SQL Server 2008 Administration in Action First Edition

The majority of my technical books fall into the skim and gather dust category. NOT THIS BOOK! This book strikes that rare balance of being readable, practical, and a bargain all at the same time.Readability is high because of the transitions from subject to subject. There are no fantastic leaps of faith when it comes to explaining how things work. Everything builds on something previously said and College does a great job reminding the reader about material covered in earlier chapters. The pacing of the material is good and doesn't bog down in technical details. College also points out some excellent white papers for more in-depth knowledge.The book is practical for the wealth of best practices listed throughout the book. I don't know how many times I had those "ohhh, I wish I knew this back then" type moments. In addition to the best practices, College clearly explains the multitude of SQL Server settings in a responsible DBA fashion. Meaning, while a feature *might* improve performance you still have to consider the overhead. Good stuff.Finally, this book is a bargain because it includes a free ebook version. I did the majority of the code examples and they all worked!Insofar as any omissions and errors, I would have liked to have seen some coverage on troubleshooting a virtual sql server instance. Also, the link to the stored procedure, track_waitstats_2005, doesn't work properly. However, these things don't detract at all from the excellence of this book.

I've had the book 3 days and I'm just getting into it. It states in the "about this book" section that there is a companion web page - [...] - where you can download the pdf version of the book. Well, the link no longer exists and Rod Colledge is not listed anywhere on the manning site.[...] does exist, but I haven't had time to really look at it.

This book has some good usefull information that DBAs will be able to use. If it is not complete then it is leading in some good directions. As a SQL Server professional involved since 4.21a was released I found this a good resource for looking at, and learning more about, SQL Server 2008 features. It would be great if there were some updates for more information on the newer SQL Server 2008 R2.I would have given it 5 stars except for the following:Too many times I read 'beyond the scope of this book'. There could have been a little more depth added for some of the topics as the book isn't that big.Used bamboozle badly. He disrespects the many DBAs trying to care about security and do something about it. These days a DBA isn't just involved with SQL. They are involved with virutalization, hardware, Storage, Network, Infrastructure, O/S, and the many different quirky software packages and badly designed databases and SQL code they have to support that they cannot change. Using such a term and so casually labeling DBAs as doing this shows a lack of experience and respect and just adds to what DBAs have to deal with.I know this is a highly debated topic but it is a fact that many times these days a DBA has to know about more than SQL Server and wear more hats to get the job done. And most of the time it falls to the DBA to work on the security. A good example of this is one of the other books i bought on Amazon: Securing SQL Server: Protecting Your Database from Attackers .I recommend the book for its good technical content and as a good read for what he covers. The accuracy also seems very good for the information presented.I am enjoying reading the book and working through using the examples and code.

At a SQL Server class I attended several years ago, someone asked the instructor which book he recommended. The answer was none, because everything is documented in BOL, which should be installed on any machine you would be using as a DBA. I followed that advice until this book came along.As has been mentioned in other reviews, this book is not going to teach you how to code the syntax, and it is not going to get you from zero knowledge to certification. Unless you are a very experienced DBA, you are familiar with the features that your job requires, and maybe a few more. If you suddenly need to pick up soemthing new, this book is very useful. Also, while SQL Server 2008 has been out for barely a year and a half as I write this, not many shops have done a lot with it yet. So you can get up to speed quickly, instead of using 2008 just like you did with 2005, or even 2000. And in this day on 'getting more done with less', the book is a good way of getting your skills up-to-date.

Extremely informative and very useful.

This is the worse book I have ever seem. I never give out any rating before but I have to give rating on this book as I read through several chapters, I never learn one thing. Too bad that I wrote my name on front page otherwise, I want a full money back. The author is inexperience and cover stuffs already in previous version. People should not purchased this book unless you want to waste your Mon$ny.

Easily the best SQL Server book I have read to date. Excellent topic coverage with appropriate depth and great best practice tips. This book was never boring or difficult to read. However, expect that it will take a little longer than an average technical book - every page is packed with information. There is no 'fluff' - expect to concentrate and learn from every single page. A must have!

I was looking for a DBA book that would show me how to set up and secure users and accounts. I saw next to nothing about that in this book. There is lots of other useful DBA info in it though, so not a complete loss. But I'll need to buy another one.

good book

thanks

Sehr gut, ausführlich und informativ und schliesslich sogar unterhaltend (wenn man die Materie mag). Ich liebe auch die elektronische Version die es dazu gibt.