Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting

A hands-on resource for SQL Server 2008 troubleshooting methods and tools

SQL Server administrators need to ensure that SQL Server remains running 24/7. Authored by leading SQL Server experts and MVPs, this book provides in-depth coverage of best practices based on a deep understanding of the internals of both SQL Server and the Windows operating system.

You'll get a thorough look at the SQL Server database architecture and internals as well as Windows OS internals so that you can approach troubleshooting with a solid grasp of the total processing environment. Armed with this comprehensive understanding, readers will then learn how to use a suite of tools for troubleshooting performance problems whether they originate on the database server or operating system side.

Topics Covered:

• SQL Server Architecture
• Understanding Memory
• SQL Server Waits and Extended Events
• Working with Storage
• CPU and Query Processing
• Locking and Latches
• Knowing Tempdb
• Defining Your Approach To Troubleshooting
• Viewing Server Performance with PerfMon and the PAL Tool
• Tracing SQL Server with SQL Trace and Profiler
• Consolidating Data Collection with SQLDiag and the PerfStats Script
• Introducing RML Utilities for Stress Testing and Trace File Analysis
• Bringing It All Together with SQL Nexus
• Using Management Studio Reports and the Performance Dashboard
• Using SQL Server Management Data Warehouse
• Shortcuts to Efficient Data Collection and Quick Analysis

==> Download <==

The Data Access Handbook: Achieving Optimal Database Application Performance and Scalability

Drive breakthrough database application performance by optimizing middleware and connectivity

Performance and scalability are more critical than ever in today’s enterprise database applications, and traditional database tuning isn’t nearly enough to solve the performance problems you are likely to see in those applications. Nowadays, 75-95% of the time it takes to process a data request is typically spent in the database middleware. Today’s worst performance and scalability problems are generally caused by issues with networking, database drivers, the broader software/hardware environment, and inefficient coding of data requests. In The Data Access Handbook, two of the world’s leading experts on database access systematically address these issues, showing how to achieve remarkable improvements in performance of real-world database applications.

Drawing on their unsurpassed experience with every leading database system and database connectivity API, John Goodson and Rob Steward reveal the powerful ways middleware affects application performance and guide developers with designing and writing API code that will deliver superior performance in each leading environment. In addition to covering essential concepts and techniques that apply across database systems and APIs, they present many API examples for ODBC, JDBC, and ADO.NET as well as database system examples for DB2, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, Oracle, and Sybase.

Coverage includes

• Clearly understanding how each component of database middleware can impact performance and scalability
• Writing database applications to reduce network traffic, limit disk I/O, optimize application-to-driver interaction, and simplify queries—including examples for ODBC, JDBC, and ADO.NET
• Managing connections, transactions, and SQL statement execution more efficiently
• Making the most of connection and statement pooling
• Writing good benchmarks to predict your application’s performance
• Systematically resolving performance problems—including eight start-to-finish case-study examples

If you’re a software architect, system designer, or database application developer, The Data Access Handbook will be your most indispensable database application performance resource. It’s the one book that focuses on the areas where you can achieve the greatest improvements—whether you’re designing new database applications or troubleshooting existing ones.

John Goodson is vice president and general manager of the DataDirect division of Progress Software, a leader in
data connectivity and mainframe integration. For 20 years, he has worked with Sun, Microsoft, and others to develop database connectivity standards such as J2EE, JDBC, ODBC, and ADO. He served on the ANSI H2 committee that built the SQL standard and now participates in the JDBC Expert Group and Java Rowsets standards committees.

Rob Steward, vice president of R&D at the DataDirect
division of Progress Software,
is responsible for the development, strategy, and oversight of the company’s data connectivity products. Rob has spent the past 15 years developing high-performing database driver and data providers, including ODBC, JDBC, and ADO.NET.

Both authors have spoken on database application performance at many industry events.

==> Download <==

Expert SQL Server 2008 Development

Expert SQL Server 2008 Development is aimed at SQL Server developers ready to move beyond Books Online. Author and experienced developer Alastair Aitchison shows you how to think about SQL Server development as if it were any other type of development. You’ll learn to manage testing in SQL Server and to properly deal with errors and exceptions. The book also covers critical, database-centric topics such as managing concurrency and securing your data and code through proper privileges and authorization.

Alastair places focus on sound development and architectural practices that will help you become a better developer, capable of designing high-performance, robust, maintainable database applications. He shows you how to apply notable features in SQL Server such as encryption and support for hierarchical data. If developing for SQL Server is what puts the bread on your table, you can do no better than to read this book and to assimilate the expert-level practices that it provides.

• Promotes expert-level practices
• Leads to high performance, scalable code
• Improves productivity, getting you home in time for dinner

What you’ll learn

• Productively handle errors and exceptions.
• Exploit features for managing spatial and temporal data.
• Manage tree-structured data using the new, hierarchid type.
• Write code that easily survives high concurrency.
• Program defensively.
• Create proper and reusable test environments for your code.
• Secure code and data through encryption and proper application of privilege.

==> Download <==

Oracle SQL Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach

Have you ever been faced with a new type of query to write, or been asked to create an unfamiliar database object? In such situations, you have probably wanted a good, solid example upon which to build, and instead have been forced into the drudgery of parsing railroad-style syntax diagrams in Oracle's manual set. This book frees you from that drudgery by providing tested and working examples of SQL used to solve common problems faced by developers and database administrators on a daily basis. When you're under pressure to get results fast, Oracle SQL Recipes is there at your side.

• Example-based, providing quality solutions to everyday problems
• Respects your time by putting solutions first and keeping discussions short
• Solves the most commonly encountered SQL problems

What you'll learn

• Recognize common query patterns and apply their corresponding solutions.
• Solve common reporting problems such as sorting rows into buckets.
• Troubleshoot SQL performance problems.
• Create and manage database objects such as tables, indexes, and views.
• Work with XML and tree-structured data.
• Take advantage of analytic functions, regular expressions, hierarchical query support, and other powerful aspects of Oracle SQL.

==> Download <==

Relational Database Design and Implementation, Third Edition: Clearly Explained 3e

Fully revised, updated, and expanded, Relational Database Design and Implementation, Third Edition is the most lucid and effective introduction to the subject available for IT/IS professionals interested in honing their skills in database design, implementation, and administration. This book provides the conceptual and practical information necessary to develop a design and management scheme that ensures data accuracy and user satisfaction while optimizing performance, regardless of experience level or choice of DBMS.
The book begins by reviewing basic concepts of databases and database design, then briefly reviews the SQL one would use to create databases. Topics such as the relational data model, normalization, data entities and Codd's Rules (and why they are important) are covered clearly and concisely but without resorting to "Dummies"-style talking down to the reader.
Supporting the book's step-by-step instruction are three NEW case studies illustrating database planning, analysis, design, and management practices. In addition to these real-world examples, which include object-relational design techniques, an entirely NEW section consisting of three chapters is devoted to database implementation and management issues.


* Principles needed to understand the basis of good relational database design and implementation practices.
* Examples to illustrate core concepts for enhanced comprehension and to put the book's practical instruction to work.
* Methods for tailoring DB design to the environment in which the database will run and the uses to which it will be put.
* Design approaches that ensure data accuracy and consistency.
* Examples of how design can inhibit or boost database application performance.
* Object-relational design techniques, benefits, and examples.
* Instructions on how to choose and use a normalization technique.
* Guidelines for understanding and applying Codd's rules.
* Tools to implement a relational design using SQL.
* Techniques for using CASE tools for database design.

==> Download <==

Oracle PL/SQL Programming

This book is the definitive reference on PL/SQL, considered throughout the database community to be the best Oracle programming book available. Like its predecessors, this fifth edition of Oracle PL/SQL Programming covers language fundamentals, advanced coding techniques, and best practices for using Oracle's powerful procedural language. Thoroughly updated for Oracle Database 11g Release 2, this edition reveals new PL/SQL features and provides extensive code samples, ranging from simple examples to complex and complete applications, in the book and on the companion website.

This indispensable reference for both novices and experienced Oracle programmers will help you:

* Get PL/SQL programs up and running quickly, with clear instructions for executing, tracing, testing, debugging, and managing PL/SQL code
* Optimize PL/SQL performance with the aid of a brand-new chapter in the fifth edition
* Explore datatypes, conditional and sequential control statements, loops, exception handling, security features, globalization and localization issues, and the PL/SQL architecture
* Understand and use new Oracle Database 11g features, including the edition-based redefinition capability, the function result cache, the new CONTINUE statement, fine-grained dependency tracking, sequences in PL/SQL expressions, supertype invocation from subtypes, and enhancements to native compilation, triggers, and dynamic SQL
* Use new Oracle Database 11g tools and techniques such as PL/Scope, the PL/SQL hierarchical profiler, and the SecureFiles technology for large objects
* Build modular PL/SQL applications using procedures, functions, triggers, and packages

==> Download <==

SQL The Complete Reference, 3rd Edition

Get comprehensive coverage of every aspect of SQL from three leading industry experts. Revised with coverage of the latest RDBMS software versions, this one-stop guide explains how to build, populate, and administer high-performance databases and develop robust SQL-based applications.

SQL: The Complete Reference, Third Edition shows you how to work with SQL commands and statements, set up relational databases, load and modify database objects, perform powerful queries, tune performance, and implement reliable security policies. Learn how to employ DDL statements and APIs, integrate XML and Java scripts, use SQL objects, build web servers, handle remote access, and perform distributed transactions. Techniques for managing in-memory, stream, and embedded databases that run on today's mobile, handheld, and wireless devices are included in this in-depth volume.

* Build SQL-based relational databases and applications
* Create, load, and modify database objects using SQL
* Construct and execute simple, multitable, and summary queries
* Implement security measures with authentication, privileges, roles, and views
* Handle database optimization, backup, recovery, and replication
* Work with stored procedures, functions, extensions, triggers, and objects
* Extend functionality using APIs, dynamic SQL, and embedded SQL
* Explore advanced topics such as DBMS transactions, locking mechanisms, materialized views, and two-phase commit protocol
* Understand the latest market trends and the future of SQL

==> Download <==

Oracle Data Guard 11g Handbook

Master Oracle Data Guard 11g

Provide superior data protection, availability, and disaster recovery using the tested techniques in this Oracle Press guide. Cowritten by a team of Oracle experts, Oracle Data Guard 11g Handbook provides a sound architectural foundation along with best practices for configuration, monitoring, maintenance, and troubleshooting. You will get full details on implementing deployment architectures to address requirements that extend beyond disaster recovery. This invaluable resource also includes a complete set of monitoring scripts available for download.

* Develop a disaster recovery plan for your Oracle database to meet your organization's requirements
* Configure and deploy Oracle Data Guard for your environment
* Tune and troubleshoot your physical and logical standby databases
* Implement the Oracle Data Guard Broker management framework
* Integrate with Oracle Grid Control
* Monitor your Oracle Data Guard environment
* Enable read-only services and disaster recovery with Oracle Active Data Guard
* Configure seamless database and application failover
* Minimize planned downtime using Oracle Data Guard switchover
* Handle backup and recovery with Oracle Recovery Manager

==> Download <==

SQL Server 2008 Administration in Action

SQL Server 2008 Administration isn't a standard SQL Server tutorial-there are dozens of those to choose from. Instead, this book breaks down the role of "SQL Server Administrator" into its key focus areas and tasks and details the techniques and best practices that make an administrator effective. In this book, a reader can quickly identify a task and find the best practice associated with it. For example, a reader looking for information about indexing would find step-by-step procedures for identifying and dropping unused indexes, creating missing indexes, selecting the appropriate clustered index, and so forth.

Each technique is presented in a clear, straightforward style and in the order of the typical lifecycle of a SQL Server system. This allows a reader to easily open the book at the appropriate page and focus on what you need to know for each specific situation.

While most techniques will work for all versions of SQL Server, this book is current for the recent final release of SQL Server 2008.

==> Download <==

OCP: Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Professional Study Guide: (Exam 1Z0-053)

Prepare for OCP certification in Oracle Database 11g

Study, practice, and review for Oracle Certified Professional certification in Oracle 11g, Oracle's new release of its top-selling database software. Inside this in-depth guide, you'll find full coverage of essential topics for the very latest, updated Administration II exam (1Z0-053), including database architecture and ASM; configuring backups; using Flashback technology; managing database performance, memory, and resources; and more. Get extra exam practice using the exercise workbook in the Appendix. Start your preparation today with:

Full coverage of all exam objectives in a systematic approach, so you can be confident you're getting the instruction you need for the exam

Bonus Exercise Workbook that allows you to practice as you learn Real-world scenarios that put what you've learned in the context of actual job roles

Challenging review questions in each chapter to prepare you for exam day

Exam Essentials, a key feature in each chapter that identifies critical areas you must become proficient in before taking the exam

A handy tear card that maps every official exam objective to the corresponding chapter in the book, so you can track your exam prep objective by objective

==> Download <==

SQL Fundamentals (3rd Edition)

Don’t just learn “generic” SQL. Learn SQL to get results with the world’s top database platforms–Oracle for the enterprise and Microsoft Access for the desktop. Based on John Patrick’s hands-on SQL course at the University of California, Berkeley Extension, this book shows exactly how to retrieve the data you want, when you need it, in any application–from ad hoc reports to the data warehouse. Thoroughly updated for the newest versions of Oracle, Access, and the SQL standard, this book contains more exercises, techniques, and solutions than ever before. You’ll learn exactly how to write SQL queries that are easy to understand, verify, modify, and extend–even if you’ve never worked with databases before.

SQL Fundamentals,Third Edition, teaches you how to

* Build simple statements to retrieve, store, or modify data
* Craft complex queries that draw information from multiple tables
* Sort and summarize your data just the way you want it
* Create and edit your own tables
* Protect the integrity of your data
* Create more efficient, high-performance queries
* Work with unions, subqueries, self joins, cross joins, inner joins, and outer joins
* Use the Oracle Data Dictionary

==> Download <==

Refactoring SQL Applications

What can you do when database performance doesn't meet expectations? Before you turn to expensive hardware upgrades to solve the problem, reach for this book. Refactoring SQL Applications provides a set of tested options for making code modifications to dramatically improve the way your database applications function. Backed by real-world examples, you'll find quick fixes for simple problems, in-depth answers for more complex situations, and complete solutions for applications with extensive problems. Learn to:

* Determine if and where you can expect performance gains
* Apply quick fixes, such as limiting calls to the database in stored functions and procedures
* Refactor tasks, such as replacing application code by a stored procedure, or replacing iterative, procedural statements with sweeping SQL statements
* Refactor flow by increasing parallelism and switching business-inducted processing from synchronous to asynchronous
* Refactor design using schema extensions, regular views, materialized views, partitioning, and more
* Compare before and after versions of a program to ensure you get the same results once you make modifications

Refactoring SQL Applications teaches you to recognize and assess code that needs refactoring, and to understand the crucial link between refactoring and performance. If and when your application bogs down, this book will help you get it back up to speed.

==> Download <==

MySQL (4th Edition)

The unexpected pleasure of reading books about databases is that they are often written by authors with highly organized minds. Paul DuBois and his editors at New Riders have assembled MySQL with a clarity and lucidity that inspires confidence in the subject matter: a (nearly) freely redistributable SQL-interpreting database client/server primarily geared for Unix systems but maintained for Windows platforms as well. What isn't "free" about MySQL (the application) is its server's commercial use; all clients and noncommercial server use are free. DuBois's tome isn't free either, but its list price is modest in light of its value and the value of its namesake.

The volume is superbly organized into 12 chapters and 10 appendices and contains a concise table of contents and a comprehensive 50-page index. It is peppered with references to the online HTML documentation that comes with the source and binary distributions (which are available and easy to install in stable rpm and tar releases.)

The first third of MySQL is an excellent instruction tool for database newbies; the second third is a detailed reference for MySQL developers; and the last third consists of clearly annotated appendices, including C, Perl (but not Python), and PHP interfaces.

Perhaps as an indication of the collective will of the developers of MySQL, DuBois does not separate Windows 95/98/NT design or development specifics from its main discussions. Platform-independent design is a goal, not a reality, and users will have to rely on newsgroups and mailing lists for details. Moreover, security issues are addressed in a mere 18 pages, a large part of which is devoted to standard Unix file and network-access permissions. Next to nothing is mentioned about defense against common hacking strategies, the use of secure shell interfaces, or access encryption.

Although it is nearly 800 pages in length, DuBois's book is thankfully not encyclopedic. It is a valuable précis of the MySQL database, and its easy-to-skim look and feel will make it an excellent browse for database experts who want to know what is and is not possible within MySQL, the application. --Peter Leopold --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

==> Download <==

Pro SQL Server 2008 Service Broker

Service Broker is a key Microsoft product in support of message–based processing between applications. Pro SQL Server 2008 Service Broker helps you to take full advantage of this key Microsoft technology, beginning from the fundamentals, moving through installation and application development, and ultimately showing you how to develop highly available and scalable applications based upon the Service–Oriented Architecture that is fast gaining ground as the way forward in application development.

* Comprehensive approach to developing with Service Broker
* Strong focus on best practices and real–world scenarios
* Covers the key aspects of distributed application design

What you’ll learn

* Understand the fundamentals of message–based processing.
* Install Service Broker and manage the environment.
* Design databases for service–oriented applications.
* Develop distributed applications.
* Build in scalability and high availablity.
* Apply best practices to avoid future trouble.

==> Download <==

Pro SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services

Take full advantage of everything SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services has to offer and deliver customizable, web–enabled reports across your business at a reasonable cost. Learn best–practices from professionals who use SQL Server Reporting Services daily to deliver solutions to paying clients and gain the competitive edge on using Microsoft’s enterprise–level reporting platform.

* Provides best–practices for using Reporting Services
* Written by practicing professionals with paying clients
* Your key to delivering business intelligence across the enterprise

What you’ll learn

* Write efficient queries on which to base a report.
* Build and lay out a report using Report Designer.
* Enable end users to create ad hoc reports on demand.
* Combine Reporting Services with Analysis Services, SharePoint Portal Server, and other technologies to deliver business intelligence across the enterprise.
* Secure and audit your reports as part of your regulatory compliance efforts.
* Customize your reports using C# assemblies and embedded Visual Basic .NET code.

==> Download <==

Troubleshooting Oracle Performance

What do you do when your database application isn’t running fast enough? You troubleshoot, of course. Finding the slow part of an application is often the easy part of the battle. It’s finding a solution that’s difficult. Troubleshooting Oracle Performance helps by providing a systematic approach to addressing the underlying causes of poor database application performance.

* Written for developers by an application developer who has learned by doing

* Gives a systematic approach to solving database application performance problems

* Helps you plan for performance as you would for any other application requirement

What you’ll learn

* See how to treat and plan for performance as a basic application requirement.

* Identify performance problems using a systematic and repeatable approach.

* Configure your query optimizer to meet your application performance goals.

* Optimize table accesses, joins, and physical table layout.

* Read and recognize inefficient SQL execution plans.

* Reduce inefficiencies from too much procedural code.

==> Download <==

The Relational Database Dictionary, Extended Editiond

Chris Date, one of the founders of the relational model, has updated and expanded his relational database dictionary to be current with over 900 terms.
What you’ll learn

* Over 900 relational database terms defined
* Precise and concise definitions, unlike those found on Wikipedia and other sources
* Clear examples used where appropriate
* Hyperlinks included in the eBook for easy reference


Who is this book for?

People who need to know something about databases, although it is not their main line of work, people new to databases, and noncomputer people looking to be conversant in databases

==> Download <==

Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation

Learn effective and scalable database design techniques in a SQL Server environment. Pro SQL Server 2008 Relational Database Design and Implementation covers everything from design logic that business users will understand all the way to the physical implementation of the design in a SQL Server database. Grounded in best practices and a solid understanding of the underlying theory, authors Louis Davidson, Kevin Kline, Scott Klein, and Kurt Windisch show how to “get it right” in SQL Server database design and lay a solid groundwork for the future use of valuable business data.

* Solid foundation in best practices and relational theory
* Maximize SQL Server features to enhance security, performance, scalability
* Thorough treatment from conceptual design to an effective, physical implementation

==>Download <==

Beginning DB2: From Novice to Professional

IBM’s DB2 Express Edition is one of the most capable of the free database platforms available in today’s marketplace. In Beginning DB2, author Grant Allen gets you started using DB2 Express Edition for web sites, desktop applications, and more. The author covers the basics of DB2 for developers and database administrators, shows you how to manage data in both XML and relational form, and includes numerous code examples so that you are never in doubt as to how things work. In this book, you’ll find

* A friendly introduction to DB2 Express Edition, an industrial–strength, relational database from IBM
* Dozens of examples so that you are never in doubt as to how things work
* Coverage of important language interfaces, such as from PHP, Ruby, C#, Python, and more
* Aimed at developers who want a robust database to back their applications

==> Download <==

Beginning SQL Server 2008 for Developers: From Novice to Professional

SQL Server 2008 is a first–rate database management system. It offers more capability than any previous release of SQL Server. More than just a classic relational database management system, SQL Server 2008 includes exciting and powerful features that make it useful for everything from large corporate data warehouses to ad hoc departmental databases. You’ll find enhanced support for XML, new support for spatial data, transparent data encryption, a policy–based management system, and more.

Author and developer Robin Dewson will show you the way from beginner to SQL Server 2008 professional. Learn to install SQL Server 2008 and navigate around Management Studio before getting right to the heart of mastering fundamental SQL Server 2008 tasks: creating tables, storing data, securing data, and retrieving it again. Dewson ensures you’ll be fully prepared to use all the basics and create a solid foundation for your own projects.

Don’t forget about backups! Your database will house important data, so backing up is essential to protect yourself from inevitable hardware failure. Dewson walks you through SQL Server 2008’s easy–to–use backup and recovery feature set, giving you the grounding that you need in order to set up a reliable plan for recovery in your own environment.

Learn to use Transact–SQL, a full–blown procedural language that is built right into the database system. Transact–SQL is the key to unlocking everything that SQL Server 2008 has to offer. Using Transact–SQL, you can write centrally encapsulated business logic through the use of stored procedures, automatically trigger processing through the use of triggers, and manipulate data within the server without having to move data back and forth across the network.

Finally, you’ll learn a bit about SQL Server 2008 Reporting Services, a powerful tool that allows enterprise reporting. Reporting Services enables you to develop and serve reports across your organization and even to business partners outside your company. Reporting Services also gives end users the ability to create their own reports, helping them transform business data into valuable, usable information to guide their day–to–day decisions.

==> Download <==