Have you ever wondered why there are so many, sometimes contradictory, best practices for SQL Server on the internet? Have you considered creating your own but didn't know where to begin? Then this is the session for you.

Everybody is talking about best practices, and like standards, most everybody has them. But why do they look like they do, and why would you use a specific set of "best practices" that someone has put together? This session goes through my set of best practices that I've accumulated over 20 years of DBA work, disassembles each and every one of them to see how they came about and discuss why I still use them - or don't.

There are no such things as the "ultimate" best practices, but I aim to provide the attendee with as much food for thought as possible in order to let each and every one decide on their own path forward. The session covers primarily SQL Server 2012 to 2017, with SQL Server 2019 thrown in for good measure.

You will learn:

• Insight into what constitutes a best practice
• About what to change from defaults and why
• Ask unexpected questions