Getting into an existing DBMS

  • Hello,

    this is  my  Situation:
    I am a (economical computer science) student that recently graduated and now started working in a company. I'll be responsible for the SQL Server Cluster (2016) part that holds the Data from SAP.
    The data is transformed to be placed into the DWH and on top of that are serveral cubes that are made of views made of the DWH. Since i just started these are the basics i understood so far.

    My Problem:
    I am  struggling to getting used to a huge database like this with serverral different data shemes for the etl process and multiple hundred tables and views. There is not really someone who can explain it to me which is the problem.

    What i've done so far:
    - watching online tutorials for basic architecture of  an MS SQL Server
    - reading a book of basics of MS SQL Server
    - exploring /searching functions in SSMS / SSDT
    - trying to understand the SSDT  projects of the ETL process

    My Question:
    Since most of the stuff ive been doing so far is general stuff about the topic i still have struggles to apply what i have read and to find my way in the DBMS.
    Especially since the DBMS is way bigger and complex than anything i've ever had to deal with (no previous experience outside of studies).
    Can  you give me suggestions  how in general i should continue to explore and understand the situation?
    For example: doing certain stuff in SSMS/SSDT

    I would be grateful for any kind of tipps and  suggestions

  • ktflash - Monday, March 12, 2018 2:01 AM

    Hello,

    this is  my  Situation:
    I am a (economical computer science) student that recently graduated and now started working in a company. I'll be responsible for the SQL Server Cluster (2016) part that holds the Data from SAP.
    The data is transformed to be placed into the DWH and on top of that are serveral cubes that are made of views made of the DWH. Since i just started these are the basics i understood so far.

    My Problem:
    I am  struggling to getting used to a huge database like this with serverral different data shemes for the etl process and multiple hundred tables and views. There is not really someone who can explain it to me which is the problem.

    What i've done so far:
    - watching online tutorials for basic architecture of  an MS SQL Server
    - reading a book of basics of MS SQL Server
    - exploring /searching functions in SSMS / SSDT
    - trying to understand the SSDT  projects of the ETL process

    My Question:
    Since most of the stuff ive been doing so far is general stuff about the topic i still have struggles to apply what i have read and to find my way in the DBMS.
    Especially since the DBMS is way bigger and complex than anything i've ever had to deal with (no previous experience outside of studies).
    Can  you give me suggestions  how in general i should continue to explore and understand the situation?
    For example: doing certain stuff in SSMS/SSDT

    I would be grateful for any kind of tipps and  suggestions

    I was in some kind of situation like yours but not at all, in my last job, the DBA left and i was his Junior and he left everything to me.
    I can tell you one thing or two twings about this job.

    You can't learn everything from day to night, it'll take months even years to actually understand the rdbms reading books, so take it easy, with time you will improve at this career.
    What you can do is start reading the documentation of the product from scratch, understand how a query goes into the engine, what are the processes from the parser to the optimizer and the list goes and goes, i'm still a newbie with databases but what i have learned so far is that trying to learn multiple things at the same time like querying, administering, ssis, reporting won't get you very far in such a short time. it'll take years for you to be good at this.

    Don't lose hope, keep working and solve everyday problem, that way you'll get better and whenever you see a oportunity like: "I query this table often, maybe everyday to see the health of the database" these oportunities and make a report or a job that sends you a mail. you learn by doing.

  • I'm not sure if you covered a star-schema or dimensional model design in your studies or not. It might be helpful to read up a bit on dimension and fact tables to get a better understanding of their purpose.
    Once you have a better understanding of this, pick one of your fact tables and join to the different dimension tables. This will give you an idea of what your data is about and its granularity.
    I've found that the better you understand the business processes, the more sense the data will make. Don't be afraid to ask as many questions as you can. In my experience it's the non-technical people, that have been in the business a long time, which are the ones with the best knowledge of the data.
    At the end of the day unfortunately, there is no quick way, you'll just have to learn as you go along.

  • yeah i have basic knowledge from star and snowflake shemes, atleast what ive been studying and read in books
    currently I'm trying to comprehend the full data flow of examples

    its just a bad feeling, i sit here and feel so useless, guess i have to deal with it for a while

  • It has been 4 years since i started this topic and joined this forum (boy time flies by in hindsight).

    I told my boss i got a new job offer (after previously already telling him early january this year that im looking whats offered out there).

    It is basically the same situation as when i started, i am still the only person having any knowledge about the entirety of the SSIS and SSAS aka the BI of the company even doing some administration for the other sql servers and instances.

    So when im gone theres is AGAIN (same situation as when is started) NO ONE who has even the slightest idea at how to deal with the system....

    On the one hand i feel bad for my users but on the other hand i have been telling my boss ahead of time.. aswell as mentioning it multiple times during the years that this does not work out the way it currently is...

     

  • If you're feeling generous, document as much as you can in a central area, make sure backups run regularly without problems, and hand over as much information as possible to help the next person.

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