Database engineering for systems that can't go down
SQL Server consulting for business-critical environments — performance, HA/DR, migrations, troubleshooting, and automation, backed by a broader database engineering approach.
Where we usually get called in
The calls that tend to land on our desk.
The database is the bottleneck
The app used to be fast. Now everything waits on the database, and nobody can explain why.
Queries are getting slower
Workloads that ran fine six months ago are dragging. You've added indexes, restarted services, and nothing sticks.
Blocking and deadlocks
Random timeouts, occasional deadlocks, transactions stepping on each other. Hard to reproduce, harder to keep explaining to the business.
It won't scale
You need to handle 3x the load next quarter and the current setup won't get there without changes.
HA/DR is theoretical
You have a failover plan. You've never actually failed over. Nobody's sure it works.
The migration stalled
It started six months ago. There's a runbook. The cutover keeps getting pushed back.
What we do
Performance, reliability, and the work in between.
Performance
Reading execution plans, profiling real workloads, and fixing what's actually slow — not what looks slow.
- Query tuning and execution plan review
- Indexing strategy
- Workload analysis and capacity planning
- Configuration review
- Production troubleshooting
Reliability & HA/DR
Always On, clustering, backups, failover, and recovery strategies designed for production environments where downtime matters.
- Always On Availability Groups
- Windows Server Failover Clustering
- Backup and recovery strategy
- Disaster recovery planning
- Failover testing
- Replication where appropriate
Production Troubleshooting
High CPU, blocking, deadlocks, unexpected waits, failed jobs, replication issues, availability problems, and the incidents that don't fit neatly into a runbook.
- Root cause analysis
- Blocking and deadlock analysis
- Wait statistics analysis
- CPU and workload investigation
- Performance regression analysis
Migrations & Modernization
Database migrations, platform upgrades, managed database services, and modernization projects — from planning through cutover.
- SQL Server migrations
- Version upgrades
- Cloud database migrations
- Migration planning
- Cutover strategy
- Platform modernization
Automation
PowerShell, database CI/CD, and automation that removes fragile manual steps from production operations.
- PowerShell scripting
- Database CI/CD
- Deployment automation
- Operational automation
- Repeatable runbooks
Monitoring & Observability
Monitoring that tells you something is wrong before a customer does.
- Database monitoring setup
- Alerting strategy
- Capacity planning
- Performance visibility
- Baseline and trend analysis
Architecture consulting
Second opinion on a database design, a scaling plan, or a vendor recommendation.
- Architecture review
- Scaling assessments
- Technical due diligence
- Infrastructure recommendations
Technologies
Focused on SQL Server, with broader database engineering when the problem calls for it.
Why LB DataWorks
Senior database expertise without the consulting overhead.
Production experience
Years spent supporting business-critical systems and troubleshooting the incidents that don't wait until morning.
We do the work, not just the slides
Execution plans, traces, scripts, configuration, and hands-on troubleshooting — not just a report telling you what someone else should fix.
SQL Server first
Deep SQL Server expertise, with broader database engineering experience when the environment extends into PostgreSQL, MySQL, cloud platforms, automation, or application infrastructure.
Engagements that fit
A focused assessment, a defined project, or ongoing engineering support — the engagement adapts to what the environment actually needs.
About
When the database is the bottleneck, we can help.
SQL Server performance problems, production incidents, HA/DR, migrations, or an environment that's becoming harder to operate — we help teams understand what's happening, fix the immediate problem, and improve what comes next.
Most of my career has been spent supporting production database environments — performance tuning, Always On, HA/DR, migrations, troubleshooting, monitoring, automation, and the day-to-day work required to keep critical systems available and reliable.
My job is to figure out what's actually breaking and fix it at the right layer.
Microsoft SQL Server is our primary specialization.
Database problems don't live in isolation. I look at the database, application behavior, infrastructure, monitoring, and deployment process before deciding where to dig in.
What working with me looks like
- Root cause, not symptoms — finding what's actually breaking
- Decisions backed by data — execution plans, metrics, and real workload behavior
- Solutions that fit your environment — not the textbook answer
- Automation where it pays off — fewer manual steps, fewer ways to break things
- Plain explanations — what's happening, why it matters, and what to change
Let's talk about your database.
SQL Server performance issue, production incident, migration, HA/DR concern, or ongoing DBA support — tell us what's happening and we'll start from there.