Voice of the DBA

  • Are You Working More Hours?

    Recently, I noticed my son was coming home later and going to work earlier. He typically works a 9/80 schedule as a software engineer, but at times he might work extra hours on a deadline. His company tries hard to keep employees working a set schedule without overtime. Unless there is a need, after all, this is software. However, when they are on a deadline, management warns people, and they try to manage overtime to reasonable levels…


  • TRY_PARSE Limitations: #SQLNewBlogger

    I got a notification from a question I’d posted at SQL Server Central: Getting the Average. A user had posted their repro didn’t work, with no real comment. As a SQLNewBlogger FYI, that type of post shows poor communication and a lack of communication. I see that a lot and it’s a challenge in the modern world. Another post for me that is simple and hopefully serves as an example for people trying to get blogging as…


  • Finding Bad Queries

    T-SQL Tuesday #200 was in July, hosted by Brent Ozar, and it was a great topic: How do you recognize a bad query? In the age of AI, when lots of people will get queries written by others (people or AIs), how can you easily and quickly review code? Review is already a challenge in the software world, and I am sure it’s going to be even more challenging as people let machines author more database code.…


  • Monday Monitor Tips: The MCP Server

    I have been experimenting with MCP servers in a few ways, and pressing on our Redgate Monitor team to add one to their system. They did, started adding tools, and are continuing to work. I’m excited. Here’s a quick look at the MCP server for Redgate Monitor (preview in July 2026). This is part of a series of posts on Redgate Monitor. Click to see the other posts. Getting Started I’m not going to bore you with…


  • Fixing P1 Queries

    When we look at the performance of software, we use Pnn notation to indicate the latency of an issue. A P95 problem is one that exceeds the time that 95% of the other queries take. In other words, this is the 5% slowest things happening, which can include database slowdowns that impact your application. For many years in software development, we have tended to work on the P95 or P90 issues, the slowest items. This is primarily…


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