Customer Reviews

Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 Internals (Pro - Developer)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're looking for a step-by-step kind of book about SQL Server 2008, look elsewhere. That is not the intent of this book. If you want to truly know what goes on under the hood of Microsoft's new powerhouse database, get this book now.

I've ready every copy of Inside SQL Server from 6.5 through to 2000. And I mean every page. I've read Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2005: The Storage Engine from cover-to-cover as well. Here's the thing... each edition gets better and better. Subtle little clarifications here. A paragraph of extra information there. And now with SQL Server 2008 Internals you have one of the best guides to the innner workings of SQL Server you can get your hands on.

I must reiterate: This is not a DBA's Guide. By that I mean that it is not filled with step-by-steps. Instead, it explains what's happening when you take those steps. For this reason, the book will not be for everyone; however, for those who are developing database applications based on SQL Server 2008, there's no better way to truly learn how the DB works and, therefore, optimize your application.

Another great book in the series...

Before getting into more details I'll tell you if this book is for you or not: if you are a MS-SQL DBA get this book. If you are a programmer or you are looking for quick solutions to common problems, this book is not for you.

This one reminds me Edward Whalen's book: Microsoft® SQL Server(TM) 2005 Administrator's Companion. The style and purpose are quite similar, but Kalen is a bit more technical here. On this book, she explains how the things work inside the MS-SQL 2008 engine and I should say, she did a good job. Inside you will find explanations about how SQL2008 acts when you run a transaction, a query, insert a value on a table or what is the lock mechanism that the product uses and how we can take advantage of all and every of these features or, in the other hand, create problems if we don't use them correctly. Is like learning how your car works before learn how to drive it ;-) after all, you need to know how to check your car's oil no matter how good or bad are yours mechanical abilities, no?

I have not finished the book yet but so far, the Database (chapter 3) and Logging (chapter 4) are my favorites chapters. Those explain basic concepts but give you strong foundations for important things like Transaction Log backups or the meaning and purpose of the very important system databases: master, model, msdb (and the new and hidden, resource database) The author(s) also mentions among chapters the use of Catalog Views and DMVs, which were previously introduced on SQL2005. There are short examples about of how to get advantage of some of them and what kind of database or system information we can retrieve executing them.

Why not 5 stars? well, 1st, there is no pdf or electronic format and also let me be honest, the differences between SQL2005 and SQ2008 are minimal -- trust me, I use both products at work all days and we do have thousand of databases at my job, I work for the largest IT company in the world after Microsoft :-) -- Besides Backup Compression, the new and improved SQL2008 failover capabilities, not much changed between both versions. The recovery process is the same, the system databases are the same, the Index's behavior is the same, not a big change really. So, if you already bought a nice SQL2005 book like the one I mentioned before by Edward Whalen maybe you can skip this one and save couple of dollars; most of the information here can be found on Books Online for free, of course, just in an different and boring writing style.

In a short, the book is a good resource if you really want to know what's under the hood. It will give you solid foundations to your dba skills, because once you understand what SQL2008 is doing behind scenes your troubleshooting techniques can and will change accordingly. You will get some confidence and stop being just a point-and-click MS-SQL dba

If you're the person that runs backups and does nothing else with SQL Server, maybe, this book isn't for you. If you have any other level of responsibility with programming or maintaining databases within SQL Server, you absolutely have to have this book. There is no other resource as powerful as this one for understanding what is occurring within SQL Server. If you write queries or create indexes, you have to know how SQL Server is storing and retrieving your data, how it maintains it's memory, everything. It's all here in this book. What's more, the writing is so good, and clear, you can really use the book to learn. I can't sing the praises loud enough of long enough. This book is simply a requirement if you work with SQL Server.

I started working with SQL Server in version 6.5, but it wasn't until several years later, when I had access to Kalen's "Inside SQL Server 2000" title, that I truly began to understand some of the core and fundamental concepts in how the engine works. She has continued this trend of providing books with more knowledge and examples than I can handle, but they have all helped me advance my understanding of SQL Server, and this in turn has paid huge dividends in several projects in my career. If you are going to get one SQL Server book to help you grasp the deep-down mechanics of SQL Server, this is the book you need.

I have read 4 of Kalen's books (SQL 7, 2000, 2005, and this one). They are all top notch technically. Very often, you will find information about inner workings of SQL architecture that you will find nowhere else. Furthermore, Microsoft itself has been known to pull questions from the contents of this book. Out of all the SQL books, this book generates the most difficult SQL interview questions.

The main issue with the previous books was the quality of the writing. I thought Kalen's writing was at times indecipherable. She could write tech with the finness of a sledgehammer. This book is different. This book is very well written and Kalen probably had a very good editor to review this book carefully.

The book deals mainly with the intermediate to advanced architectural aspects of MS SQL. This book, rightfully, is not for the beginners.

Ironically, Kalen left out some of her best works from her SQL 2005 book. For example, The SQL 2005 book had an excellent chapter on indexes. In this book, the indexes are not as aptly covered nor covered as in-depth.

Pros:
1)Contained an excellent chapter on SP recompile issues.
2)Probably the most technical of all technical books on SQL architecture.
3)Advanced knowledge you cannot find anywhere else.
4)This book is often the primary source of MS SQL interview questions for advanced level experrts.

Cons:
1)Where is the in-depth chapter on indexes? (SQL 2005 book had one).
2)Although much of SQL architecture is interesting, much of it is automated and there is no practical way to apply that understanding to anything useful.

I recommend this book especially to those who have never read Kalen's book. For the beginners, I would urge "SQL 2008 Unleashed" first before delving into the contents of this book.

Amazing in-depth overview of SQL2008 with some exposure of 2005 and also 2000.
You would never find anything of this grade anywhere else.
It's a must for anyone who dares calling themselves a worthy MS SQL specialist, be it DBA, SQL programmer, DWH specialist, or a BI developer dealing with RDB.

AAA

This must be the first book you should read (page by page) if you are serious about being an expert on SQL Server administration and development. It will not teach you the basic DBA tasks but you are going to build a strong base to reach higher skill levels on tuning, troubleshooting, architecture, and creating efficient maintenance procedures.

Very good book about every detail of SQL Server 2008 that you would want to know and then some. I could not put this book down because it is so well written and so interesting. If someone would like to take SQL knowledge to the next level, I recommend this read.

I have quite a few SQL Server 2008 references, but this is my favorite for better understanding the Query Optimizer, engine, indexing, and all sorts of tuning. Basically this is my first stop for questions beyond T-SQL development. I've been able to optimize performance far better than before. Highly recommended.

Kalen Delaney has written another thorough reference that is a joy to possess for any senior DBA!