As a person I’m all about lists; I have to have stuff written down one because I need order and two because I forget things a lot it seems like. So, as one would guess, as a Database Administrator my feelings are no different. I have to have a DBA checklist that I go through daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly. For me it is a sense of having a guideline to go through; now one will bring up the fact of automation. If everything was automated to alert of any possible issues then there is not a need for a checklist. While some of these points are indeed valid I’ll keep on keeping on with my daily checklist. If you do not have one I suggest you get one; if you have one and need to modify it I suggest you take some time out of your day and review and add where needed. Just a few good checklists that are out there on the web are Brad Mcgehee’s, MSSQL Tips, and many more.

I cannot say that I have followed one particular standard that has been laid out but have taken some ideas from here, some of my own, and some on researching and meshed them altogether; point being I believe it is a great idea to have a checklist in place. DBA’s should be pro-active in their daily activities to find any issues before they arise.