C H A P T E R  18

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What's Next?

I am sure you know by now that being a DBA requires a huge skill set covering a wide spectrum of technologies. DBAs are expected to know a little bit about everything. But what makes being a DBA even harder is that technology is a fast-paced industry, with rapid advancements that seem to outdate what you thought of as new before you've even had a chance to learn it. The days are over when you learned a skill and then worked for several years before you needed to upgrade your skill set. You have to learn new things constantly and stay on top of the latest industry news in order to excel as a DBA.

Ongoing Experimentation and Learning

You should take a little time to learn something new at least once a week. Just pick a topic you like and do a little research. We like to look over the topics in SQL Server Books Online, read a blog entry or two, find a webcast, and then do some experimentation to get hands-on experience. What's good about blog entries is that you can get some real-world feedback on a topic based on someone else's experience.

If you are not sure where to start, Microsoft has a great learning web site at www.microsoft.com/Learning/. One of our favorite features is the ability to select a learning plan. This is a predefined plan created by Microsoft that consists of a collection of articles, books, webcasts, online training, classroom training, and anything else that will help you learn a specific area of interest. As you follow the learning plan, you can mark items complete so you can track your progress throughout the plan. Another great resource on the Microsoft Learning web site is the Microsoft SQL Server Training Portal located at www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/training/sql-server.aspx. The SQL Server 2008 Training Portal contains a compiled list of links dedicated to learning SQL Server 2008, including special offers and certification information.

Studying for a Microsoft certification exam is another good way to guide your training and keep you on track. You can find an exam guide for each certification offered by Microsoft to help you prepare for the test. In every exam guide there is a Skills Measured section. You should print out this section and work your way down the list, making sure that you have mastered each item. Don't just read about each topic and think you have mastered it. You really need to do some hands-on testing in order to ensure you fully understand each topic. A certification is not only an excellent way to learn new things, but it also gives you another bullet point on your resume.

You can also sign up for a daily newsletter from web sites (such as SQLServerCentral.com and MSSQLTips.com) and read them as a part of your daily routine. If you find a particular topic of interest, you can take a few minutes and read an article or two. Newsletters are a daily reminder that you should take some time out of your busy schedule and learn something new. The SQL Channel at JumpstartTV.com (www.jumpstarttv.com/channels/SQL.aspx) has several videos that are generally less than five minutes each. You can create a free account and add videos to watch that pique your interest. Even on your busiest days, you should be able to take a five-minute break and watch a video.

Podcasts

Podcasts are another great resource that many people often overlook. Podcasts are a great way to learn things while you are on the go (driving, on a plane, and so forth). Don't worry, podcasts come in both video and audio form, so you don't have to watch and drive at the same time. Some of the available podcasts include the following:

Free Training Events

Always be on the lookout for free training events in your area. Many times Microsoft has a road show to present some of the latest technology. However, these don't happen year round; they usually coincide with product release schedules, so keep checking the Microsoft web site periodically. SQL Saturday is another way to get free training. SQL Saturday is a one-day training event on (you guessed it) Saturday, packed full of sessions dealing with all aspects of SQL Server. Finally, find a local users group and get involved. Users groups generally have monthly meetings with a one-hour session that covers various topics within SQL Server. A local users group is also a good way to network with other SQL Server professionals in your area and learn something new in the process. You can find more information at the following links:

SQL Support Options

There are numerous support options available to help you with the SQL Server learning process along the way. You can even find the right support if you are trying to learn a new feature and just have a few questions. You can group SQL support into two basic categories: free support and paid support. For obvious reasons, you should exhaust your free support options before contacting Microsoft support. If you are stuck or have an issue, chances are good that someone else has had the same issue and there is already a documented resolution on the Internet.

Free Support

You would be amazed at the number of people who are willing to help you solve your SQL Server issues; all you have to do is know where to find those people. We have actually seen three different answers (each one being correct) in response to a forum post, all within five minutes. However, you should still do your homework before posting out to forums and newsgroups. Many times a simple search in the right place will provide the answer to your question. Also, you will receive a faster and more accurate response by providing a detailed explanation of your issue, including the things you have already tried to do to resolve the issue.

Product Solution Center

The product solution center for SQL Server is located at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/bb895923.aspx and is kind of like a support dashboard for SQL Server, providing you with a centralized support hub. The SQL Server Troubleshooting and Support web site provides you with many important resources on a single web page, such as the following:

  • Knowledgebase search functionality
  • Latest updates and service packs
  • Knowledge base articles addressing top issues
  • SQL Server forums
  • Microsoft professional support
  • Upcoming webcasts
  • Technical articles and tutorials

As you can see in Figure 18-1, the SQL Server Troubleshooting and Support web site provides a great interface for you to find the help you need quickly.

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Figure 18-1. SQL Server Troubleshooting and Support web site

Microsoft Community Resources

The Microsoft Technical Communities web site is located at www.microsoft.com/communities/default.mspx. It provides several links that will connect you with other SQL Server users, including peers and Microsoft employees. The web site contains the following links:

  • Forums: This link will direct you to forums that are hosted by Microsoft. Some of the best names in the business, both Microsoft and non-Microsoft employees, actively monitor these forums to answer your questions.
  • Blogs: This link will allow you to search Microsoft Community blogs posted by Microsoft employees.
  • Technical Chats: This link will allow you to view upcoming live chats hosted by Microsoft experts.
  • Newsgroups: This link will allow you to post a question in one of the 2,000-plus newsgroups dedicated to Microsoft products.
  • Webcasts: This link will allow you to search for an upcoming live webcast or pick from a wide selection of on-demand webcasts hosted by an industry specialist.
  • Find a Community Web Site: This link connects you with other web sites and resources, usually hosted by a SQL Server MVP.
  • User Groups: This link will allow you to search for user groups in your area dedicated to your technology interests.

Paid Support

Microsoft offers several options in the form of paid support that covers everything from a single call for help to an entire Enterprise support program. You can find the option that meets your needs on the Microsoft Help and Support web site located at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;OfferProPhone. Table 18-1 shows the Problem Resolution Services support options at the of this writing. Business hours are Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM Pacific Time.

Table 18-1. Microsoft Problem Resolution Services Support Options
Support Option Price
E-mail only support $99 USD (one incident)
Business hours telephone support $259 USD (one incident)
Business hours telephone support $1,289 USD (5 pack of incidents)
Business-critical after hours telephone support $515 USD (one incident)

Advisory Services

Contacting Microsoft Advisory Services is like hiring an offsite consultant for a rate of $210 USD per hour. Microsoft Advisory Services consist of a short-term agreement that allows you to work with the same technician. This provides a higher level of support, offering analysis and recommendations that go beyond the scope of Problem Resolution Services. You can use Microsoft Advisory Services with consultation pertaining to the following:

  • Code reviews
  • Installation and configuration technologies
  • Performance tuning
  • System management server deployments
  • Migrations

You can read more about Advisory Services by visiting Microsoft's web site located at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/advisoryservice. If you have Enterprise Support needs that go beyond Advisory Services, you can visit the Enterprise Support web site located at www.microsoft.com/services/microsoftservices/srv_enterprise.mspx.

Web Sites Dedicated to SQL Server

There are many web sites completely dedicated to SQL Server. Not only do these sites offer forums, articles, blogs, newsletters, sample scripts, and job postings, but they also offer a place for SQL Server professionals of all skill levels to collaborate with each other and exchange knowledge and ideas. If you frequent these web sites, you will begin to recognize many of the same names. As you start contributing to these web sites, you can make many valuable connections with other SQL Server professionals as well.

Some of these web sites include the following:

Microsoft even has a web site called SQL Server Connect located at http://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer that allows you to collaborate with Microsoft employees and other members of the SQL Server community to provide feedback about SQL Server and submit ideas for the next release.

Apress Titles for Specialized Topics

Apress offers a wide variety of books that dive deep into the specific technology of your choice. If you recall in Chapter 3, we said that high availability deserves a book of its own. Well, at the time this chapter was written, there were actually three books on the subject, each one focusing on a specific high-availability technique.

  • Pro SQL Server 2008 Mirroring by Robert Davis and Ken Simmons (Apress, 2009)
  • Pro SQL Server 2008 Failover Clustering by Allan Hirt (Apress, 2009)
  • Pro SQL Server 2008 Replication by Sujoy Paul (Apress, 2009)

These individual books provide the detailed coverage you need in order to master specific areas within SQL Server. For example, business intelligence can be broken into three key areas: Reporting Services, Analysis Services, and Integration Services. Apress has dedicated a book to each of them.

  • Pro SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services by Rodney Landrum, Shawn McGehee, and Walter J. Voytek II (Apress, 2008)
  • Pro SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services by Philo Janus (Apress, 2009)
  • Pro SQL Server 2008 Integration Services by Dandy Weyn (Apress, 2009)

There are also some good books to help you ramp up your development skills. Even if programming is not your specialty, every DBA needs enough programming knowledge to do a little development here and there. You also need a good understanding of how to design a database so that it doesn't cause you, the DBA, an administrative nightmare. And let's face it: XML has been around for a long time now, and it is more tightly integrated with SQL Server in each release. XML is an area that many DBAs need to work on—XML looks intimidating, and many DBAs avoid it altogether. If you learn to use XML correctly, you will find it can provide an advantage over straight T-SQL in many areas of SQL Server.

  • Pro T-SQL 2008 Programmer's Guide by Michael Coles (Apress, 2008)
  • Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation by Louis Davidson, with Kevin Kline, Scott Klein, and Kurt Windisch (Apress, 2008)
  • Pro SQL Server 2008 XML by Michael Coles (Apress, 2008)

In Chapter 16 we mentioned the need for every DBA to have a solid understanding of performance tuning. If you want to keep your job, you should have a vested interest in disaster recovery as well. Here are a couple of books we would recommend you add to your shelf (after you read them of course) from a purely administrative perspective.

  • SQL Server 2008 Query Performance Tuning Distilled by Grant Fritchey and Sajal Dam (Apress, 2009)
  • Pro SQL Server Disaster Recovery by James Luetkehoelter (Apress, 2008)

Summary

As you can see, there is more information available than you will ever have time to consume. It is valuable to have a basic working knowledge of all the components in SQL Server, while really digging in and mastering your specific areas of interest. For example, you may never have the interest or need to learn Reporting Services, but you may enjoy writing the most complex and efficient queries in your organization. What is important is that you realize you cannot be an expert in every aspect of SQL Server; however, if you continuously read and practice new techniques, you will become an expert doing the things you like to do best.

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