Episode 123
| February 14, 2018
| 21 minutes
Top 5 things to know when getting admin access
Listener Eduardo Cervantes wanted to get our take on what developers should do when they get admin access to a database. We take on this challenge and I give 5 points you might consider if you are a developer with admin access to the SQL Server. As Uncle Ben in Spiderman quotes, “With great power comes great responsibility.” We hope you use yours wisely.
Episode Quotes
“The question you should be asking yourself is, why was this not already enabled? What is the downside to implementing this course of action?”
“Who owns the code? We all do. The same could apply to the database. Documentation then comes into play.”
“Rolling back is very hard when you don’t know the original state. ”
“You may think you understand the consequence, but then if there’s unintended consequences, give yourself a way to get back.”
“Patching, security, backups, boring. Perhaps, but they need to be taken care of and they do become important.”
“Just because you have admin access doesn’t mean that everybody else should have admin access.”
Listen to Learn
02:09 Compañero Shout-Outs
03:39 Tips & Tricks
06:42 SQL Server in the News
09:48 Intro to the topic
10:12 We are going to assume there is no DBA present.
10:32 This could apply to both production and development
10:50 Do you know the consequence of your action? You have some control of the behavior of the system—just make sure you understand the consequences.
12:28 Who is the owner of the system? Does that person now what you are doing? Shared ownership-new concepts in programming.
14:19 Rollback is hard when you don’t know the original state. Always give yourself a way to get back. Containers. 
16:26 Don’t forget the small stuff. (patches, security, backups, etc) Just because YOU have admin access doesn’t mean everyone should.
18:28 Install Database Health Monitor
19:33 Closing Thoughts
Meet the Hosts
Carlos Chacon
With more than 10 years of working with SQL Server, Carlos helps businesses ensure their SQL Server environments meet their users’ expectations. He can provide insights on performance, migrations, and disaster recovery. He is also active in the SQL Server community and regularly speaks at user group meetings and conferences. He helps support the free database monitoring tool found at databasehealth.com and provides training through SQL Trail events.
Eugene Meidinger
Eugene works as an independent BI consultant and Pluralsight author, specializing in Power BI and the Azure Data Platform. He has been working with data for over 8 years and speaks regularly at user groups and conferences. He also helps run the GroupBy online conference.
Kevin Feasel
Kevin is a Microsoft Data Platform MVP and proprietor of Catallaxy Services, LLC, where he specializes in T-SQL development, machine learning, and pulling rabbits out of hats on demand. He is the lead contributor to Curated SQL, president of the Triangle Area SQL Server Users Group, and author of the books PolyBase Revealed (Apress, 2020) and Finding Ghosts in Your Data: Anomaly Detection Techniques with Examples in Python (Apress, 2022). A resident of Durham, North Carolina, he can be found cycling the trails along the triangle whenever the weather's nice enough.
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