Tip # 6 – Change History, Top 10 Tips for SQL Server Performance and Resiliency

This article is part 6 in a series on the top 10 most common mistakes that I have seen impacting SQL Server Performance and Resiliency. This post is not all inclusive.

Most common mistake #6: Not Keeping a Change History

Business today moves fast, companies change interfaces to keep content relevant and are continuing to offer new services to their client base. In a perfect world code is tested 10 ways to Sunday and is never released with bugs or design issues, however we don’t live in that world. I mean no disrespect to the developers that spend hour upon hours trying to provide the best changes possible. There are just so many variables that making a release perfect every time is just not a reality.

There is an inherent risk with change; software, hardware or configurations including SQL Server.

When a change is being planned no matter how small of a change, these changes should be documented. Chances are most DBA’s have heard this before; however, simple changes are often overlooked. Documenting the change is a great start; however, keep in mind that it is critical that the documented changes are easily researched. In my experience with working with SQL Server, most issues with SQL Server can be tracked back to a date when an issue started. Because of this, I recommend storing documents so they can be searched by date.

Stability increases when you embrace change history and take change management couple steps further. Consider setting up a change process. Implementing policies such as not allowing changes to be made to the SQL Server unless they are being made via scripts. There are some great benefits to only allowing changes via script. Consider a small table change, a few of the benefits that you will see by using a script over the user interface:

• When changes are made via script, and the script has been saved it is easy to see exactly what was executed. When changes are made via the user interface you have to assume you know what the exact change was.
• Changes made via the user interface are susceptible to the “fat finger” otherwise known as a typo. You can review your change with your eyes, but having others review your change is more difficult. If you mistype the name you are now left with having to make a second change to correct your mistake.
• When using a script, you can share what the change is going to look like before the change is made. You can send the new table layout to other teams in the company and they can see exactly the totality of the change.

When making changes it is also important to have a roll back script. This is most likely the most overlooked part of change management. Having a roll back script is not often needed and when everything is rolling out as planned there is no thoughts to having to roll back these changes. When a changes are made and it isn’t going as well as it was planned someone may make the decision to cancel the change. A restore can often lead to extended hours of downtime and unexpected impacts to customers. These are the times when the extra effort put into a rollback script prove to be priceless.

If you have questions making changes to your SQL Server configuration or need assistance with SQL Server in general, reach out to us! XTIVIA and I can assist you with adding resiliency for your business. Please don’t miss my other blogs regarding this topic.

Top 10 Tips for SQL Server Performance and Resiliency
1. Improper Backups
2. Improper Security
3. Improper Maintenance
4. Not having a baseline
5. Max Memory settings

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