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
This update of Jaap Wessellius' popular guide to Exchange 2010 covers everything you need to know to install, run and maintain Exchange 2010 SP1.… Read more
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
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
SQL Server Hardware will provide the fundamental knowledge and resources you need to make intelligent decisions about choice, and optimal installation and configuration, of SQL Server hardware, operating system and the SQL Server RDBMS.… Read more
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
This book will take you from the fundamentals of Statistics, Cost Estimation, Index Selection, and the Execution Engine, and guide you through the inner workings of the Query Optimization process, and throws in a pragmatic look at Parameterization and Hints along the way.… Read more
This book shows how to use a mixture of home-grown scripts, native SQL Server tools, and tools from the Red Gate SQL Toolbelt, to successfully develop database applications in a team environment, and make database development as similar as possible to "normal" development.… Read more
This is the book that will de-mystify the process of using Dynamic Management Views to collect the information you need to troubleshoot SQL Server problems. It will highlight the core techniques and "patterns" that you need to master, and will provide a core set of scripts that you can use and adapt for your own requirements.… Read more
Of almost a hundred Simple-Talk articles on topics of interest to System Adminstrators, we've chosen the best and most popular ones for an essential collection that packs a great deal of information about common tasks for the working System Adminstrator.… Read more
This is the book that will de-mystify the process of using Dynamic Management Views to collect the information you need to troubleshoot SQL Server problems. It will highlight the core techniques and "patterns" that you need to master, and will provide a core set of scripts that you can use and adapt for your own requirements.… Read more
In the Complete Guide .NET Performance and Optimization, Paul Glavich and Chris Farrell offer a comprehensive and essential handbook to anybody looking to set up a .NET testing environment and get the best results out of it, or just learn effective techniques for testing and optimizing their .NET applications.… Read more
Inside this book, you will find dozens of practical, defensive programming techniques that will improve the quality of your T-SQL code and increase its resilience and robustness.… Read more
Neil Davidson has created a short handbook with the theory, practical advice and case studies, to enable you to successfully price your software.… Read more
Jaap's Practical Guide to Exchange Server 2010 draws upon all that experience to deliver an easy-to-use guide to this latest platform, full of useful examples and top tips for SysAdmins, both new and experienced.… Read more
Brad's Sure Guide to Maintenance Plans shows you how to use the Maintenance Plan Wizard and Designer to configure and schedule eleven core database maintenance tasks, ranging from integrity checks, to database backups, to index reorganizations and rebuilds. … Read more
A 2nd edition of Brad McGehee's popular "career guide" for DBAs, designed to help new and prospective DBAs find their feet in the profession, and to advise those more-experienced on how they can excel at their jobs, and so become Exceptional DBAs...… Read more
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
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