Database Administrator/Azure SME – RDX New Instance… Now What? Presented by: James Donahoe Database Administrator/Azure SME – RDX

A Little About Me! DBA(Does ‘Bout Anything) | Cloudie|Video Game Enthusiast | Nerd | Not-so-Big Data | Azure Enthusiast | United States Marine(‘00-’05) Website: SqlFlipFlopsDBA.com Meetups: meetup.com/PittsburghSQL/ Email: Jim-Donahoe@SqlFlipFlopsDBA.com Twitter: @SQLFlipFlopsDBA

Agenda Configuration The Maintenance Hexagon What do I backup? DR Testing Best Practice Security Recommendations Resources

Configuration

Are your MDF, and LDF files on the same drive? Are your backups residing on the same drive as your data files? What is MAXDOP set to? What is your cost threshold for parallelism? How many TempDB files do you have? What is your instance memory capped at? Several things should be configured after you install: MDF and LDF locations, MAXDOP, Cost Threshold for parallelism, TempDB allocation, autogrowth, etc. MDF and LDF on the same drive? Why? IO contention can be avoided by separating these. Backups on that same drive? WHY?!?! A failure of that drive just puts you out of business, or as Brent Ozar likes to say, a resume submitting opportunity. MAXDOp, how many processors do you have? How many cores? I generally go with half the cores, so if I have 16 cores, I generally set MAXDOP to 8. Cost Theshold, this is important….do you want EVERYTHING going parallel? TEMPDB, best practice is to have 1 file per processor, up to 32(Check this). This can help avoid SGAM blocking in Tempdb(Give a story here). How much memory do you have installed on that box? Physical, Virtual? What did you set your MAX memory setting to in SQL? Leave 2-3 GB for your OS. Do you have NUMA nodes? I hate NUMA..(short story)

Basic Maintenance

The Maintenance Hexagon Reduce Impact of Database Backup Logging Reduce Disk I/O Database Backups Recovery Clear Backup History Index Rebuild/Reorg Query Performance Backup Performance Faster Root Cause Analysis Query Performance Go through each step on the hexagon and make examples of it. Make remarks such as: How many of you have seen an error log that takes too long to open up? Make a funny animation when trying to view it. Cycle Instance Error Log Statistics Update Faster Root Cause Analysis More Appropriate Execution Plans Manageable Error Logs Cycle Agent Error Log

Maintenance Examples BACKUPS Full Database Backup Creates a full backup of all user databases. Scheduled for every Sunday at 2:00AM Backups retained for 14 days located in the default backup directory Transaction Log Backup Creates a transaction log backup of all user databases in Full Recovery Scheduled for every Monday through Saturday at 2:00AM Backups are retained for 14 days Go through

Maintenance Continued MISC Maintenance CycleErrorLog Cycles the error log on SQL Server Is scheduled for every Sunday, Wednesday at 5:00 am Integrity Checks database integrity including indexes Is scheduled for every Sunday at 3:00AM Optimization Rebuild all indexes Change free space to default setting Updates all statistics Is scheduled for every Sunday at 4:00AM

What Do I Do With My Backups?

What do I backup? ALL databases – User and System! All User Databases System Databases Transaction Logs Watch SIZE, Backups will help keep in check Select * from sys.configurations Create a job to run that query Save this into a table Back it up! Comes in handy if you ever have to reinstall! Talk about how many folks only focus on databases, and transaction logs, but never look for sys.configurations, and other technical pieces. Make sure you touch on testing your backups, explaining that if you havent ever had a data corruption, its only a matter of time. But what will the use of backups be if they do not work? Wouldn’t you rather know before the system fails?

TEST Your Backups! Backing up is the first step, but they won’t do you any good if they are corrupted. TEST your backups at LEAST once a quarter. If you haven’t experienced a corrupted database, give it time, it will happen!

Disaster Recovery Testing

DR Testing When was the last time you did a fire drill? If it is longer than 6 months, you are overdue! How easy is it to access the documentation? \\fileshare\where\the\folder\structure\is\something\like\this ^ REALLY!? That just slows everything down. Are the instructions clear? Would I be able to come in today, and be able to follow your instructions to have your system back up and running within your timeframe? What is your average restore time? (Those backup tests have come back to get yinz! – Pittsburgheze) Disaster recovery(DR) documentation and processes are critical to maintaining server and service availability with minimal impact. Failure to maintain good disaster recovery documentation and processes could lead to small problems becoming disasters and disasters becoming unrecoverable failures. Disaster Recovery Plan should be tested and practiced regularly(At LEAST every six months)

Security Recommendations

Best Practice Security Recommendations Non-Default logins provisioned to sysadmin role Non-default users are provisioned to db_owner role Who needs access? Don’t use SA accounts for SQL Server Agent Jobs Are you using the basics? “Password Complexity”, “Password Expiration”? Talk about using “Password Complexity”, and “Password Expiration” policies by leveraging the Windows Password Policy mechanisms. The db_owner role grants permission to perform the activities of all the fixed database roles as well as the maintenance and configuration activities in the database. Users should not be added to this role, unless they are required full control on the database. In SQL Server 2005, members of the db_owner fixed database role can DROP the database. Also, security should be thought of when software is developed. That is where it all starts: “However is it just the users that create poor passwords? In many cases, sure. However as the people that develop software, we can help. In fact, we should. Security should be on the mind of everyone that writes software.” http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Editorial/137337/

Resources

Resources Local Pass Chapter BrentOzar.com Twitter Many of us see each other monthly at a user group. Ask your question there, get the speakers contact information and don’t be afraid to reach out to them. PASS is a great organization that encourages learning through your peers. BrentOzar.com  In one free, convenient zip file, you get their scripts including sp_Blitz®, sp_AskBrent®, and sp_BlitzIndex®, plus their e-books like the SQL Server Setup Checklist and AlwaysOn Availability Groups Setup Checklist. Twitter #SQLHELP, #SQLFAMILY Reaching out to any of those hashtags will get you a response relatively quickly if you are working on something SQLskills.com/blogs/glenn/ Free SQL Server Diagnostic Information queries—Updated MONTHLY

MinionWare Several free pieces of wonderful software – Reindex, backup, etc. Automates those tasks for you so you don’t have to worry! SentryOne I cannot stress how great PlanExplorer is! It is a FREE tool now for reviewing the execution plans for your queries. Virtual Pass Groups These chapters hold virtual meetings every month for their subject(In-Memory, Performance, Administration, etc). Register on SQLPASS.org and look into them, lots of great, knowledgeable speakers regularly present! --Shameless Plug, In-Memory VC has a great leader, just sayin. ;) Microsoft Virtual Academy Free videos on all Microsoft products PASS Summit A week long SQLSaturday is the best way I can explain this event. You meet SQL Professionals from ALL over the world, and extend your personal network while learning all the great things that SQL has to offer! This one costs some money however, but you cannot put a price tag on the great learning/networking opportunities that will present themselves here!

Questions? Suggestions? Stories?

Thank You! To all of you for attending and to ALL of our sponsors today! Twitter: @SQLFlipFlopsDBA Email: Jim-Donahoe@SQLFlipFlopsDBA.com