I've been a DBA for fifteen years, and in that time read lots of Database Administration titles. Handbooks, manuals, 101 optimization books, and advanced internal titles. Plenty talk about technical skills, and lead you towards further honing your subject matter expertise. But few if any look at the social side of database operations.
So picking up this book the first thing I thought was, huh, fresh perspective. Great. I also thought though that it may be a bit of an uphill battle. Tech folks are often like cats - awake at night, like to go their own way and not as social as we might like.
If you're new to the DBA role, I'd really recommend this book, and I wish I had it when I got started in operations.
Here's what he covers...
Chapter 1, his career path, and what led him to where he is today, some other stories, and so on. These are great for the aspiring DBA as much as one in a new role.
Chapter 2, he discusses what your first days will be like, from getting acquainted with the systems and responsibilities to getting to know coworkers, and socializing at lunch. Yes, you like to have lunch with colleagues, not at your desk right?
Chapter 3, he covers some of the basics, from storage and RAID to HA and Disaster Recovery. He also talks about something that I think a lot of tech folks struggle with. Being a very intellectual and rational pursuit, there is always a certain amount of one-upmanship. He talks about this and contrasts it with the often more important quality of being liked and likeable, an great person to work with.
Chapter 4, In chapter four LaRock touches on the all important topic of separating dev & production environments, especially if things don't work that way when you arrive. He also talks about time management and managing expectations by learning to be realistic.
Chapter 5, arrives at the all important topic of production support. Being responsible for production systems often involves off-hours work, and he emphasizes the all important process, service level agreements ie what have we promised and so on. Keeping all of these business level ideas in perspective is key, as being problem solvers, our instinct may often be to dive into problem solving first, and document and tie up loose ends later.
Chapter 6, troubleshooting is of course the real skill that every operations person needs to have. For once you've gotten past the initial installation and setup, the real-world of problems comes front and center. This chapter emphasizes windows-based solutions, so if you're a DBA on the Unix platform some concepts will carry over, while some of the material may be less relevant to you.
Chapter 7, he really goes out on a limb to discuss diet & exercise. I don't say that because I have a bad diet, although I used to drink my share of soda while sitting at a computer screen. I say he's really going out on a limb because this is almost a radical topic to discuss among tech folks. But again he's absolutely right. If you're getting serious about this chapter, I suggest you step it up a notch and get a whole book on exercise and nutrition. It'll change your life.
Chapter 8, covers training and education. I hope we all know by now that being in the technology field requires ongoing learning and educating yourself. Whether it's the latest tools and techniques, or new versions of software, or cloud services for that matter, you need to keep your skills up to speed.
Chapter 9, so you've made it this far in the book, and you've been a DBA for some period of time. The next logical move is to step it up a notch. Consider writing, or coauthoring a book. Tech publishers are always looking for authors. And if you haven't gone to a meetup group or other user group conference in a while, you should put some on your calendar. Above all network with colleagues, in forums, and seminars, and at the local brew pub from time to time.
Overall, what I also liked about the layout of the book is the little anecdotal stories interspersed throughout, from folks like Jonathan Gennick, Tim Gorman, Brent Ozar and Ken Simmons. These real life stories bring home concepts sometimes in the best way.
Yep, this book was a bit of a surprise and again for a beginner DBA, it's short and sweet, but does a great job introducing you to the role, and starting you out on the right footing.
