Preface

SQL Server is one of the most popular relational database management systems developed by Microsoft. This second edition of SQL Server Administrator's Guide will not only teach you how to administer an enterprise database, but also help you become proficient at managing and keeping the database available, secure, and stable.

You'll start by learning how to set up your SQL Server and configure new and existing environments for optimal use. The book then takes you through designing aspects and delves into performance tuning by showing you how to use indexes effectively. You'll understand certain choices that need to be made regarding backups, implement security policy, and discover how to keep your environment healthy. Tools available for monitoring and managing a SQL Server database, including automating health reviews, performance checks, and much more, will also be discussed in detail. As you advance, the book covers essential topics such as migration, upgrading, and consolidation, along with the techniques that will help you when things go wrong. Once you've got to grips with integration with Azure and streamlining big data pipelines, you'll learn best practices from industry experts for maintaining a highly reliable database solution.

Whether you are an administrator or are looking to get started with database administration, this SQL Server book will help you develop the skills you need to successfully create, design, and deploy database solutions.

Who this book is for

This book is for database administrators, database developers, and anyone who wants to administer large and multiple databases single-handedly using Microsoft's SQL Server 2019. A basic awareness of database concepts and experience with previous SQL Server versions is required.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Setting Up SQL Server 2019, offers an overview of the SQL Server technology stack, tooling, and several recipes on how to install technologies and features of SQL Server the right way.

Chapter 2, Keeping Your SQL Server Environment Healthy, provides a plethora of follow-up activities once SQL Server is configured, including post-installation configuration, to follow best practices for maintenance and operations.

Chapter 3, Implementing Backup and Recovery illustrates the importance of data reliability and accessibility as the key responsibilities of every database administrator. It also explains all aspects of proper recovery strategies as well as all the knowledge needed to configure backup and restore strategies properly.

Chapter 4, Securing Your SQL Server, outlines the options for securing the server from a number of perspectives, starting with service accounts, authentication, auditing, and other important tasks for overall security management.

Chapter 5, Working with Disaster Recovery Options, outlines the list of options available to help overcome any disaster when operations go down.

Chapter 6, Indexing and Performance, provides an overview of performance monitoring techniques. As a part of performance optimization, indexing is also explained here.

Chapter 7, Planning Migration and Upgrade provides practical information on how to plan a migration and upgrade the older version of the SQL Server environment to the current version.

Chapter 8, Automation – Using Tools to Manage and Monitor SQL Server 2019, shows how to proactively use tools to manage SQL Server 2019 and to monitor its health, together with an in-depth look at techniques and tools used for automation on SQL Server.

Chapter 9, Configuring Always On High-Availability Features, shows practical information and examples of how to plan, configure, and manage Always On configuration for your SQL Server environment and also provides information on the High Availability/Disaster Recovery technology that is required for SQL Server.

Chapter 10, In-Memory OLTP – Why and How to Use It, illustrates the strong features of In-Memory OLTP in terms of dramatically increasing the throughput of transactions in SQL Server databases by describing how and in which cases to implement, use, and monitor In-Memory OLTP.

Chapter 11, Combining SQL Server 2019 with Azure, illustrates how cloud solutions have become common in many cases by explaining how Azure can help with several scenarios and also provides an overview of SQL technologies offered by Azure.

Chapter 12, Taming Big Data with SQL Server, incorporates a new feature for managing big data workloads, called big data clusters, but that's not the only option as regards how to work with big data, and in this chapter you'll find out how to tame the monster.

To get the most out of this book

If you are using the digital version of this book, we advise you to type the code yourself or access the code via the GitHub repository (link available in the next section). Doing so will help you avoid any potential errors related to the copying and pasting of code.

Download the example code files

You can download the example code files for this book from your account at www.packt.com. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit www.packtpub.com/support and register to have the files emailed directly to you.

You can download the code files by following these steps:

1. Log in or register at www.packt.com.
2. Select the Support tab.
3. Click on Code Downloads.
4. Enter the name of the book in the Search box and follow the onscreen instructions.

Once the file is downloaded, please make sure that you unzip or extract the folder using the latest version of:

• WinRAR/7-Zip for Windows
• Zipeg/iZip/UnRarX for Mac
• 7-Zip/PeaZip for Linux

The code bundle for the book is also hosted on GitHub at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/SQL-Server-2019-Administrator-s-Guide. In case there's an update to the code, it will be updated on the existing GitHub repository.

We also have other code bundles from our rich catalog of books and videos available at https://github.com/PacktPublishing/. Check them out!

Download the color images

We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. You can download it here: https://static.packtcdn.com/downloads/9781789954326_ColorImages.pdf.

Conventions used

There are a number of text conventions used throughout this book.

Code in text: Indicates code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles. Here is an example: "ActiveDirectory is automatically managing the account password without any service disruption."

A block of code is set as follows:

-- bringing data back
alter table MovieRatings set (remote_data_archive (migration_state = inbound))
go
-- leaving data in Azure
alter table MovieRatings set 
(remote_data_archive = off_without_data_recovery 
(migration_state = paused))
go

When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:

use [AdventureWorks]
exec sp_replicationdboption @dbname = N'AdventureWorks', 
    @optname = N'publish', 
    @value = N'true'
GO 

Any command-line input or output is written as follows:

EXEC sp_configure 'backup compression default', 1
GO
RECONFIGURE
GO

Bold: Indicates a new term, an important word, or words that you see on screen. For example, words in menus or dialog boxes appear in the text like this. Here is an example: "Once Replication is enabled for the database, you can create the publication and add the snapshot."

Tips or important notes

You may find many errors in the error log of your SQL Server, which will lead you to the required TLS1.2 hotfix installation.

Get in touch

Feedback from our readers is always welcome.

General feedback: If you have questions about any aspect of this book, mention the book title in the subject of your message and email us at [e-mail].

Errata: Although we have taken every care to ensure the accuracy of our content, mistakes do happen. If you have found a mistake in this book, we would be grateful if you would report this to us. Please visit www.packtpub.com/support/errata, selecting your book, clicking on the Errata Submission Form link, and entering the details.

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