Articles tagged books

26 March 2012
26 March 2012

SQL Backup and Restore

A DBA's tasks, from day-to-day, are rarely constant; with one exception: the need to ensure each and every day that any database in their charge can be restored and recovered, in the event of error of disaster. In this book, you'll discover how to perform each of these backup and restore operations using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), basic T-SQL scripts and Red Gate's SQL Backup tool.… Read more
10 October 2011
10 October 2011

Complete Showplan Operators

Fabiano Amorim has taken the time to really drill into the behavior of a small set of execution plan operators in an effort to explain the optimizer's behavior. He's explored why things happen, how you can change them, positively or negatively, and he's done it all in an approachable style.… Read more
29 September 2011
29 September 2011

Troubleshooting SQL Server: A Guide for the Accidental DBA

Three SQL Server MVPs, and stalwarts of the SQLServerCentral and MSDN community forums, provide fascinating insight into the most common SQL Server problems, why they occur, and how they can be diagnosed using tools such as Performance Monitor, Dynamic Management Views and server-side tracing. The focus is on practical solutions for removing root causes of these problems, rather than "papering over the cracks".… Read more
23 November 2010
23 November 2010

SQL Server Statistics

A Distribution Statistics object is a sampled map of the distribution of data in a table. Such statistics help the Query Optimizer of SQL Server's Database Engine to translate the 'logical' SQL Query into the best strategy for doing all the physical operations of joining, sorting, and selecting the data. Most of the time, this work happens effectively, but occasionally, if the statistics no longer reflect what is actually in the table, then queries can suddenly run grindingly slow. At this point, the DBA must intervene to correct the problem. … Read more
15 July 2009
15 July 2009

SQL Server Tacklebox

Inside the SQL Server Tacklebox you'll find day-to-day tools, scripts and techniques to automate and standardize SQL Server installation, document and report on your servers, migrate data and manage data growth, troubleshoot performance issues, receive notifications of impending issues, secure access to your servers and fight off the data corruption monster… Read more
11 May 2009
11 May 2009

Confessions of an IT Manager, 2nd Edition

The software industry is, just occasionally, more absurd than one would dare to imagine. Having spent most of his working life in its clutches, Phil Factor has pretty much "seen it all" and what's more he's prepared to tell what he knows. The second edition of Phil's "Confessions of an IT Manager" contains Phil's full repertoire of tales of institutional mayhem and software projects gone awry. … Read more