September 16, 2009 at 2:43 pm
i was thrown into the Windows and SQL Admin role at my company some years ago. i came from a software training background but have no technical background other than what i've gained in this job. it's all been learn as i go. as for SQL, i know the basics of day-to-day Admin duties (full and trans log backups, creating Maint Plans, checking SQL logs, and running scripts that are already written for me). so that's not much. because of the number of servers and the constantly changing environment here (i'm in healthcare), i just always feel like i'm missing out on the fundamental concepts of databases. prior to this i had only ever done "beginner" training in Access so that was just creating tables and basic joins. i've tried several times to "start over" with beginning books like Dummies and self-paced training like TestOut, but i still feel like all of that comes with an expectation that you have basic db concepts down. and i feel like i don't. if you were advising someone who said "i think i want to work with db's and be a DBA", where would you tell them to start? for now, i cruise the forums reading questions and answers in the hope that something will start to gel, but i just don't feel like i'm moving beyond the very basic concepts i already know. maybe that's as far as i'm ever going to get, but if anyone has ever been in this uber-newbie position like me, i'd love to know how you moved out of it. oh, and, as you can imagine, training classes are the last thing i'd get to go to in this economy. this is a last call for help or i'm afraid i'll have to admit defeat. thanks anyone/everyone!
Happy is as Goofy does!
September 16, 2009 at 3:01 pm
KD,
Take a look here, there was a similar situation:
http://www.sqlservercentral.com/Forums/Topic771547-1291-1.aspx#bm772038
The book that I suggest there has some real basic stuff that might help. In my experience, just keep plugging away at it. I understand very little on a daily basis but learn more, it'll click in some areas and others it won't.
Good luck!
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September 16, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I got into database work from a sales position, with a light background in macro coding for WordPerfect.
The thing that made it possible for me to get the basic ideas was a book called The SQL Server Bible. It's by Paul Nielsen, and the 2008 version is available from Amazon. I can highly recommend it to anyone in your position.
The one thing it really didn't do, that I found necessary, was clear up exactly what "relational" means with regards to databases. Since you kind of have to start there if you want to have any hope of understanding them, I highly recommend looking that up. Most people seem to assume it has something to do with joins between tables, but that's not correct. It actually has to do with dividing the data up between tables in the first place, and a "relation" in a "relational database" is what we normally call a "table", because all the data in a table is supposed to be related to all the other data in the table. Once you get that idea, then more complex concepts like normal forms, etc., become much easier to understand and deal with.
Others have recommended the books from Microsoft Press, and I can't disparage those. But I can say that, for me, Paul's book was a necessity and the writing style made it easy on me.
My other recommendation is, ask questions here on SSC. They don't have to be specific. You don't have to stumble around and hope someone else's questions will help clear something up. Hit the Newbies forum and ask whatever you need, from "What are normal forms for?" (broad, general understanding) all the way down to, "I have this code and it's giving me this error and I can't seem to figure it out" (specific, technical).
But I recommend a book to get context and to connect ideas. No other format can do that quite as well.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
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"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
September 16, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Supporting GSquared's advice I'd like to add one more thing that may help you in addition:
Try to get a (small) test database you can play with and apply the concept from a book to your "real life" scenario.
It helped me a lot to figure out some details since I was very familiar with the information/data I had to deal with. This made it a lot easier for me to figure out whether a query (select statement) or a join (connection of two or more table) have been right or wrong. It also forced me to understand the stuff "the book was talking about" since I had to change the sample to meet my data structure.
Unfortunately, I don't think the book itself would help you at all since it was written for dBase III (the "RDBMS" I started with... decades ago...).
September 16, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Thanks dh-1004000. thanks for the help so far and sorry i missed the 8/16 posting. i scanned through posting today so i wouldn't be redundant, but obviously missed it in my general frustration. thanks again!
Happy is as Goofy does!
September 16, 2009 at 3:27 pm
yeah i think the brick wall i've encountered is i'm not a db anything (dBase or otherwise). i'm more like a trained monkey and can "click here" or "type this" when told to, when everything is laid out for me. and while that's fine most of the time since the db's i have to manage have been established for years and i'm never creating anything from scratch, i just don't like the inability to think for myself or how it paralyzes me when troubleshooting. i'll keep at it though.
Happy is as Goofy does!
September 17, 2009 at 7:05 am
That's a rough situation. Another book that might help is Craig Mullin's Database Administration. It's an excellent introduction to what the DBA job consists of, why you do it, etc. And, it's completely platform agnostic. It's the best introduction I've read.
I'll add another vote for the SQL Server Bible. Paul Nielsen is a great teacher and a good guy. You could also check out Ross Mistry's SQL Server 2008 Administration. It has a great selection of information and doesn't assume too much knowledge. Finally, T-SQL is something you really need to learn. Itzik Ben-Gan has an excellent introductory text, SQL Server 2008 T-SQL Fundamentals. Going with this, not replacing it, would be Joe Sack's SQL Server 2008 T-SQL Recipes. That last book goes with the approach, here's a problem or a need, how do you write TSQL to answer it?
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
September 17, 2009 at 7:09 am
Oh, and, I honestly don't know how helpful this book would be, but I can't help posting the shameless plug: Beginning SQL Server 2008 Adminnistration.
But really, the best for your situation would be Craig Mullin's book. After that, you just need to find the right drill down's for your situation.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood"
- Theodore Roosevelt
Author of:
SQL Server Execution Plans
SQL Server Query Performance Tuning
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