Thanks to MidnightDBA (b/t) for hosting this month’s #tsql2sday.
Strategies for managing an enterprise.
What do you think of when you hear the word enterprise? I used to think mainframes and big iron. I would think of sprawling server rooms with dozens of server racks. I used to think monstrous storage arrays and backup tape libraries as far as the eye could see. I used to think of a large employee base. For me the word enterprise used to correlate to size, but I don’t think that any more…
I think being an enterprise has more to do with the quality than quantity or size. When I think of an enterprise I think of stability. I think of standards. I think of change control processes and procedures. I think of scalable solutions. I think of supportability.
As a DBA this brings to mind a couple thoughts.
Can you tell me what your SLA’s are for all of your databases? If it’s not documented and reviewed on a fairly regular basis, there is a good chance that there are differing expectations depending on who you talk to. During a crisis is not the time to find that out!
Central Management Server is nice because it comes with SQL Server and is really easy to setup. There are a couple nice things you get when you setup a CMS.
Maintenance Plans are The Devil and should be avoided at all costs! They offer limited visibility into what is going on behind the scenes and are a pain in the ass to troubleshoot. When I think of an enterprise level maintenance strategy I think of a scripted solution. Something that can be deployed from a CMS or a PowerShell script. Something like OLA Hallengren’s solution, the Minion scripts or even a homegrown solution. Regardless, I think whatever standard you pick should be consistent across the enterprise. This standardization is a godsend when you are troubleshooting failed backup jobs at 3:00 AM.