I can’t believe it’s already August.  I had planned to get to the lake more this year, spend more time on the deck, and countless other things that have already slipped by this summer.  It’s an easy trap to fall into.  Just make a deal with yourself that, I’ll go to the lake next weekend, this weekend I’m going to wrap up this other project.  Soon it’s next weekend and you have another deal that gets in the way of doing the fun thing.

Now, checking up on your SQL Server’s may not be the most fun task in the world, but it can be pushed off in much the same way.  I’ll cover this last production issue, and then I’ll make sure that the SQL Servers are running fine.  Or, I’ll finish fixing this backup issue, then I’ll check my backup space capacity plan.  Knowing full-well that after those issues, you’re likely to move on to other issues.  Before you know it, the summer is over and you may have no idea on the health of your SQL Server environment.

But let’s make a new deal.  This month.  This week. Today.  We are going to check up on our SQL Server environments to make sure that everything is running according to plans and expectations.  Let’s check to verify that there are no potential issues looming that will force you to have to make deals on your time later.  For my part, I’m going to check my environments and then take off on Friday for a week of jet skiing.  Safe in the knowledge that nothing should go wrong.

If you don’t already have your own checklist, check out the SQL Server Monthly Checklist that I provide on this blog. It covers most everything that should be checked. If you see anything missing from that list, please leave a comment on this post.  And if there are good resources out there that should be included on the list – share those as well.

Checklist Updates

There are just a couple changes to the checklist since last month, these updates include:

• Added cumulative update for SQL Server 2012 SP1
• Added cumulative update for SQL Server 2008 SP3

If you have time to take a look at it, the SQL Server 2012 Product Guide to see how you can use SQL Server in your environment.

SOMETHING MISSING?

Is there something missing in this checklist or with the pages that has been overlooked?  Any cool links that would aid in the review of your SQL Server environments?  If so, leave a comment below and I’ll take a look.