Your DBA left, and the job landed on IT.
A sysadmin or a developer now runs SQL Server on top of everything else.
SQL Server Database Management
Database Management Services for SQL Server
From DBAs Who Do Nothing Else.
Red9 is a database management company that works only on Microsoft SQL Server. Senior database administrators (DBAs) with 15+ years each handle monitoring, backups, maintenance, patching and tuning. Your team can stop babysitting the database.
10,000+ Databases Audited
15+ yrs Min. DBA Experience
7.3 min Avg Response Time
0 Junior DBAs
or call us at 1-877-891-1870
Trusted by 120+ organizations since 2014
Sound Familiar?
When Nobody Really Owns the SQL Server
Database management is easy to forget until something breaks. These are the situations that bring teams to us.
The backup job says it succeeded.
That's the last time anyone looked.
Patches are months behind.
Every cumulative update feels risky, so they keep getting put off.
Month-end slows everything down.
Blocking, timeouts and a CPU stuck at 100% while the business waits.
Alerts go to a shared inbox.
The disk fills up at 2 AM, and the first alert is a user complaint.
If one of those is happening right now, skip the rest of this page and call SQL Server Emergency Support. It runs 24/7/365 and is open to non-clients.
What We Do
What Our SQL Server Database Management Covers
Our database management services cover the everyday work of keeping SQL Server healthy. Ongoing management runs as a managed plan, and how much hands-on DBA work is included depends on the plan. The monitoring and patching below cover SQL Server on your own servers and virtual machines.
24/7 monitoring and alerts.
Our own monitoring platform watches CPU, memory, disk, backups, corruption checks, failed logins and deadlocks around the clock. For a few known issues, such as a log file filling a disk, it applies a set fix, checks that the fix worked, and calls in a DBA if it didn't.
Backups that are checked every day.
We check every day that backups are completing, and hourly checks flag a broken backup chain. Our Health Check also shows whether restores are being tested. Why it matters: VM snapshots are not SQL Server backups.
Maintenance that runs itself.
Onboarding sets up automated maintenance jobs. Our monitoring flags any corruption check (DBCC CHECKDB) that finds errors or doesn't run.
Patching on your schedule.
On your own servers and virtual machines, SQL Server security updates and cumulative updates go in on a schedule you approve. We record the build every server runs each week, so there is a record of each server's build and patch level. On Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance, Microsoft patches SQL Server and runs the platform underneath. On Amazon RDS, Amazon applies SQL Server updates in a maintenance window you choose. We handle performance, configuration and capacity planning inside the limits each platform gives you.
Performance tuning.
Unused indexes get flagged, and our monitoring finds inefficient query plans worth tuning. Depending on your plan, index tuning runs automatically and a DBA tunes slow queries by hand. Bigger jobs run through SQL Server performance tuning.
High availability and disaster recovery.
With SQL Server managed services, we get alerts when an availability group falls behind, changes role, or turns unhealthy, and when a backup chain breaks. Which plan fits depends on your setup. Building or repairing a failover cluster, log shipping or replication runs as an HA and DR consulting project.
Capacity and monthly reports.
We track database and table growth over time, and we flag identity columns that are close to running out of numbers. Every month you get a written report on health, performance, capacity and resource use.
Security and access.
Each DBA can reach only the clients assigned to them. Bursts of failed logins, or any failed login from a public IP address, raise an alert.
How Often
What We Check, and How Often
These checks run on SQL Server on your own servers and virtual machines. Most raise an alert when something crosses its limit. The weekly build record and the monthly report are records you can read.
| How often | What we check |
|---|---|
| Every 1 to 5 minutes | Blocking queries, low disk space (with an emergency log file shrink), databases that can't come online (recovery pending, suspect or emergency mode), high CPU and failed SQL Agent jobs |
| Hourly | Broken backup chains, failed-login bursts and high-severity errors |
| Daily | Backup completion, corruption check (DBCC CHECKDB) results and missed runs, identity columns close to their limit, rising deadlocks, slow drives and certificates near expiry |
| Weekly | Each server's SQL Server build and patch level, key database settings and transaction log VLF counts (too many slows startup and restores) |
| Monthly | A written report on health, performance, capacity and resource use |
How It Works
From First Call to Fully Managed SQL Server
Four steps. You see what we found before anything changes.
Discovery call.
Tell us what you're running and what keeps you up at night. We scope the work and match you with the right senior DBA.
Health Check.
Your DBA runs our 145-point SQL Server Health Check. It is 100% read-only, with no downtime and no software left behind.
Remediation.
We apply best-practice settings, set up the maintenance jobs and backups, and deploy monitoring. Changes follow your change process.
Ongoing management.
Coverage starts the day monitoring goes live. You should see noticeable gains in stability within 2 to 4 weeks, and a written report arrives every month.
Why Red9
Why Teams Hand Their SQL Server to Red9
Most database management service providers support a long list of engines. We support one, and we've audited 10,000+ databases on it.
Senior DBAs only.
Every engineer on your environment has 15+ years of hands-on SQL Server experience. No juniors and no handoffs.
SQL Server is all we do.
No Oracle, no Postgres, no general IT. Microsoft SQL Server specialists, start to finish.
7.3-minute average response.
That's our measured average on high-priority issues over the last 12 months.
One team wherever SQL Server runs.
On-premises, Azure and AWS virtual machines, Azure SQL Database and Managed Instance, and Amazon RDS.
You keep the knowledge.
We document how your SQL Server environment is built and how your applications rely on it. That documentation is yours to keep.
Results
What Clients Say About Our Database Management
Here's what ongoing SQL Server management sounds like from the people who hired us.
Five servers, and better sleep.
"These folks are MS SQL Server experts! They took on management of five of our servers … Our system availability improved, our system speed improved, our security improved, and … my sleep at night improved knowing the Red9 team was taking care of the database servers. If you're running MS SQL Server, do yourself a favor and give the Red9 team a call."
Ownership of our servers.
"Since adding Red9 to the reporting and DataWarehousing team, Red9 has done a good job coming up to speed on our environments and helping ensure we continue to meet our customer's needs. Red9 has taken ownership of our servers ensuring they remain healthy by monitoring and tuning inefficient queries."
Zero load issues in January.
"… January was the most problematic in the past due to high demand and performance issues. We just realized that January is over and we had zero load issues in DB. First time in the last couple of years! …"
Problems fixed before they grow.
"We have been using Red9 to assist with database maintenance and improvement over many months, and we have been very happy with the service we have received. … Red9 has been proactive with identifying potential issues and fixing those issues before becoming major problems. All around they have been very helpful to our operations."
Proactive optimizations.
"Since partnering with Red9, we've seen significant improvements and proactive optimizations in our system. The team's expertise and exceptional service make them an invaluable partner. Highly recommend Red9 for anyone in need of top-tier database management!"
How We Work
Three Ways to Get SQL Server Database Management
Many clients start with an emergency or a free Health Check, then move to ongoing management. Projects can run on their own or alongside it.
Managed Services
Ongoing SQL Server database management for one predictable monthly fee. Plans differ on how much hands-on DBA work is included.
✓24/7 monitoring with self-healing
✓Free 145-point Health Check
✓Monthly health reports
Consulting
A defined SQL Server project, like a migration, an upgrade, tuning or an HA build. Buy a block of hours and use it for any SQL Server work.
✓145-point Health Check included
✓Written summary of findings and changes
✓Can start as soon as the next day, depending on our schedule
Emergency Support
SQL Server down, or close to it? Emergency Support runs 24/7/365 and is open to non-clients. Per incident, we work until it's fixed, and root-cause analysis is included.
✓24/7/365, open to non-clients
✓Root-cause analysis included
Common Questions
SQL Server Database Management FAQs
What does your database management service include?
It covers the everyday work of keeping SQL Server healthy. That means 24/7 monitoring and alerts, daily backup checks, automated maintenance and patching. It also means performance tuning, capacity tracking and a monthly report. It starts with our free 145-point Health Check, and how much hands-on DBA work is included depends on the plan you pick. On Azure SQL Database, Managed Instance and Amazon RDS, the platform handles patching and some maintenance.
Do you manage databases other than SQL Server?
No. Red9 works only on Microsoft SQL Server, including Azure SQL Database, Azure SQL Managed Instance and Amazon RDS for SQL Server. If you run MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle or MongoDB, we're not the right fit, and we'll tell you on the first call.
What's the difference between database management services and managed services?
Database management is the work: monitoring, backups, maintenance, patching and tuning. Managed services is how you buy it: that work on a monthly plan. Our SQL Server managed services plans show what each plan includes.
Is Red9 a database management company?
Yes, for one database: Microsoft SQL Server. Since 2014 we've worked with 120+ organizations and audited 10,000+ databases. If you're comparing database management companies and you also run Oracle, MySQL or PostgreSQL, a firm that covers several engines will suit you better.
What does your monitoring collect from our servers?
Operational stats, not your table data. We don't even capture stored-procedure parameters, because they can hold sensitive data.
What runs automatically, and what does a DBA handle?
Known, low-risk fixes run on their own. For example, when a disk is about to fill up, the platform shrinks log files as emergency relief, retries, and closes the alert once there is space again. Some fixes, like correcting database settings, run automatically or by prior agreement, depending on your plan. Everything else goes to a senior DBA.
Will you change production without asking?
Only within limits you agree to. At onboarding we agree on what we can do on our own, such as routine maintenance and known fixes. Emergency work is pre-approved up to a set limit, so we can start right away. Anything outside those limits waits for your approval, and we follow your change process.
Does our data leave our environment?
Your table data doesn't. We work directly on your servers, with no copies of your data. Our monitoring sends Red9 operational stats, not your table data. Connections are encrypted, and every engagement includes an NDA.
Which SQL Server versions can you monitor?
Our monitoring platform supports SQL Server 2008 R2 and later on your own servers and virtual machines.
How fast can you start?
Coverage starts the day monitoring goes live during onboarding, and you should see noticeable gains in stability within 2 to 4 weeks. Consulting work can start as soon as the next day, depending on our schedule. If you're down right now, use Emergency Support instead.
Boring Databases Are the Goal
Let's Get Yours There
Book a free call with a senior DBA. We'll talk through your environment, identify your priorities, and recommend the right way to engage.
Book Your Free Call