As Joey explains, Activity Monitor consumes a lot of resources and yields little usable data. Here are some third-party alternatives. I get to work with a lot of customers, so I get to see a lot of ...

A common task that all database and system administrators face is patching systems. Patching your systems is very important -- first and foremost, security fixes are included in patches. Patches also ...

When it comes to improving the performance of database systems, there are nearly as many approaches as there are DBA (database administrator) teams. That might sound acceptable at first glance. But, ...

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m not a DBA, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t overseen databases and their performance. I was (and probably still am) the guy who installed a Microsoft SQL database by hitting Next ...

Tim Chapman discusses your iteration choices in SQL Server 2008 and explains why determining which option performs better depends on the situation.