Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Database Administrator's Guidebook

Preface

You have taken on the role of a SQL Server Database Administrator (DBA) and are not quite sure what your responsibilities are and what skill sets are required to be successful. You are an Oracle or Sybase DBA and are tasked with administrating a SQL Server or are looking to bring the SQL Server technology aboard, which may require you to cross-train. You are preparing to interview a SQL Server DBA candidate or to be interviewed for a SQL Server DBA position. Well then, this book is for you.

Finding out what a SQL Server DBAÕs role is can be time-consuming and can lead to an incomplete description. Having a well-deÞned understanding of the SQL Server DBA role will be essential in allowing you to implement the technology effectively and to perform the role fully. In addition, it will allow you to create a robust, secure, and scalable database environment for your customers. This book will review the SQL Server DBA role in two areas: the required skill sets to assume the role and the areas of responsibility that deÞne the role.

In this book, you will Þnd three parts (with subsequent chapters), a glossary, four appendixes, and an accompanying CD-ROM. All together, you will have a well-deÞned guidebook that will assist you in understanding the SQL Server role from many different perspectivesÑnew hire, college student/graduate, junior SQL Server DBA (for want of a better word), team leader, Oracle or Sybase DBA cross-trainer, interviewee/interviewer, or project manager.

Part 1 provides the insight into the required skill sets needed to assume and maintain the role of a SQL Server DBA. Along with the skill sets, areas of responsibilities that a DBA must assume are described to guide you through many of the everyday tasks that you will perform on the job through either scheduled maintenance or break-and-Þx situations. A well-rounded SQL Server DBA will need knowledge in the areas of Windows NT/2000 administration, SQL Server administration, Server hardware and infrastructure conÞguration, technical writing and communication skills, and how to relate the SQL Server technology to business needs. Simply being a technical guru is not enough to solidify the role of a SQL Server DBA and to give your customers the level of support they require. In todayÕs complex implementations of the technology and close integration to business operations, SQL Server DBAs are interfacing with customers at the business level through presentations, team meetings, and proposals.

Part 2 discusses the SQL Server DBA interview and selection process with respect to being an interviewee or interviewer. Do you need a full-time, part-time, contracted, or outsourced SQL Server DBA? How do you interview a prospective SQL Server DBA candidate with effectiveness and proÞciency to avoid the possibility of a bad hire? These are questions that team leaders, project managers, consultant companies, and human resource departments are faced with in choosing a SQL Server DBA. If your company outsources the role of a SQL Server DBA, how do you assure yourself that you have deÞned the correct areas of responsibility that will shape a Service Level Agreement (SLA)? This part will help you to answer these questions to ensure the selection of the correct SQL Server DBA candidate and to create the most productive SQL Server DBA support deÞnition for a SLA. This part also offers some insight into starting your new position as a SQL Server DBA once you have been selected. How should you start your new job? What agenda should you have in place?

Part 3 will assist Oracle or Sybase DBAs in obtaining knowledge of how to migrate their technology to the SQL Server environment. It will inform them of the similarities of their DBA role to the SQL Server DBA role. As data warehouses become more and more heterogeneous and technologies overlap, an Oracle or Sybase DBA may be tasked to cross-train and take on the SQL Server DBA role.

Appendix A will list locations and resources to acquire the skill sets for you to prepare and maintain your position as a SQL Server DBA. This portal of resources will allow you to plan your training and preparation with respect to all the skill sets suggested in Part 1 to become a successful SQL Server DBA.

Appendix B will go into detail about the included CD-ROMÕs contents, installation steps, and support information. The CD-ROM contains scripts to assist the DBA, as well as many crucial document templates that can be used to create SQL Server standards and procedures.

Appendix C will go into detail about the reserved keywords that SQL Server and ODBC currently utilize and the keywords that are reserved for future use.

Appendix D categorizes, lists, and summarizes the database consistency check commands (DBCC) that SQL Server 2000 offers a SQL Server DBA when performing maintenance and troubleshooting on the database server and/or databases.