InstantForum.NET v2.9.0SQLServerCentralhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/notifications@sqlservercentral.comSat, 25 May 2013 18:30:01 GMT20http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]Tom.Thomson (2/18/2010)[/b][hr]This is a very good article indeed. Something every new DBA or would-be DBA should read and take to heart.The only thing that doesn't come across clearly is just how difficult it can sometimes be to follow those tips. It really can be very difficult to do even one of deliver CIA, avoid being a hero, and set definable expectations (let alone do all three). This is especially true if being DBA is something you do in your (non-existent) spare time from your "real" job, more so if the head of development doesn't see why developers should pay any attention to a DBA, more so again if the CEO firmly believes that there's no real need for a DBA (and anyway even if he wanted a DBA he couldn't hire one because the company is a start-up and the burn rate is already far too high), and yet more so still if the CEO believes that he (despite never having used a database or written a line of code) is better at estimating the time and effort needed to do something technical than anyone with any technical knowledge could possibly be -all situations that many in this forum will have come across (although they'd have to be really unlucky to come across all those problems at the same time).(edit to sort out some typos)[/quote]All great points, Tom.I think it fits nicely into the "we've all done things wer're not proud of" category where the fight for survival trumps the higher level functions.I often think of of Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs[/url]and the capability maturity model in these situations.[quote]Levels of the Capability Maturity Model1. Initial (chaotic, ad hoc, individual heroics) - the starting point for use of a new process.2. Managed - the process is managed according to the metrics described in the Defined stage.3. Defined - the process is defined/confirmed as a standard business process, and decomposed to levels 0, 1 and 2 (the latter being Work Instructions).4. Quantitatively managed5. Optimized - process management includes deliberate process optimization/improvemen[/quote]Really, organizational maturity is not a tough sell to anyone who doesn't require a rectal craniotomy.But we've all worked for [b]that [/b]guy and had to do things that we really weren't proud of...Here again, good communication and unwaivering belief that you're doing the right things can maybe set things moving in the right direction. One thing is for certain, organizations CAN and DO remain chaotic and ad-hoc under bad management.Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:31:03 GMTSQLBOThttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxI would say that you don't need in-depth application knowledge to tune SQL performance at all.You do need to figure out why the query is written the way it is, and that to some degree involves a basic amount of business knowledge. IF you can read T-SQL and understand database design, you can figure out the business as you go by asking questions and not making assumptions.You definitely need to know how to read T-SQL, run profiler (if you don't know what the problem is ) and know how to read a query plan and use IO statistics to see where the hard-hitters are.The first thing I usually do is re-write the T-SQL trying to minimize problem areas in the plan.Basically I try to reduce the number of rows searched and looped through... maybe take a sort out of the plan or an aggregation.If all that fails, I'll add an index or add TO an index, or maybe even use an indexed view in a pinch.Thanks for reading!Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:09:27 GMTSQLBOThttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxExcellent article!The only thing I would add is "getting used to being blamed". :P Network sucks, it’s DBA’s fault. SAN collapse, it’s DBA’s fault. Programmer updated data without a WHERE clause, it’s DBA’s fault….blah..blah..blah Something else I liked to share: I was a programmer before becoming a DBA. I thought I knew how to program a database-driven application…..I was wrong. I didn’t know anything about indexes or how to write good queries. I wrote whatever that would gave me results then moved on. Yeah I was stupid and ignorance, but just learned lately that I’m not alone. There are still new programmers out there making the same mistakes I made, and I had to support their databases. Yikes! Talk about Karma, eh?One question as a newbie: Do you need to know about database design and/or application in order to do performance tuning? I know about Profiler and PerfMon, but I wonder if these tools are enough to say these are good/bad queries without any knowledge of applications?Regards,P.S forgive my poor English.Sun, 21 Feb 2010 11:16:19 GMTjungnajahttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]Tom.Thomson (2/18/2010)[/b][hr]more so if the head of development doesn't see why developers should pay any attention to a DBA.(edit to sort out some typos)[/quote]This is where the DBA can live or die by email. Keep upper management (The Dept head's boss) informed by using blind copy (bcc) if very important stuff like this is going on, so when disaster does eventually strike you can fully document it. Be discreet and choosy about what you decide to email to upper management, yet still getting the crucial points across. I had this happen as well, and I fully documented it, and the department head ended up losing his job, instead of me. :) E-Mail is a DBA's best friend, and I see too many that don't use it to their benefit by keeping people informed of what is going on with the company's multi-million dollar databases. Use it, it might save your job one day. Don't let the CTO tell you one day "If only you would have told me about this before, I could have done something about it." Let them fall on the sword, make sure it is not you. Email can really help a lot with this, but remember, to be discreet. HTH :)Thu, 18 Feb 2010 10:58:14 GMTTravisDBAhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxThis is a very good article indeed. Something every new DBA or would-be DBA should read and take to heart.The only thing that doesn't come across clearly is just how difficult it can sometimes be to follow those tips. It really can be very difficult to do even one of deliver CIA, avoid being a hero, and set definable expectations (let alone do all three). This is especially true if being DBA is something you do in your (non-existent) spare time from your "real" job, more so if the head of development doesn't see why developers should pay any attention to a DBA, more so again if the CEO firmly believes that there's no real need for a DBA (and anyway even if he wanted a DBA he couldn't hire one because the company is a start-up and the burn rate is already far too high), and yet more so still if the CEO believes that he (despite never having used a database or written a line of code) is better at estimating the time and effort needed to do something technical than anyone with any technical knowledge could possibly be -all situations that many in this forum will have come across (although they'd have to be really unlucky to come across all those problems at the same time).(edit to sort out some typos)Thu, 18 Feb 2010 09:42:27 GMTL' Eomot Inverséhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote]Brings up an interesting point. I sometimes quote large texts from others to respond to and put a long dashed line beneath. I should have done a better job of pointing out my comments....!! [/quote]the "[quote]" IFCode shortcut on the left hand side of the "post reply" text editor works wonders for clarifying that you're quoting a previous post. have a good weekendFri, 12 Feb 2010 16:24:21 GMTSQLBOThttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxBrings up an interesting point. I sometimes quote large texts from others to respond to and put a long dashed line beneath. I should have done a better job of pointing out my comments....!! Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:39:50 GMTZETMhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxSorry, didn't realize that. Your post comes across differently.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 13:44:06 GMTSteve Jones - SSC Editorhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxSteve, I actually replied to someone's post putting part of their post in mine to illustrate my point which was: The problem is the field requires a dilligence to value and protect data as if ones own personal information were contained in the data.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 11:34:32 GMTZETMhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxI think you should have read the article more carefully before ranting on about something so completely off the subject. A DBA that "protects" his data is not doing so against evil terrorist cells or alien invasion, but rather from user (internal or external) corruption, be it intentional or accidental. Next time take a deep breath and make sure you understand the message before venting.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:37:07 GMTbsclydehttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]ZETM (2/12/2010)[/b][hr]This is something that just drives me nuts about some DBAs and some of the authors who and pretend that every byte of data in the world is somehow 'vital' and at risk.[/quote]It's not that every byte of data is vital, but that you might not realize what is vital. I used to import wood for a living, well manage the systems for those guys. Our inventory was vital for that company. If a competitor got it, they could potentially mess with our supply chain, or make deals for customers. I wouldn't have thought it mattered, but it did to them once I dug in.Lots of data, like salaries, etc., isn't vital, but it doesn't necessarily need to be disclosed. As a result you should consider most of your data important and just secure it. It doesn't take a lot more effort, but it doesn't take much less to develop bad habits and have your data insecure.It's like SQL Injection. Your company's home page might not be a big deal. But if it gets hacked or injected, you can bet it will happen on the day that the President has just pointed someone to it. It won't kill the business, but it could kill your day (or job)Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:58:08 GMTSteve Jones - SSC Editorhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxIt may be "widgets" that are stored in the database, but as long as the company is in the business of making them, or selling them, and thus tracking those sales, then the DBA's responsibility of maintaining that data, backing it up, and always making it available to everyone else in the company, and the IRS as well, than the role of the DBA cannot be minimized or under-estimated. A company's data is its life blood. Bottom line. Regardless of what content that data is. If it's not available or accurate on a daily basis see how fast the company's business comes to a halt. What do think would happen in this country if all the DBA's were unionized and went out on strike? Think that would be a little worse than a baseball or football strike? Like a mentor of mine once said "I don't care what data you are tracking, but make it unavailable for just 15 minutes and see how many angry phone calls you get." As long as this is the case, the DBA will always be one of the most important individuals in your company whether you want to realize it or not. :)Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:52:15 GMTTravisDBAhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxWhen the data at your company reflects on the bottom line and helps define your business, then it is the most critical in the world. When it means protecting your job and excelling at what you do - it is the most critical data in the world.Would it be fun to work at a "spy" agency, maybe. Their data may not be all that interesting, and maybe it is.Nice re-print of the series. I have enjoyed reading it.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:46:16 GMTSQLRNNRhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxI apologize in advance for my comments (a little bit), and mean no insult directly at any DBA but...Do you ever take a moment and think about how many DBA's go to work every day and work with the most mundane data? Are you aware that not everyone is going to work at the CIA every day? Have ever thought about men and women who are DBAs or workers using SQL Server who count widgets day-in and day-out? This is something that just drives me nuts about some DBAs and some of the authors who and pretend that every byte of data in the world is somehow 'vital' and at risk....Sheesh!!! Ever wonder why the world is paranoid?...again, sorry for the rant - but this has to be said in respect for hard working DBAs who are not working with James Bond and MI6 or the CIA. -------------------------------The problem is the field requires a dilligence to value and protect data as if ones own personal information were contained in the data.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:00:07 GMTZETMhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxGreat article, lots of good discussion as well. As a contractor I've been hired to basically "firefight" the company's sql server problems and you do sometimes become the "Hero DBA" which like most positions of power can be quite seductive - you gain respect from your collegues; it builds your confidence and helps with the decision regarding your contract extension. ;-)However the flip side is working with the Hero DBA who just loves to be called out in the middle of the night to rescue some failed backup and then loves to tell everyone about it. Then the same thing happens when he/she goes on holiday, no documentation and your left with the client wanting to know why their website has been down for over 24hrs! :w00t:Yes, documentation is the way to go - the geek in me even likes to produce it, how wrong is that. :-PIn reply to blandy's post, I find it pays to have a paranoid attitude ALWAYS as a DBA - today you might be looking after all that widget data, however tomorrow you might just find that execellent SQL DBA post (with great holidays and medical dental, etc) at a missile building company or simply at a bank - start with good habits (CIA is certainly one them) and you'll go far in life...[i][b]qh[/b][/i]Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:38:16 GMTquackhandle1975http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxVery good! I would go so far as to suggest that experienced DBA's should read this as well as new ones. It is sometimes easy to forget the basics of what we do and why.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:27:50 GMTabatejhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]SQLBOT (2/12/2010)[/b][hr]Rich, That is brilliant!I will add that to a list of things to include in future revisions.[/quote]Thanks, Craig. I guess we've all worked at places where some or all of the IT staff doesn't really care about what the organization's core mission is: they wear their ignorance with scornful pride. No fun for anyone, and the organization suffers. If you aren't contributing to the success of the organization, what are you doing working there?RichFri, 12 Feb 2010 07:48:43 GMTrmechaberhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxRich, That is brilliant!I will add that to a list of things to include in future revisions.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:26:21 GMTSQLBOThttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxGreat article, thanks!I would most emphatically add this to your excellent list: [b]Learn Your Business[/b]It is impossible for you, as a DBA, to participate in discussions about data access, security, reliability, etc. if you don't understand what your company does, who your customers are (both internal and external), and the critical finances that drive your business. This is true whether you work for a small non-profit or a large corporation. It's true for government, education, and commerce.By learning your business, you will also make your life easier :-) You'll [u]anticipate[/u] when those periodic crunches are going to be, when your databases will be hammered with updates, etc.Thanks again,RichFri, 12 Feb 2010 07:23:19 GMTrmechaberhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]Ignacio A. Salom Rangel (2/12/2010)[/b][hr]Great article![/quote]thanks, Ignacio!This is actually a repost. I've been surprised at the modest amount of success the article has enjoyed.It's mostly preaching to the choir, but it's news for people who never sang in a choir before :)Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:40:44 GMTSQLBOThttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote]Lighten up Francis.[/quote]LOL!Good stuff! Made my AM.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:31:44 GMTSQLBOThttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]blandry (11/18/2008)[/b][hr]I apologize in advance for my comments (a little bit), and mean no insult directly at any DBA but...Do you ever take a moment and think about how many DBA's go to work every day and work with the most mundane data? Are you aware that not everyone is going to work at the CIA every day? Have ever thought about men and women who are DBAs or workers using SQL Server who count widgets day-in and day-out? This is something that just drives me nuts about some DBAs and some of the authors who and pretend that every byte of data in the world is somehow 'vital' and at risk.Consider: I have a buddy who is a DBA for a convenience store company. As he likes to say, he counts Milkbones and the over-blown price for them that you pay when you forget to pick them up during your normal shopping. Yes, instead of 2 dollars at the supermarket, you are going to pay 5 dollars for forgetting them in your weekly shopping. God forbid that Al-Queda ever discover that you, a witless servant of democracy, are getting ripped-off royally should you forget these treats for your dog. My God, the whole great American/European society might come to a stand-still!!!I am all for prudence and good habits when it comes to data confidentiality. It should be a given for any DBA. But do we have to keep pretending that every DBA working in the world is somehow working with vital and sensitive data? Hello!!! Guess what - many are not. Many do great work, pay good attention to the tenets of confidentiality and security, and yet process some of the most boring, unsensitive and useless data - like counting widgets. Lord help us if some terror group every finds out that Acme company produced 1,000 extra widgets this month!!! Let alone that they should discover that this month's widget production run included a new 1 millimeter change in the diameter of the widget.This is why many DBAs are looked at as overly full of themselves by their co-workers. They puff up their chests in front of the boss, go on for hours about some new security thingy they just implemented, while people in the room scratch their heads wondering what evil force in the world is trying to crack into their systems to figure out how many widgets, or donuts, or Milkbones they are selling each month.Sheesh!!! Ever wonder why the world is paranoid?...again, sorry for the rant - but this has to be said in respect for hard working DBAs who are not working with James Bond and MI6 or the CIA.[/quote]Lighten up Francis.But seriously, I'd say that the widget count is every bit as important to the tiny company and it's tiny database as an entire day's worth of trades are to the largest trading company. If the widget count is off because you've got a crappy database that's not storing the data appropriately, Matt Helm or not, your company is in dire straights and it's your fault as the DBA. So yeah, I think DBA's should behave, to a reasonable degree, like Flint most of the time.I'm just wondering when the babes show up?Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:24:01 GMTGrant Fritcheyhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxExcellent article. Well written. Good advice. Practical and straight forward. Keep it coming.Fri, 12 Feb 2010 06:21:36 GMTGrant Fritcheyhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxGreat article!Fri, 12 Feb 2010 02:31:10 GMTIgnacio A. Salom Rangelhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxI'll be waiting for the next 3 tipsThu, 29 Jan 2009 15:08:44 GMThoney_tnrhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxEven mundane systems need the best security so they aren't the weakest link of the Internet armor. I would really *not* love if some dill-schnicken somehow obtained my credit card information or knew that I drank a 12 pack of my favorite beers this weekend or somehow managed to associate a roll of platic with my invoice that happened to be used to wrap up a body somewhere... BECAUSE of crumby security practices that led to computer networks attacking other computer networks or such data misuse. In an ideal world, we wouldn't have to worry so much and people would just respect the world wide community. Unfortunately, increases in misuse of consumer data undermine user's trust in the system, which devalues and cheapens technology.Setting up a great system as the author suggests, has very real challenges and most CEO's are looking to the bottom line.In regards to the Hero mentality, yes documentation is the key in my experience, however, I could easily work 80hrs a week at my job and never be done. If company's can't recognize that documentation doesn't satisfy day to day activity or don't even support a help desk/ trouble ticket system, they should not confuse such a technology employee as supporting the hero mentality. Many companies don't care to see themselves out of emergency or urgent status because they are busy cheapening those departments - they aren't trimming fat, they are shooting themselves in the foot.Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:59:13 GMTtimcusick72http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]arunyadav007 (1/26/2009)[/b][hr]When is the next edition coming???:)[/quote]Two weeks ago:[url=http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/career+growth/65356/]http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/career+growth/65356/[/url]Tue, 27 Jan 2009 13:51:26 GMTSQLBOThttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxNice article. It was an interesting read. I have been the "Hero DBA" and as a result, I was still getting calls or e-mails six months after I left - At one point, I even went into the office in my spare time to help them out of some difficulties.I'm still working on making sure I don't fall back into that kind of role!A couple of comments to the post did bug me though:[quote]Do you ever take a moment and think about how many DBA's go to work every day and work with the most mundane data?[/quote]While you may think the data is mundane, it is important to the company and I doubt that management or sales would see the data as mundane.[quote]Many do great work, pay good attention to the tenets of confidentiality and security, and yet process some of the most boring, unsensitive and useless data - like counting widgets. Lord help us if some terror group every finds out that Acme company produced 1,000 extra widgets this month!!! Let alone that they should discover that this month's widget production run included a new 1 millimeter change in the diameter of the widget.[/quote]While, I agree this information may not be that crucial to a terror group, you would not want a competitor in the widget market to see your data.I do agree that DBAs can be looked at as full of themselves, but to be honest, if a colleague wants to think that of me because I want a secure environment protecting the data & logic from the outside world as well as inside the organization, then that's fine. I'm not going to lose sleep over that. However, I would lose sleep and more than likely my job if my system was a playground for all to use and abuse.Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:34:56 GMTClive Stronghttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxHey Bot. Maybe the article was copied from another site where someone else had already posted a plagiarized version so they thought it was safe?Tue, 27 Jan 2009 06:08:57 GMTtoniupstnyhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxWhen is the next edition coming???:)Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:04:44 GMTarunyadav007http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxNo worries. I think it was handled very well and have to admit I had a good laugh about it.What a strange, strange... strange thing to do. :laugh:Thanks to freshprinceoflb, I can now tick 'be plagiarized' off my bucket list.Thanks to you, Steve, for the great job you do every day. Hope nobody minded the rerun.~BOTMon, 26 Jan 2009 17:13:58 GMTSQLBOThttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxCraig,Apologies for that. The copy has been removed.Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:19:37 GMTSteve Jones - SSC Editorhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[url=http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache%3Awww.sqlservercentral.com%2Farticles%2FCareer%2F65497%2F&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a]Here's a link to the plagiarized version [/url]enjoy.Mon, 26 Jan 2009 12:26:46 GMTSQLBOThttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]blandry (11/18/2008)[/b][hr]I apologize in advance for my comments (a little bit), and mean no insult directly at any DBA but...Do you ever take a moment and think about how many DBA's go to work every day and work with the most mundane data? Are you aware that not everyone is going to work at the CIA every day? Have ever thought about men and women who are DBAs or workers using SQL Server who count widgets day-in and day-out? This is something that just drives me nuts about some DBAs and some of the authors who and pretend that every byte of data in the world is somehow 'vital' and at risk.Consider: I have a buddy who is a DBA for a convenience store company. As he likes to say, he counts Milkbones and the over-blown price for them that you pay when you forget to pick them up during your normal shopping. ...[/quote]Every job I've done database work in did not require a security clearance. Yet every one of those jobs required data confidentiality. I never directly worked with criminal data while at the police department (it was on a very secure mainframe), but I have worked on databases that tracked drug use for every pregnant woman in a state's medicare/medicade system; police internal investigations; non-emergency medical transport; juvenile citations; utility billing; along with more mundane things like mailing lists.Your bud's employer would not be happy if the data in the inventory system were released to a competitor. It would be worse if the payroll system got leaked, as you're looking at a very real possibility of identity theft and other problems. What about PCI credit card security compliance?At a superficial level systems may seem trivial, but when you scratch a little deeper perspectives can change radically. I may not work for the CIA (nor would I want to), but I still have to take information security seriously.Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:16:07 GMTWayne Westhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]Jeff Moden (1/7/2009)[/b][hr][quote][b]aprasy (1/6/2009)[/b][hr]Hi everyone, I am sql developer. I studied ur article which is very nice but i would like to know the basics things to become a DBA. I have a chance to attend the interview next week but i dont have much knowledge about DBA side. What should i know before i could attend the interview. If anyone suggest its appreciated.Thanks in advancePrasanna[/quote]The fact that you're even asking means that you shouldn't go to the interview. You don't know how to use Google well enough and there's certainly no way to cram several years of experience into a couple of days. I applaud your tenacity but you're applying to be a surgeon and don't even know what a bandaid is.[/quote]I agree with you M8. I could never apply for a job, unless i can do the things required. A DBA role and a DB developer Role are like towo diffrent specialities working in the same environmant. Like a vehicle mechanic that works on mostly engines, gearboxes drive shatfs and general mainenance, vs. a Auto electrician, who works on the same vehicle has a diffrent skill set. From expereince, develpers hate doing DBA work, as it is time consuming, and the would rather work with their code.Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:36:58 GMTPollmakhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspx[quote][b]aprasy (1/6/2009)[/b][hr]Hi everyone, I am sql developer. I studied ur article which is very nice but i would like to know the basics things to become a DBA. I have a chance to attend the interview next week but i dont have much knowledge about DBA side. What should i know before i could attend the interview. If anyone suggest its appreciated.Thanks in advancePrasanna[/quote]The fact that you're even asking means that you shouldn't go to the interview. You don't know how to use Google well enough and there's certainly no way to cram several years of experience into a couple of days. I applaud your tenacity but you're applying to be a surgeon and don't even know what a bandaid is.Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:37:50 GMTJeff Modenhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxHaving been the Hero DBA I will agree it most heartily sucks. The biggest problem is that the lack of documentation that surrounds the Hero DBA is probably not his fault. More often then not I have found lip service for documentation and then not getting the support or help to do it. I have pushed for documentation and then found myself getting the tools I need in place to do the documentation and then having the help to do it pull so dramatically from me that I nearly quit. A Hero DBA gets into that position where he is filling the role of a DBA team for corprate culture that does not want to spend the money to develop a good and reliable team. Being at the center of the storm means that more often then not you are just there to keep the ship moving forward bailing water as fast as you can and adressing major issues and letting the bevy of minor ones fall by the wayside.Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:32:05 GMTConan Whalen-McKain-370433http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxThere is a book I bought SQL DBA 2005 Street Smarts by Joseph Jorden which has all the practical tasks that a DBA is required to do in the form of scenarios and exercises that follow. This is great for practising DBA skill and good to have as a reference. It will give you the DBA knowledge you require. :cool:I'm studying to move from Support to a DBA role and fine that this book gives you the exercise and experience to do the job, where other books just give you the theory and knowledge.Knowledge is useless with out experience.Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:09:19 GMTPollmakhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxHi, your comments seems that, you were wellversed in DBA. Could you guide me from where i start to become a DBA. I studied lot of topics but i dont know how to implement. I expect reply soon Thanks in advancePrasannaTue, 06 Jan 2009 05:01:04 GMTaprasyhttp://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic604128-1403-1.aspxHi everyone, I am sql developer. I studied ur article which is very nice but i would like to know the basics things to become a DBA. I have a chance to attend the interview next week but i dont have much knowledge about DBA side. What should i know before i could attend the interview. If anyone suggest its appreciated.Thanks in advancePrasannaTue, 06 Jan 2009 04:57:51 GMTaprasy