People ask me all the time how to become a DBA.  This is a topic that so many colleagues of

mine write about, and talk about in their professional development tracks.  The more important question is once you “are”

in the role of DBA, what to do next?  You

inherit a bunch of SQL Servers to manage, and your managers tell you “have at

it”.  You rack your brain on where to

start, and usually it’s the immediate fires you must fight, and the performance

issues that are thrown at your doorstep. 

These issues of the day will take control of your DBA day,

unless you take control of it yourself. 

And the way to this is stop being reactive, and start being

proactive.  Yes, there are challenges in

achieving this objective, and literally the burning fires will dominate the DBA

docket.  But you need to get yourself

into a certain mindset, as you will quickly find yourself spinning your wheels,

and not likely excelling in your DBA career. 

The DBA’s success should not be determined by the number of tickets

successfully resolved and closed.  If you’re

going to gain satisfaction in your career as a database professional, you will

need to organize yourself, pace yourself, and be able to better manage your SQL

Servers, and your peers, project managers, and higher ups – basically any of

the folks that you need to report to.

The primary objective of the DBA is to ensure that your SQL

Server environment is healthy and secure. 

This includes protecting the company’s data, ensure you have recoverable

backups (good backups), and you are aware of and get a jump start on resolving

issues before they are escalated.  The

databases are your domain, and therefore, if you are on top of your domain, and

can certifiably demonstrate that you have the SQL Server infrastructure under

control, and can accommodate requests in an orderly and systematic manner, you

can become an exceptional DBA.

Recently, I participated in the TSQLTuesday#70

blog party, and invited by the host to discuss strategies in managing a SQL

Server enterprise, and offered some specific tips, and references in how to get

a handle on your sprawling SQL Server infrastructure.  You can click on the highlighted link for

that blog.   I discussed managing

multiple SQL Servers and key things you need to do. This included taking an

inventory of your SQL Servers, identifying their properties and configurations,

setting up a central management repository for collecting performance

statistics, and the need to implement an automated monitoring and alert solution,

to stay ahead of the curve. 

In addition, as DBA, a big part of your job is ensuring the ongoing

performance health your SQL Server databases. An unhealthy database is not just

an inconvenience; it can bring a business to its knees. And if you are the database

administrator, the health of your SQL Server implementation can be a direct

reflection on you. It's in everyone's best interest to have a healthy SQL

implementation. So, if you are looking for a comprehensive guide to healthy SQL

Server performance, my book HealthySQL

will help you in meeting these essential goals. 

Talks, tips, scripts, tools, references, links, whitepapers and strategies

will help organize your DBA day, and achieve #HealthySQL, as well as a

successful database professional career.

 And of

course, if anyone is interested in learning more about my book Healthy SQL – A

Comprehensive Guide to Healthy SQL Server Performance, published by Apress, you can go to the url:

                     http://bit.ly/orderHealthySQLnow

  You can also

get the book on Amazon: http://bit.ly/HealthySQLonAmazon

  For all

things SQL, news, events, jobs, info, and other fun tweets, follow me on

twitter @Pearlknows and join the #HealthySQL campaign to

keep your SQL Servers healthy!