SQL Server
Health & Risk Check.

A SQL Server Health Check is a structured review of the database environment and its operating controls. It connects performance, availability, recoverability, security and maintenance findings to business impact. This online questionnaire screens for potential gaps; a professional review validates evidence from the actual environment.

Consider one after repeated slowness or outages, a DBA departure, rapid growth, an acquisition, a security concern or before a major upgrade. It is also useful when nobody can demonstrate that backups, alerting and recovery plans work.

Review instance and OS versions, configuration, workload and query behavior, waits and blocking, CPU/memory/storage trends, integrity checks, maintenance and SQL Agent jobs. Also examine backup chains and retention, restore evidence, recovery targets, HA/DR, privileged access, encryption requirements, monitoring, dependencies and operational ownership.

Use evidence across several areas: workload-appropriate performance, stable service, successful integrity checks, monitored backups, demonstrated recovery, reviewed access and owned alerts. A green server dashboard or absence of complaints cannot establish overall database health.

Match the cadence to business criticality and change rate. As a practical starting point, review operational trends and failures routinely, review control evidence quarterly, and consider a broader assessment annually and after significant changes. This is planning guidance, not a universal standard; high-change or critical systems may need more frequent review.

Assign an accountable internal owner and arrange access to qualified SQL Server expertise, either shared internally or through an external specialist. Make backup monitoring, patch review, escalation and recovery runbooks explicit. A health check can establish the baseline and identify where ongoing support is needed.

Restore representative backup chains into an isolated environment, validate database integrity and application usability, and measure recovery against agreed data-loss and downtime targets. Include encryption keys and dependencies. Microsoft’s RESTORE VERIFYONLY checks backup readability/completeness but does not perform a restore or verify all data structures. Never test by overwriting production.

No. It runs entirely in your browser and uses only your answers. It does not connect to SQL Server, collect credentials or submit answers. The professional Everconnect assessment is separately scoped, uses read-only discovery whenever possible and makes no production changes during discovery without explicit authorization.