT IS SQL SERVER? TMS (Database) Physical Server (Hardware/OS) Database Engine (Software)
- 5. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event SERVICES • A service is an application that runs in the background • Windows Services Manager • Know how to open it • Know how to start and stop services with it
- 6. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event BASIC TOOLS • Have an account with Local Admin Rights • Install SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) • https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/ssms/download- sql-server-management-studio-ssms • https://sqlserverupdates.com/
- 7. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event BEST PRACTICES Versions, Editions & Licensing
- 8. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event SQL SERVER VERSIONS Version Release Date Support Until Extended Until TMS Version SQL Server 2008 11/6/2008 7/8/2014 7/9/2019 TMS 2014* SQL Server 2008 R2 7/20/2010 7/8/2014 7/9/2019 TMS 2014 SQL Server 2012 5/20/2012 7/11/2017 7/12/2022 TMS 2014, 2016, 2017*, 2018* SQL Server 2014 5/6/2014 7/9/2019 7/9/2024 TMS 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 SQL Server 2016 6/1/2016 7/13/2021 7/14/2026 TMS 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021 SQL Server 2017 9/29/2017 10/11/2022 10/12/2027 TMS 2017*, 2018, 2020, 2021 SQL Server 2019 11/4/2019 1/7/2025 1/8/2030 TMS 2020, 2021 * presumed, but no longer officially supported by Gallery Systems
- 9. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event Express • Minimal feature set • Limitations: • Lesser of 1 socket or 4 cores • 1410 MB RAM • 10 GB database • Free Standard • Lacks advanced features from Enterprise edition • Limitations: • Lesser of 4 sockets or 24 cores • 128 GB RAM • Paid Enterprise • Full feature set • Always On Availability Group • Clustering • No limitations • Paid ($$$) Developer • Same as Enterprise edition • Single user for development • Free SQL SERVER EDITIONS
- 10. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event Core Based • Unlimited number of users/devices • Pay for the number of cores on the physical CPU • Core licenses are sold in packs of two Server + CAL • License any physical operating system running SQL server • Purchase a Client Access License (CAL) for every user/device HOW IS SQL SERVER LICENSED?
- 11. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event RESOURCES https://sqlserverupdates.com/ https://sqlserverbuilds.blogspot.com/ https://metrixdata360.com/license-series/sql- server-licensing-explained/ Third-Party Software Compatibility PDF
- 12. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event BEST PRACTICES Best Practices
- 13. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event DEDICATED SERVER • Have a dedicated physical server or virtual machine for your database engine • Avoid having multiple instances of SQL Server on the same physical server or virtual machine
- 14. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event Feature required: • Database Engine Services • Client Tools Connectivity ONLY INSTALL WHAT YOU NEED
- 15. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event SQL SERVER AGENT • A job is a task to be executed • Can be scheduled • Can be in response to a specific event • Can be on demand • Start SQL Server Agent!!
- 16. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event MULTIPLE DRIVES Database and Log Files TempDB Files Operating System C:
- 17. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event MULTIPLE TEMPDB FILES • A single database file can become a bottleneck • Add 7 additional database files • Make all the files the same size, filling the drive
- 18. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event • Use Domain accounts • Complex password • Managed Service Account (MSA) • Only make changes in SQL Server Configuration Manager SEPARATE SERVICE ACCOUNTS
- 19. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event SECURE YOUR SA ACCOUNT 1. Change the password to a strong password: https://passwordgenerator.net 2. Rename “sa” account • Avoid “sysadmin”, “admin” and “nimda” 3. Disable the account
- 20. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event ENABLE & CONFIGURE DATABASE MAIL • Sends emails directly from the database engine using sp_send_dbmail • Use a dedicated email address • To configure, you will need: • Email address & password • Email server address • Email server port number
- 21. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event BEST PRACTICES Disaster Recovery
- 22. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event SEPARATE DRIVE FOR BACKUPS • Use a network drive • Make sure your SQL Server Agent service account has read/write access to this location • Reference with a UNC path, instead of a mapped network drive
- 23. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event RAID, snapshots, and machine images are NOT database backups!! - Chad Petrovay
- 24. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event Full • Complete copy of the database • Allows the simplest form of database restoration Differential • Contains only changes that have occurred since the last full backup • Smaller in size • Adds steps to the restoration process Log • Contains a log of every change of data • The most complicated restoration process • Permits restoration to a specific point in time BACKUP TYPES
- 25. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event RPO • Recovery Point Objective • Maximum length of time permitted that data can be restored from, which may or may not mean data loss. RTO • Recovery Time Objective • Targeted duration of time between the event of failure and the point where operations resume. WHAT’S YOUR NUMBER?
- 26. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event Full • Saturday • 11PM • Retain 90 days Differential • Monday to Friday • 11PM • Retain 30 days Log • Daily • Every 15 minutes • Retain 48 hours THE MORGAN’S STRATEGY
- 27. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event HOW TO AUTOMATE BACKUPS • Maintenance Plans • Right-click on Management » Maintenance Plans • Select Maintenance Plan Wizard • Ola Hallengren’s free backup script • https://ola.hallengren.com/ • Third Party Tool • SqlBackupAndFTP • Idera’s SQL Safe Backup
- 28. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event TEST YOUR BACKUPS & PRACTICE RESTORES • Test restorations on a sandbox server • Develop a checklist • Document the restoration process • Periodically test the backups by performing restorations
- 29. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event BEST PRACTICES Reliability / Performance
- 30. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event SQL SERVER IS A MEMORY HOG • SQL Server does not release memory back to the operating system (OS) • Try to get as much memory as you can • Express: 1410 MB RAM max • Standard: 128 GB RAM max
- 31. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event CONFIGURE MAX SERVER MEMORY • M = x - y • x = total RAM in MB • Conversion: 1 GB = 1024 MB • y = the larger of 4096 or (0.1x) • M = Max Server Memory • Set Max Server Memory in Server Properties • Assumes no additional instances or services
- 32. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event • Disable: SQL Server Telemetry • Disable: SQL Server CEIP service • Automatic: SQL Server Agent SERVICES
- 33. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event DATABASE & JOB OWNERSHIP • Avoid ownership problems • Change owner to your renamed “sa” account
- 34. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event SQL SERVER AGENT ALERT SYSTEM • Enable the Alert System • Specify profile from Database Mail • Add Operators • Consider using a distribution list to notify multiple people simultaneously
- 35. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event ADD NOTIFICATIONS TO JOBS • Specify an operator • Specify when to be notified: • On failure • On success • On completion
- 36. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event ADD ALERTS TO SQL SERVER AGENT • Enable Alerts for … • Severity 17 and higher • Error number 823, 824, 825 • https://www.brentozar.com/go/alert • Test alerts using RAISERROR
- 37. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event After this change, you’ll be able to sleep at night knowing your SQL Server is working well. Or you’ll be awakened constantly by the sound of your phone because SQL isn’t working well. Either way, you’re a winner. - Brent Ozar
- 38. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event BEST PRACTICES Server/Database Health
- 39. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event PATCHES & UPDATES • Keep your Operating System up to date • Keep your SQL Server Instance up to date • https://sqlserverupdates.com/ • https://sqlserverbuilds.blogspot.com/
- 40. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event CHECK DATABASE INTEGRITY • SQL: DBCC CHECKDB • DBConfig • Management » Database » Run DBCC CheckDB() • Maintenance Plans • Check Database Integrity • Ola Hallengren’s SQL Server Maintenance Solution
- 41. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event INDEX MAINTAIN INDEX & COLUMN STATISTICS • DBConfig • Management » Database » Update DB Statistic • Maintenance Plans • Reorganize Index, Rebuild Index, Update Statistics • Ola Hallengren’s SQL Server Maintenance Solution
- 42. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event A LITTLE CLEANUP • Only Shrink Database when needed • Remove older data from MSDB • Job History • Backup History • Database Mail Sent Items
- 43. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event BEST PRACTICES Tips & a great feature
- 44. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event GETTING HELP • Stack Exchange is a network of Q-and-A website • Stack Overflow • Database Administrators • Follow the rules • Proactively build reputation
- 45. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event CHANGING THEMES IN SSMS • Select Themes • Tools » Options » Environment » General • A Dark Theme option is suppressed in the UI • Google your version of SSMS for instructions for making it available
- 46. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event XP_CMDSHELL STORED PROCEDURE • Execute DOS commands directly from the database engine using xp_cmdshell • Secure your “sa” account before enabling • Who remembers DOS?
- 47. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event Fix your security and then turn on xp_cmdshell. It’s a wonderful tool and you’re missing out on it because of bad security practices and myth. - Jeff Moden
- 48. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event XP_CMDSHELL STORED PROCEDURE • Execute DOS commands directly from the database engine using xp_cmdshell • Secure your “sa” account before enabling • Who remembers DOS?
- 49. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event THE RELUCTANT DBA •The goal is NOT perfection •The goal is a stable, reliable database server
- 50. Collective Imagination 2021 is a Gallery Systems Event Q & A Chad Petrovay cpetrovay@themorgan.org chad@petrovay.com http://www.petrovay.com/tag/reluctant-dba/