Introducing the SQL Server Premier Field Engineer Blog

This is the first post for the SQL Server Premier Field Engineer blog. This first post won’t be technical; but moving forward you’ll see us post various SQL Server field observations, findings and best practices from our large and diverse Premier Field Engineer team.

I do want to start off by thanking and acknowledging Adam Machanic for prompting the idea of starting this team blog. It took a few months to get the ball rolling, but it is unlikely that this blog would have been created as soon as it was without his initial inquiry.

So who are we and what do we do? Microsoft Premier Field Engineers are responsible for proactively supporting customers on site and remotely. We provide training and guidance. We also are deployed to customer sites across the world when critical situations are involved.

There are two types of Premier Field Engineers (PFEs) – Dedicated and Transactional. Dedicated PFEs (of which I am one), are assigned directly to customers on a long term basis. Some of us have a single customer; others have up to four or five. Dedicated PFEs are sometimes embedded on site with their customers, and others are engaged remotely.

Transactional PFEs typically work shorter term engagements (anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks) and can be engaged to perform workshops, health checks, risk assessment programs, supportability reviews, and are often engaged in order to respond to critical situations.

This is a shared team blog which will be open to the entire SQL Server Premier Field Engineer team. You’ll see various authors posting over time, and you’ll get a diverse perspective on interesting problems encountered, prescriptive guidance, and conceptual overviews. This blog is scoped to SQL Server, but this is in itself is a vast subject area. Expect the authors to post on the SQL engine, Clustering, Replication, Analysis Services, Reporting Services, and SQL Server Integration Services.

Please feel free to post comments and ask us questions, and we look forward to the ongoing community dialog.

Joe Sack

Premier Field Engineer, Microsoft