DBA Survivor: Become a Rock Star DBA

DBA Survivor: Become a Rock Star DBA

by Thomas LaRock
Released March 2010
Publisher(s): Apress
ISBN: 9781430227878

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Book description

DBA Survivor is a book to help new DBAs understand more about the world of database administration. This book injects some humor into helping you understand how to hit the ground running, and most importantly how to survive as a DBA.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Foreword
  3. About the Author
  4. About the Technical Reviewers
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Introduction
  7. 1. How Did I Get Here?
    1. 1.1. My Journey
      1. 1.1.1. Early Lessons
      2. 1.1.2. Early Career
      3. 1.1.3. Luck, Preparation, and Opportunity
      4. 1.1.4. Community
    2. 1.2. Other Journeys
      1. 1.2.1. Pharmacist
      2. 1.2.2. Hotel Manager
      3. 1.2.3. Estimating Supervisor
      4. 1.2.4. MUMPS Programmer
    3. 1.3. Your Journey
      1. 1.3.1. Get Prepared
      2. 1.3.2. Get Trained
      3. 1.3.3. Get Certified
      4. 1.3.4. Now Go and Get Your Opportunity!
    4. 1.4. Staying Focused
  8. 2. Now What Do I Do?
    1. 2.1. What You Have in Common with the President
    2. 2.2. Your Initial Checklist
      1. 2.2.1. Create a List of Servers
      2. 2.2.2. Check Database Backups
      3. 2.2.3. Verify That You Can Restore
      4. 2.2.4. Build a List of Customers
      5. 2.2.5. List the "Most Important" Databases
      6. 2.2.6. List Upcoming Projects and Deliverables
      7. 2.2.7. Establish Environmental Baselines
      8. 2.2.8. Compose Your Recovery Plan
    3. 2.3. You Have Your Info, Now What?
      1. 2.3.1. Meet with Your Manager
      2. 2.3.2. Meet with the Developers
      3. 2.3.3. Meet with the Server Administrators
      4. 2.3.4. Meet with Your Customers
    4. 2.4. Is That Alert Serious?
    5. 2.5. Should I Look Into That Alert?
      1. 2.5.1. Review the Alert System
      2. 2.5.2. Ask the Developers
      3. 2.5.3. Ask the Server Administrators
      4. 2.5.4. Ask Your Customers
    6. 2.6. Hi, Want to Grab Some Lunch?
      1. 2.6.1. Meeting by Eating
      2. 2.6.2. Politicking, or Not
      3. 2.6.3. Dealing with Introversion
        1. 2.6.3.1. Accept That Nothing Is Wrong
        2. 2.6.3.2. Take Care of Yourself
        3. 2.6.3.3. Be Open and Straightforward
        4. 2.6.3.4. Join Some Organizations
        5. 2.6.3.5. Accept That Nothing Is Wrong
    7. 2.7. Track Your Progress
    8. 2.8. Get Proactive
  9. 3. Some Basics
    1. 3.1. Introduction to RAID
      1. 3.1.1. Why Is RAID So Important?
      2. 3.1.2. RAID for Performance
      3. 3.1.3. RAID for Fault Tolerance
        1. 3.1.3.1. RAID 0
        2. 3.1.3.2. RAID 1
        3. 3.1.3.3. RAID 5
        4. 3.1.3.4. RAID 1+0
      4. 3.1.4. Which RAID Level Do You Want?
      5. 3.1.5. Your Needs
    2. 3.2. The ABCs of SANs for DBAs
      1. 3.2.1. Why RAID 5 Might Work for You
      2. 3.2.2. The Lost Art of Benchmarking
      3. 3.2.3. It's All About the Spindles, Baby
    3. 3.3. High Availability Options
      1. 3.3.1. Clustering
      2. 3.3.2. Log Shipping
      3. 3.3.3. Replication
        1. 3.3.3.1. Transactional Replication
        2. 3.3.3.2. Merge Replication
        3. 3.3.3.3. Snapshot Replication
      4. 3.3.4. Database Mirroring
    4. 3.4. Disaster Recovery Planning
      1. 3.4.1. DR Testing
      2. 3.4.2. Carnegie Hall
    5. 3.5. Networks Are Like Bathrooms
      1. 3.5.1. Call a Plumber
      2. 3.5.2. Fix It Now!
    6. 3.6. DBA Stands For . . .
      1. 3.6.1. People Will Resist Change
      2. 3.6.2. Having Standards and Processes Is Not a Bad Thing
      3. 3.6.3. People Will Blame What They Do Not Understand
    7. 3.7. Blame vs. Credit
    8. 3.8. The Need to Be Right vs. Being Liked
  10. 4. A Development Server Is a Production Server to a Developer
    1. 4.1. Why Developers Are So Needy
      1. 4.1.1. Under Pressure
      2. 4.1.2. Business Needs
      3. 4.1.3. SQL Knowledge
    2. 4.2. Service-Level Agreements
      1. 4.2.1. Being a Good Customer
      2. 4.2.2. Communication Is Key
    3. 4.3. Managing Expectations
      1. 4.3.1. No One Cares About Effort
      2. 4.3.2. Let's Talk
      3. 4.3.3. Get Involved Early
      4. 4.3.4. Communicate Your Actions
        1. 4.3.4.1. You Are Not Fast Enough
        2. 4.3.4.2. You Did It Wrong
      5. 4.3.5. Be Responsive and Responsible
    4. 4.4. Time Management
      1. 4.4.1. Develop a Routine
      2. 4.4.2. Stress Relief
      3. 4.4.3. To-Do Lists
      4. 4.4.4. Chunks
      5. 4.4.5. Know When to Say No
    5. 4.5. Chris Hansen and Code Reviews
  11. 5. Production Support
    1. 5.1. Service-Level Agreements
      1. 5.1.1. I Thought We Had an Agreement?
      2. 5.1.2. Get to Know What You Do
      3. 5.1.3. Be Nice
    2. 5.2. Establish Support Process
      1. 5.2.1. Define Process
      2. 5.2.2. Publish Process
      3. 5.2.3. Remind and Enforce
    3. 5.3. Work/Life Balance
      1. 5.3.1. Communication
      2. 5.3.2. Protect Your Private Time
      3. 5.3.3. Happy Fun Play Time
    4. 5.4. Outsourcing
      1. 5.4.1. Quality of Work
      2. 5.4.2. Language Barriers
      3. 5.4.3. Security
      4. 5.4.4. Job Security
      5. 5.4.5. All Good Things
  12. 6. Basic Troubleshooting
    1. 6.1. CSI: SQL
      1. 6.1.1. Incidents
      2. 6.1.2. Interrogations
      3. 6.1.3. Surveillance
    2. 6.2. Common Bottlenecks
      1. 6.2.1. Disk
      2. 6.2.2. Memory
      3. 6.2.3. CPU
    3. 6.3. Available Tools
      1. 6.3.1. Reliability and Performance Monitor
        1. 6.3.1.1. Disk I/O
          1. 6.3.1.1.1. SQLServer:PhysicalDisk
          2. 6.3.1.1.2. SQLServer:Buffer Manager
        2. 6.3.1.2. Memory
        3. 6.3.1.3. CPU
      2. 6.3.2. Activity Monitor
        1. 6.3.2.1. Disk I/O
        2. 6.3.2.2. Memory
        3. 6.3.2.3. CPU
      3. 6.3.3. Dynamic Management Views (DMVs)
        1. 6.3.3.1. Disk I/O
        2. 6.3.3.2. Memory
        3. 6.3.3.3. CPU
      4. 6.3.4. Wait Stats
        1. 6.3.4.1. Disk I/O
        2. 6.3.4.2. Memory
        3. 6.3.4.3. CPU
      5. 6.3.5. SQL Profiler
        1. 6.3.5.1. Disk I/O
        2. 6.3.5.2. Memory
        3. 6.3.5.3. CPU
      6. 6.3.6. Web Sites
        1. 6.3.6.1. Search Engines
        2. 6.3.6.2. Forums
        3. 6.3.6.3. Technical Resources
  13. 7. Where's the Buffet?
    1. 7.1. Food Can Be a Drug
      1. 7.1.1. Emotional Eating
      2. 7.1.2. Unconscious Eating
      3. 7.1.3. Overcoming Bad Habits
    2. 7.2. Social Gatherings
      1. 7.2.1. Breakfast
      2. 7.2.2. Lunch
      3. 7.2.3. Happy Hours
      4. 7.2.4. Traveling
    3. 7.3. Exercise
      1. 7.3.1. Extra Steps
      2. 7.3.2. The Need for Regular Exercise
      3. 7.3.3. Sleep
      4. 7.3.4. Calories
    4. 7.4. Life Is Good, but It's Better with Bacon
  14. 8. Training, Get You Some of That
    1. 8.1. Reasons for Training
      1. 8.1.1. Professional Development
      2. 8.1.2. Changing Roles
      3. 8.1.3. Piloting New Systems
      4. 8.1.4. Customer Satisfaction
    2. 8.2. Employee Benefits
      1. 8.2.1. Job Satisfaction
      2. 8.2.2. Employee Motivation
      3. 8.2.3. Process Efficiencies
      4. 8.2.4. Time Management
      5. 8.2.5. Communication Skills
    3. 8.3. Business Benefits
      1. 8.3.1. Improved Morale
      2. 8.3.2. Reduced Turnover
      3. 8.3.3. Reduced Risk
      4. 8.3.4. Staying Competitive
    4. 8.4. Training Resources
      1. 8.4.1. Web Sites
      2. 8.4.2. Self-Training
      3. 8.4.3. Volunteering
      4. 8.4.4. In-Service Training
      5. 8.4.5. Professional Associations
      6. 8.4.6. Continuing Education
      7. 8.4.7. Classroom Training
      8. 8.4.8. Certifications
    5. 8.5. Building Your Case
      1. 8.5.1. Determine Your Training Needs
      2. 8.5.2. Determine How Many People Need the Training
      3. 8.5.3. Determine Which Options Will Be Used
      4. 8.5.4. Calculate the Associated Costs/Expenses
      5. 8.5.5. Determine the Benefits of Training
      6. 8.5.6. Determine the Cost Savings
      7. 8.5.7. Measure Your Results!
  15. 9. Connect. Learn. Share.
    1. 9.1. Communication
      1. 9.1.1. Start Reading
      2. 9.1.2. Start Attending
      3. 9.1.3. Start Writing
      4. 9.1.4. Start Speaking
    2. 9.2. Professional Associations
      1. 9.2.1. Latest Trade Information
      2. 9.2.2. Writing Opportunities
      3. 9.2.3. Speaking Opportunities
      4. 9.2.4. Networking
    3. 9.3. Networking Basics
      1. 9.3.1. Building Your Network
      2. 9.3.2. Feeling Comfortable
      3. 9.3.3. How to Approach Others
      4. 9.3.4. Choosing the Right Room
      5. 9.3.5. Making It Easier
  16. 10. Summary
    1. 10.1. Getting There
    2. 10.2. Being There
    3. 10.3. Staying There

Product information

  • Title: DBA Survivor: Become a Rock Star DBA
  • Author(s): Thomas LaRock
  • Release date: March 2010
  • Publisher(s): Apress
  • ISBN: 9781430227878