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Authors  >  Brad McGehee

Brad McGehee Brad McGehee
Brad is an Industry speaker, writer, and consultant on Microsoft SQL Server, specializing in SQL Server performance tuning, clustering, and high availability. He is the founder of www.SQL-Server-Performance.Com, and oversaw its growth to 350,000 visits each month. He is now Director of DBA Education at Red Gate Software. Brad is a frequent speaker at SQL PASS, SQL Connections, SQL Server user groups, and other industry seminars, and he is the author or co-author of more than 12 technical books and over 100 published articles. He spends what time he has left with his family in Hawaii. He is a Microsoft SQL Server MVP, MCSE+I, MCSD, MCT See also ...
Brad's Sure DBA Checklist
by Brad McGehee | 20 January 2010 |  23 comments |
Sometimes, all a DBA needs, to help with day-to-day work, is a checklist of best-practices and dos and don’ts. It provides a handy reminder. Brad has come up with a new update to his famous checklist Read more...
Database Maintenance Plans in SSMS: An Overview
by Brad McGehee | 06 January 2010 |  4 comments |
Maintenance plans are essential. Microsoft provide two tools, the Maintenance Plan Wizard and the Maintenance Plan designer, to assist the busy DBA to get started with one, but they don't include all the likely tasks, so Custom-created T-SQL or PowerShell scripts... Read more...
Mastering SQL Server Profiler - eBook Download
by Brad McGehee | 07 October 2009 |  3 comments |
Download Brad McGehee's "from the ground up" guide to SQL Server's most powerful performance diagnostic tool. Read more...
Brad's Sure Guide to SQL Server Maintenance Plans
by Brad McGehee | 02 October 2009 |  5 comments |
Brad's Sure Guide to Maintenance Plans shows you how to use the Maintenance Plan Wizard and Designer to configure and schedule eleven core database maintenance tasks, ranging from integrity checks, to database backups, to index reorganizations and rebuilds. Read more...
A Code of Conduct for DBAs
by Brad McGehee | 03 September 2009 |  8 comments |
Despite the fact DBAs are protectors of an organization’s knowledge, and privy to much confidential information, there is no clearly defined set of rules and standards to help govern and guide their ethical conduct. Brad McGehee, in an article based on a chapter... Read more...
How to Become an Exceptional DBA, 2nd Edition
by Brad McGehee | 30 July 2009 |
A 2nd edition of Brad McGehee’s popular "career guide" for DBAs, designed to help new and prospective DBAs find their feet in the profession, and to advise those more-experienced on how they can excel at their jobs, and so become Exceptional DBAs... Read more...
Don’t Forget to Maintain Your Indexes
by Brad McGehee | 09 July 2009 |  1 comment |
Index Maintenance Plans are essential for the well-being of a database. However, there is more to the process than just the use of the wizard. Brad McGehee takes this one stage further in suggesting that, instead, you should create your own index maintenance tasks... Read more...
Brad's Sure Guide to Indexes
by Brad McGehee | 11 June 2009 |  17 comments |
In order to best appreciate the reasons for, or importance of, the various administrative tasks that are needed for indexes, it is a good idea to take a look at how the various types of indexes work. Who better to help with a clear expanation for this than Brad McGehee? Read more...
How to Identify Blocking Problems with SQL Profiler
by Brad McGehee | 13 March 2009 |  5 comments |
Many SQL Server developers and DBAs have, in the past, had their own favourite diagnostic Stored Procedures for investigating blocking issues, but since SQL Server 2005, it is a good idea to use the SQL Profiler for all but the most complex problems. This has a... Read more...
How to Identify Slow Running Queries with SQL Profiler
by Brad McGehee | 03 February 2009 |  4 comments |
With SQL Server Profiler, it is easy to discover all those queries that are running slowly. Once poorly performing queries are identified, there comes the harder task of speeding them up. Once again, the Profiler can provide a lot of information that can help... Read more...
Mastering SQL Server Profiler
by Brad McGehee | 30 January 2009 |
Brad McGehee's "from the ground up" guide to SQL Server's most powerful performance diagnostic tool... Read more...
SQL Server 2008: Performance Data Collector
by Brad McGehee | 29 December 2008 |  1 comment |
With Performance Data Collector in SQL Server 2008, you can now store performance data from a number of SQL Servers in one central location. This data is collected by a collection set on each server and stored in a shareable management data warehouse (MDW). Reports... Read more...
Tech-Fest of Champions: How to run a community IT conference
by Brad McGehee | 04 November 2008 |  1 comment |
Everybody who attended seems to speak well of the IndyTechFest. It is a great example of how to organise a free local conference for IT people who wish to increase their skills and knowledge. So how is it done? Brad McGehee decided to find out by talking to one of... Read more...
SQL Server 2008: The New Data Types
by Brad McGehee | 11 October 2008 |  10 comments |
Brad continues his helicopter-level view of the most interesting new features of SQL Server 2008 with a look at the new data types, their use and their significance. Read more...
Policy-Based Management
by Brad McGehee | 26 August 2008 |  3 comments |
Every DBA knows the frustration of trying to manage tens of servers, each of which has a subtly different configuration. Policy-based management, now introduced in SQL Server 2008, could ease a lot of this pain. Brad McGehee explains.... Read more...
Management Studio Improvements in SQL Server 2008
by Brad McGehee | 14 August 2008 |  40 comments |
Not everybody who had to use Management Studio when it first appeared in SQL Server 2005 liked it. The paint was still wet and there was still scaffolding around. To give Microsoft its' credit, it has succeeded in transforming it into a much more useful product, in... Read more...
How to Track Down Deadlocks Using SQL Server 2005 Profiler
by Brad McGehee | 20 June 2008 |  21 comments |
It is irritating, sometimes alarming, for the user to be confronted by the 'deadlock message' when a deadlock happens. It can be a tiresome business to prevent them from occurring in applications. Fortunately, the profiler can be used to help DBAs identify how... Read more...
Professional Certification for DBAs
by Brad McGehee | 16 June 2008 |  33 comments |
In this article, republished from Brad McGehee's book 'How to Become an Exceptional DBA', Brad explains why there are several advantages for DBAs in continuing to take exams throughout their careers. Read more...
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