If I actually wanted to become a Sql Server DBA, what would I read?
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In talking about Oracle below it got me thinking about something I've been kicking around for a while now. For two decades, I've been a coding guy. Naturally, I've picked up db design / administratin skills along the way, but in the same manner that we often learn coding technologies. You buy a book, flip to chapter 14 that has the stuff to meet today's deadling, and then put it on the shelf. With all the basic db driven web stuff I've been doing, I more and more feel an actual interest in learning the db side of things and building up the degree of skill there that I have with languages. However, poking around, I really don't see the kinds of books that I'm looking for. It's SQL for Dummies, an introduction to Sql Server, yada, yada. What I'd really like to find is a book or three that starts at the very beginning and says, "So, you've never seen a database or SQL in your life, and you want to become a Sql Server DBA, eh?" and steps you thoroughly from beginning to end covering general db design and best practices, Sql Server itself from beginning to end, and on up through scalability and real world issues if you've got your hands on an Amazon.com sized operation. Mind you, I have zero desire for any MS certification. I don't want to learn how to memorize stuff and pass a test. I want to learn. Are there any books / series out there you'd recommend? Where do real, live DBAs (who don't go to college) learn their skills from beginning to end? I mention books rather than training courses because I've always been self taught and prefer to work at my own pace.
Christopher Duncan Author of The Career Programmer and Unite the Tribes www.PracticalUSA.com
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