Edition: Saturday, August 3rd, 2024
A few weeks ago I needed to configure replication between two SQL Server 2022 named instances, on separate networks. In this configuration, the publisher would push data to the subscriber and all related replication jobs would reside at the...
Edition: Saturday, July 13th, 2024
On July 9th, 2024, Microsoft released a GDR update for multiple editions of SQL Server. As a DBA, you may be planning how to install this update in your lower environments (DEV, QA, UAT, etc.), tested, and then deploy to production.
However, you may...
Edition: Saturday, July 6th, 2024
As you begin creating playbooks to automate your work, you'll soon discover they can become many 100s of lines of YAML.
Ansible Roles, allow you to group tasks, variables, handlers, and other artifacts. Today, I'll focus on an example role...
Edition: Saturday, June 29th, 2024
Storing passwords in plain text files is a big problem. Such as the SA password when working with SQL Server. But how do you automate the installation of SQL Server and store the password securely?
If you're using Ansible, it's...
Edition: Saturday, June 22nd, 2024
SQL Server's configuration files can be a little daunting at first glance. There are over 50 options which can be set. Usually, these are supplied when using the installation wizard. But, what if you needed to automate the installation of...
Edition: Saturday, June 15th, 2024
No one wants to build a new SQL Server instance, release it to production, and immediately request a maintenance window to fix a configuration issue.
Has this ever happened to you before? I've experienced it a few times, and it doesn't reflect well on the...
Edition: Saturday, June 8th, 2024
Are you familiar with the terms DevOps and Platform Engineering? DevOps is the process of consistently and reliably deploying applications into production environments. Platform Engineering focuses on building and maintaining the foundational...
Edition: Saturday, May 25th, 2024
Over the years, I've completed a lot of SQL Server installations. Some of those resulted in having to move database files around afterward because I failed to ensure the disks were properly formatted and aligned. I had to move files to a...
I use Ansible in my virtual sandbox to configure and maintain Linux and Windows servers. I aim to set up my sandbox to match most of the production environments I've previously worked with. Most require using Kerberos over NTLM or strongly encourage its use. The sandbox I'm...
Introduction:
Imagine you're walking into a job interview or taking on a new role. During the interview, the hiring manager asks, "What sets you apart from the other twenty candidates I've interviewed?" How would you respond? If you've mastered Ansible and efficient automation, your answer might...
Introduction:
Inventory files lie at the core of Ansible. They are a crucial component that organizes and categorizes the target hosts to which Ansible will apply configurations. In this post, I'll walk you through the essentials of an Ansible inventory file, covering its basic...
Introduction:
Setting up a Windows managed node is a crucial step in leveraging Ansible for managing your Windows infrastructure efficiently. In this post, we'll walk through the process of setting up a Windows managed node using Ansible, enabling you to automate tasks on your...