How well do you know the health of your SQL Servers and databases? Ever wonder about the current health or even what the health was like a few months back? Sure, one could anecdotally say the databases and servers are healthy, but how do you quantify it?
Many have asked or pondered what to do to quantify a healthy SQL server. How do you get the hard numbers to show whether the server is or is not healthy? How do you get the numbers to show that the server is performing just as well or better than it did three months ago?
Now we have a way to answer those questions and more! Robert Pearl has finally published his book on Healthy SQL. In the book, Robert takes you on a journey from mapping out a plan, to capturing data, storing that data, and then how to report on that data. You will learn what to capture and what some of the various things actually mean (e.g. waits and indexes).
Throughout the book, you will see that Robert will introduce you to various tools. These tools can either be native to SQL Server or they could be third party tools. You will get a 
good primer on what the tool is and how to quickly use it as you become acquainted with the internals and the Health of your database and server.
As you progress through the book and learn about what makes a database healthy, you will encounter a chapter on how to store the data and make a repository to track your database health. You will want to create a repository so you can progress into the sections on reporting about your database health. Who doesn’t want to market to management how healthy the databases are?
With the tools in this book, and the repository you will create, audits and discussions will become much easier. You will be able to implement processes to help make you more aware of the environment and help keep you from getting that annoying page in the middle of the night.
Take a look at the book and enjoy. You can get it from Amazon here.
If you are a young DBA, new to being a DBA, an accidental DBA, or just any DBA looking for a little extra help in figuring out how to check and track the health of your server, it is worth reading this book.
