What Qualities Should Be Present In An SQL Server Expert?

As a lot of firms have downsized their IT teams in the last few years, a number of database administrators (DBAs) seem to have ended up with the responsibility for huge numbers of MS SQL Server databases. Listed below are proven ways using which a SQL Server DBA can control his environment and minimize the occurrence of crises.

• First, take inventory. It is very important to have an updated inventory of every instance and database your enterprise has in store and which is under your control. Only by this way, it is possible to manage them properly, consolidate wherever necessary and plan projects & upgrades appropriately. Well, there are several tools that help you build a SQL Server inventory— right from simple tools like SQLPing3 & SQLRecon to Microsoft Assessment & Planning Toolkit and Quest Discovery Wizard.

• You have to standardize configurations. Provided the number of databases & SQL instances keeps growing all the time, you will see that the number of varied configurations also grows in the same fashion. And it becomes very hard to work in an efficient manner when you move from instance to instance.  Well, the solution is standardizing your configuration and keep it at the greatest extent possible for drive letters, database settings, server configuration options, security settings, database maintenance, and so on. 

• Try to understand the I/O subsystem. Being aware of the factors associated with the I/O subsystem and their potential impact, you can balance the load pretty easily.

• Create a personalized maintenance plan. Have a comprehensive maintenance plan that is tailored to suit your databases. You can tackle many problems by doing so. A personalized plan is much better compared to a generic plan.

• Be sure of your system’s security. It is essential to invest time in discovering security problems proactively in order to prevent incidents & not having to face them later. Besides, as you explore vulnerabilities, remember to remain on top of patching your system.

• Maintain good terms with developers. Well, one of the key tension points in an IT department happens to be between the development team and the DBA team. These two groups generally don’t understand the concerns and priorities of each other – right from development deadlines to server design decisions. Difference of opinions in terms of responsibilities, behavior and performance around support and deployment seem to be relatively common. It is possible to make your job much smoother by engaging yourself proactively as well as productively with the other team. Mutual education sessions can be organized in a non-accusatory manner.

• Come up with an extensive disaster recovery strategy. It doesn’t matter how bullet-proof your infrastructure is, you should have an emergency plan to execute when disaster strikes. You can never predict fires, corruption, accidental data loss, power outages or a host of various other potential problems. Certainly, you require a plan to cope up with and recover from these issues.  Try working with the management and plan ways to recover data from different kinds of data loss, decide on how your databases & all SQL instances tend to figure into the business-continuity plan of your company. It is critical to work out the relative significance of all databases & instances so that it will be easier for you to prioritize disaster recovery.

• Take regular backups and test them. You have to take regular backups and you also have to practice restoring from them regularly so that you know they will work when required.

• Keep monitoring and maintaining performance. Well, performance tuning may take up most of a DBA’s time; however, there are numerous ways to streamline the process.

• You should know where exactly to find information. It is crucial that you know when you should call it quits and when to look for help. Of course, you must know your limitations. You should accept the fact that you cannot know each and everything about the MS SQL Server. But, you can be very well aware of the various sources of information about the SQL Server.