Before an upgrade, look for text and image columns, old rules and defaults, and Stretch metadata. These queries show what is there.
Watching Many Servers Without Buying Anything
Use scheduled snapshots to monitor SQL Server with central storage, failure reporting, and four focused queries collected every five minutes.
Build Your Own SQL Script Library
A SQL script library saves you from solving the same problem twice. This post shows a folder layout by task, a header block with the tested version, naming habits, a safe history, tests on a scratch server and a way to retire old scripts, with one small read-only script as an example.
Comparing Old and New Values in a Trigger With inserted and deleted
Build a small audit trigger that joins inserted and deleted, handles NULL changes correctly and ignores saves that change nothing.
First Queries to Run on an Unfamiliar SQL Server
Inspect an unfamiliar SQL Server with read-only queries for version, uptime, database size, waits, backup history, and settings.
Checking Optional Features Installed on an Instance From T-SQL
A 1 in SERVERPROPERTY does not mean the feature runs. Here is how I line up the flag, the setting and the service in one query.
Wide Covering Indexes: The Cost of INCLUDE Everything
Adding every column with INCLUDE feels like a free speed-up. Here is a small demo of the space, reads and writes you pay for.