Database Administration: The Complete Guide to Practices and Procedures

Database Administration: The Complete Guide to Practices and Procedures
By Craig S. Mullins
Copyright 2002
Addison Wesley

Find out more about this book, or purchase it, from Amazon.com

This book is a little different from most of the books I review on this website. It is different because it doesn't solely focus on SQL Server, but instead covers the bigger picture of database administration that applies to virtually every database. Whether you use SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase, or DB2, there are many common DBA activities that apply to them all, and this is what the book covers.

In many ways, this book provides a fresh and unique look of the work of the DBA, one not found in other database books. It covers virtually all of the important areas of the functions of a DBA, no matter what the database. In addition, the book is easy to read and understand, even for non-DBAs.

Here's what you will learn in this book:

• What is a DBA?

• Creating the Database Environment

• Data Modeling and Normalization

• Database Design

• Application Design

• Design Reviews

• Database Change Management

• Data Availability

• Performance Management

• System Performance

• Database Performance

• Application Performance

• Data Integrity

• Database Security

• Database Backup and Recovery

• Disaster Planning

• Data and Storage Management

• Data Movement and Distribution

• Data Warehouse Administration

• Database Connectivity

• Metadata Management

• DBA Tools

• DBA Rules of Thumb

One of the things I really like about this book is its heavy emphasis on performance. A total of four chapters are devoted to this topic. As I have said many times before, most database books don't spend enough time on performance aspects, but this book does.

I would recommend this book to the following groups of people:

• Those new to the job of DBA (no matter which database they use).

• Those who are are considering becoming a DBA.

• Developers who want to learn more about databases and how they are managed.

• Managers who, through no fault of their own, end up managing DBAs for the first time.

No matter what database you support, you will find this book a compliment to your technical library.