SQL Server 2022 End of Sale: Procurement Planning for London Businesses

SQL CM 8.4 is live. Now supports SQL Server 2025, plus a few small updates to make audit tracking a bit easier. Quick one to check out if you’re using it or evaluating. https://lnkd.in/gq8VctJa

I just dropped a full walkthrough on installing SQL Server 2025 — and there's one thing most people don't know before they start. The Developer Edition is completely free. No license key. No trial. No credit card. Here's the exact process I use to get it running on a virtual machine: 1️⃣ Download the Developer Edition from Microsoft (not Express — Developer gives you the full feature set) 2️⃣ Choose "Custom" installation, not Basic — it gives you control over what gets installed 3️⃣ Only install the Database Engine service to start. You can always add more later. 4️⃣ Set Mixed Mode authentication and add yourself as the current user — skip this and you'll lock yourself out 5️⃣ Install SSMS 2022 separately after the engine is done (it doesn't come bundled) 6️⃣ Before connecting, open SQL Server Configuration Manager and confirm the service is actually running That last step trips up more people than anything else. Full step-by-step video in the comments 👇 #SQLServer #DataEngineering #DatabaseManagement #SQLServer2025 #DataProfessionals

Great question from the community, definitely worth sharing my answer here. Q: How do we ensure we don't accidentally have our Agent work with the WRONG Oracle Database? A: I suggest a few things, including + configure MCP Server and/or Agent to REQUIRE permission/prompts for every CONNECT and run-sql tool call. The user should review/approve those. + use distinct connection names to avoid confusion/simple mistakes + use an APPROVED list of connections only, by having SQLcl MCP read from a filtered/specific list For the private list of connections, you can simply add these arguments to the JSON Config for your MCP Servers and SQLcl: "args": [ "-mcp", "-home", "/Users/thatjeffsmith/mcp-data" -- substitute your local directory ]

Recently, I’ve been involved in leading both in-place and side-by-side upgrades across environments running Microsoft SQL Server from 2012 through 2022. The focus has always been ensuring a smooth transition while maintaining business continuity for production workloads. Key priorities during these upgrade initiatives included: • Careful pre-upgrade assessments and compatibility checks • Planning maintenance windows to ensure minimal downtime • Full data and application validation after upgrade • Post-upgrade query and performance optimization • Ensuring high availability configurations remain stable Upgrading database platforms is not just about keeping systems supported, it’s about unlocking performance improvements, enhanced security features, and long-term operational efficiency. Always rewarding to help organizations modernize their data platforms while maintaining stability for mission-critical applications. #SQLServer #DatabaseAdministration #DatabaseUpgrade #DataPlatform #DBA #MicrosoftSQLServer #PerformanceTuning

Veeam (or whatever snapshot tool you have that you don't fully understand the options for) said the backup ran. With success even. The properties on the database in SQL Server said the last "successful" log backup was 15 minutes ago. The accidental DBA team was happy because all was functioning as expected - all indicators were green. But then someone called at 3AM asking for point in time recovery only to find out what that tickbox in the snapshot backup tool meant when it says "truncate the SQL Server transaction log" - and try as they may - they just never can find all of those log backups written to "NUL"... Maybe you need a SQL Server health check. I may know of a company that can do one for you and actually help you walk down the plan and carry it out - you should send me a note and help find these magic tricks before you find them yourself the hard way.

Recently worked on a SQL Server upgrade from 2016 to 2022 and wanted to share a key learning from the experience. During the upgrade, we encountered persistent errors related to Microsoft ODBC and OLE DB components. We initially attempted to resolve the issue by uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers through Control Panel, but the problem remained. After raising a support ticket with Microsoft, we learned that such issues can occur during upgrades from SQL Server 2016 to 2022 due to conflicts with existing ODBC and OLE DB components. Following Microsoft’s recommendation, we completely removed all existing ODBC and OLE DB drivers from Programs and Features. After this cleanup, we reran the upgrade setup, which automatically reinstalled the required ODBC and OLE DB components, and the upgrade completed successfully without any further issues.. Key Takeaway: If you face ODBC/OLE DB- Drivers related errors during SQL Server upgrades, a complete removal and clean reinstall of these components can help resolve the issue. #SQLServer #DatabaseUpgrade #SQLDBA #MicrosoftSQL #DataPlatform #Learning

Most companies don’t know if they’re overpaying for SQL Server And honestly… it’s not their fault. Per core vs. server + CAL is not a trivial decision - and over 5 years, it can mean a massive difference in cost. So instead of explaining it again and again, we built a tool. 👉 A simple SQL Calculator that shows you the real numbers So you can stop guessing and start optimizing your licensing strategy. Count your ROI now: https://lnkd.in/dsKxWgSs

Curious thing about SQL Server. When it works perfectly, nobody notices. When it fails, everyone panics. 🚨 Viscosity specializes in making the invisible valuable through performance tuning, HA strategy, and proactive expert management. 🛠️ If you’d prefer fewer heroics and more certainty, we should talk: https://bit.ly/4bF8VCh #MicrosoftSQLServer #SQLServer #SQLServerExperts

Just installed SSMS 22 GA and up pops SQL Server Profiler 22. I can remember when it was announced that this was going to be deprecated by MSFT. That was way back when I was working on the SQL Server Playback team around 2005. Here we are 21 years later and its still there ... Thank goodness because the idea that extended events was ever going to replace this was an "interesting" decision made somewhere in the bowels of Building 35 :)

What if you could measure your SQL Server health with a single score? 🤔 In most production environments, we check performance issues separatelyblocking, slow queries, CPU usage, job failures… But there’s no simple way to understand overall database health at a glance. So I built this 👇 👉 SQL Server Performance Score System 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eCh7cb7B