Category: Administration

Dave Mason shows how to configure alerts to fire when tempdb is low on disk space:

Naturally, the job runs on a predefined schedule. But how frequently should we check disk/available space for [tempdb]? The temporary nature of [tempdb] makes this a difficult question: objects within aren’t saved from one session of SQL Server to another, and evidence to explain runaway growth or loss of available space may be gone before an assessment can be made. Whatever schedule I decide on, I’ll always wonder if it’s frequent enough (or too frequent).

It’s tempting to “over-schedule” a job’s frequency, perhaps as much as every X seconds. Asking SQL Server “Are we out of disk space?” over and over again doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, though. It reminds me of Bart and Lisa asking Homer “Are we there yet?”until he snaps. Ideally, instead of asking, I want SQL Server to *tell me* when disk/available space is running low.

Read on to see how Dave does this.

Brent Ozar has a few tips to see if you have too much memory:

Sounds impossible, right? The saying goes that you can never be too rich or too thin or have too much memory.

However, there is one good indication that your SQL Server is probably overprovisioned, and to explain it, I need to cover 3 metrics.

1. Max Server Memory is set at the instance level: right-click on your SQL Server name in SSMS, click Properties, Memory, and it’s “Maximum server memory.” This is how much memory you’re willing to let the engine use. (The rocket surgeons in the audience are desperate for the chance to raise their hands to point out different things that are or aren’t included in max memory – hold that thought. That’s a different blog post.)

If you have too much memory, I’d happily borrow a cup of RAM.

Randolph West looks at a baseline for the maximum number of Virtual Log Files for a database:

In a transaction log with too many or too few VLFs we might experience performance issues under a normal workload, as well as during the backup and restore process.

So what is the “right” amount? In customer engagements, I follow a guideline proposed by Glenn Berry of SQLskills.com in his Diagnostic Information Queries, to keep the number of VLFs at or below 200. In my opinion, any number higher than that is cause for concern.

On the other hand, Brent Ozar Unlimited has a popular script called sp_Blitz which proposes a maximum VLF count of 1000. To Brent, a number higher than that is cause for concern.

I tend toward the lower number, but if you have a smoothly-functioning environment and some databases have 700 or 900 VLFs, I probably wouldn’t give it a second thought.

Anthony Nocentino is excited about the latest release of Windows 10:

Today is a big day! The OpenSSH client version 7.6p1 is now part of the Windows 10 operating system! Microsoft released Windows 10 Update 1803 and included in that release is the OpenSSH client, which is installed as part of the update.

That’s right an SSH client as part of the Windows operating system by default! Also included with this update is the OpenSSH Server which is included as an Windows Feature on Demand.

Let’s take a look at what this is all made of!

I’m still going to use PuTTY for my SSH needs, but it’s nice to see that there’s a default option if you’re in a pinch and working on an unfamiliar server.