Customer Reviews

Pro SQL Server 2008 Service Broker (Books for Professionals by Professionals)

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Distributed application programming has become very popular during last few years. Working with distributed data is one of the greatest challenges for SQL Server developers and administrators. That's why software vendors such as Microsoft provide tools and features that help in developing applications connected to many data sources, where asynchronous data processing and heterogenous database management systems are used.

The book from APress written by .NET expert Klaus Aschenbrenner (awarded twice with Microsoft MVP - C#) describes how Service Oriented Architecture can be implemented using native SQL Server 2008 mechanism - Service Broker. Over 500 pages is full of well organized knowledge on this feature, its capabilities and practical scenarios.

Klaus starts in the first chapters with some basics of SOA and SODA, then walks through the details of Service Broker objects and after that he provides more and more details on practical aspects of SOA implementations with Service Broker. What I like the most in this book is that I can easily find the answers for my questions. The book is really well organized, all chapters are sorted by difficulty level.

First four chapters contain full description of all Service Broker objects. This seems to be a very good approach because Service Broker is quite new and not explored technology in SQL Server. After those chapters the reader has knowledge that allows to step further into the world of SODA.

Then there are some important chapters about transactional processing and distributed applications built with Service Broker. I must admit this part is much more difficult than first chapters but gives you very detailed knowledge on more advanced aspects of building Service Broker based applications.

My favorites are chapter 10 and chapter 12. Chapter 10 contains real-world application scenarios documented with complete code. The author explains each application in details. This chapter is the second after chapter 5 (about transactions) that contains .NET code. It shows real-world scenarios where Service Broker can save much of the development time and is probably the best way to implement the desired functionality. Priceless. In chapter 12 a reader can find solutions for most frequent issues and the ways to monitor and troubleshoot Service Broker processes. Remus Rusanu, a well known Service Broker expert, participated in writing this chapter. I met Remus this year at European PASS Conference and I must say I've never seen anyone so advanced in Service Broker technology. Remus has given some really valuable tips on how to maintain SODA oriented applications in SQL Server 2008. I could easily find answers for most of my questions referring to Service Broker issues and its performance. This is probably most useful chapter for advanced developers and for administrators facing problems with SODA applications connected to their databases.

My final grade for the book is excellent (5/5). This is the book for every SQL Server user who wants to dive deeply into Service Broker internals. I think the book will become the practical guide for many SQL Server developers and DBA.

Also, I have to mention that all code samples are ready and free for download on APress website (http://www.apress.com/).

Message based programming and asynchronous programming were new concepts in SQL Server world. There was always needs to process database transactions asynchronously. Microsoft dealt with this short coming in SQL Server 2005 in the form of Service Broker. It is a powerful technology and has started becoming more popular in companies dealing with SQL Server and distributed infrastructure with asynchronous programming.
There are very few reference books out there in the market on the subject besides Books Online and internet references. Pro SQL Server 2008 Service Broker from Apress is one of the outstanding books on the subject as far as I know of. As the subject is new to the DBA and developer world, the book is organized in such a way that it gradually takes anyone from the basics of Service Broker objects to Service Broker implementation in real world scenario. It covers in a detailed manner on more advanced topics such as transaction management, encryption, high availability and most importantly the administration of Service Broker.
As soon as I got this book and having some background on Service Broker, I glanced the book and went straight to Real-World Application Scenarios chapter which has few examples on how Service Broker can be implemented. I also enjoyed reading the Administration chapter which describes on System Monitor and Troubleshooting. I guess anyone having a little experience with Service Broker such as DBAs will be benefitted with this chapter.
The chapters are well organized and contain enough information to give a beginner a jump start on Service Broker. The book has also example throughout the book that could be used to understand the concept. As I prefer reading books over reading internet, this book is a God sent.
I will definitely suggest anyone in SQL Server world to refer to this book just to see how clear and concise the chapters are laid out with.