March 29, 2012 at 6:05 am
Hi,
I am going to handle new project in my org., before that i need to know technlogies,versions,application softwares and databases etc. that they are using. So I require help on preparing a Knowledge Transfer (KT) required for SQL Server 2005 Support Transition.
That is... if I need to start supporting SQL Server 2008,2005 and 2000 as an Level 1/Level 2 / Level 3 admin, what are the things that I need to know or understand from the old SQL Server 2005 Admin who is handing over his support to me. That is what points do I need to put in the question-air to ask them. so that he can transition the knowledge to me based on the check list.
Any help in this will be appreciated.
Thanks in Advance.
March 29, 2012 at 8:00 am
In order to survive you need to know one thing: are there valid backups? And by valid I mean, can they be restored? Along the line of backups, you could start by asking for the documented Disaster Recovery Plan. That will immediately lead you into the backup strategy, and as an extension of that, the recovery strategy. Beyond that, everything else can be brought up to standards over time.
This book may be a good thing for you to read, to build your fundamental knowledge: Troubleshooting SQL Server: A Guide for the Accidental DBA[/url]
There are no special teachers of virtue, because virtue is taught by the whole community.
--Plato
March 30, 2012 at 12:19 am
Thanks opc...and can u elaborate the things i need to ask questions to previous dba team... give me as points plz
March 30, 2012 at 8:00 am
mohan.bndr (3/30/2012)
Thanks opc...and can u elaborate the things i need to ask questions to previous dba team... give me as points plz
Hi mohan.bndr, It will depend on the type of DBA role you're taking on. One thing that is a constant, in my opinion, is that you need valid backups and a plan to recover in case of disaster. Without that, you may be deemed as not having served a primary purpose to the organization as a DBA. Beyond that, what you're asking is analogous to "What do I need to ask of the previous DBA, and learn, to become a DBA?".
Here's a good link to help you with items with which you should be familiar at a high-level:
Brad's Sure DBA Checklist[/url]
If you run into specific questions in reviewing or learning, or issues on the job, feel free to post a new thread in the appropriate Forum.
There are no special teachers of virtue, because virtue is taught by the whole community.
--Plato
March 30, 2012 at 8:14 am
What I'd focus on is any and all automated tasks and any and all regular manual tasks they do.
Do they have scheduled backups?
Do they test them regularly? Automated or manual? Do they test full restores including point-in-time, or just "restore header only"?
Maintenance plans? Automated? Third-party?
Monitoring tools/reports? Automated? Online reporting? (Things like RedGate SQL Monitor, Confio Ignite, Quest Spotlight/Foglight, or in-house tools.)
Documentation?
Data dictionary?
Database purposing and lifecycle?
Accounts and passwords you might need? sa password stored anywhere? Change process for outgoing/retired accounts/personnel?
Routine security scans/processes/policies? Password retirement?
External automation, including security needed?
DAC set up? Who has access?
Application security? Do you need to change accounts/passwords for connections from websites, applications, reporting tools, et al?
Start with those.
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
March 30, 2012 at 8:34 am
That's an awesome list, but we do not even know the type of DBA role we're talking about here. Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 DBA that handles what? Does a DBA that handles new installs and works with the OS and storage provisioning teams need to know about data dictionaries? I went generic with backups, because that seems to be a constant across all lines. "How do we recover data if something goes wrong?" needs to be answerable at all times. I would love to hear from the OP what kind of role it is we're discussing.
There are no special teachers of virtue, because virtue is taught by the whole community.
--Plato
April 2, 2012 at 6:53 am
opc.three (3/30/2012)
That's an awesome list, but we do not even know the type of DBA role we're talking about here. Level 1 / Level 2 / Level 3 DBA that handles what? Does a DBA that handles new installs and works with the OS and storage provisioning teams need to know about data dictionaries? I went generic with backups, because that seems to be a constant across all lines. "How do we recover data if something goes wrong?" needs to be answerable at all times. I would love to hear from the OP what kind of role it is we're discussing.
Of course it depends on what your duties are. Same goes for backups, and everything else.
Till I know otherwise, I assume it would be better to list something that turns out is not needed, than to assume something might not be needed and end up with it being missed. But then, I'm a DBA and they pay me to be paranoid about a wide scope of things. 🙂
- Gus "GSquared", RSVP, OODA, MAP, NMVP, FAQ, SAT, SQL, DNA, RNA, UOI, IOU, AM, PM, AD, BC, BCE, USA, UN, CF, ROFL, LOL, ETC
Property of The Thread
"Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everyone agrees it's old enough to know better." - Anon
April 2, 2012 at 8:37 am
Thanks for brightening this Monday morning GSquared 🙂
There are no special teachers of virtue, because virtue is taught by the whole community.
--Plato
April 2, 2012 at 8:51 am
What does it mean that you are starting anew project? Are you going to be a director, DBA, project manager? KT is all subjective based on what you need to know for what you are doing. I would start by explaining your project to the DBA and asking what information you need to know about current systems.
Jared
CE - Microsoft
April 4, 2012 at 1:54 am
SQLKnowItAll (4/2/2012)
What does it mean that you are starting anew project? Are you going to be a director, DBA, project manager? KT is all subjective based on what you need to know for what you are doing. I would start by explaining your project to the DBA and asking what information you need to know about current systems.
As a DBA I am going to take new project from existing DBA Team. So now I need to ask them some questions and there experience on that project. According to that I can run that project from my environment without any failure.
let me know what questions should i ask them?
April 5, 2012 at 3:55 pm
mohan.bndr (3/29/2012)
Hi,I am going to handle new project in my org., before that i need to know technlogies,versions,application softwares and databases etc. that they are using. So I require help on preparing a Knowledge Transfer (KT) required for SQL Server 2005 Support Transition.
That is... if I need to start supporting SQL Server 2008,2005 and 2000 as an Level 1/Level 2 / Level 3 admin, what are the things that I need to know or understand from the old SQL Server 2005 Admin who is handing over his support to me. That is what points do I need to put in the question-air to ask them. so that he can transition the knowledge to me based on the check list.
Any help in this will be appreciated.
Thanks in Advance.
- At least a couple of weeks before the old DBA walks out the door, ask him to add you to the SYSADMIN role. You don't know what you don't know, so many questions will come to mind only after you start exploring on your own.
- Ask if he has a documented operations guide or a set of "run books".
- Ask him for an explanation of the internal workings of each job, SSIS package, scheduled job, etc. Don't trust him to tell you about each one, look for yourself about what all is running.
- Ask him about maintenance plans: what has been setup and why specific tasks are being performed.
- Ask him what type of issues routinely or occasionally come up and how he has dealt with them in the past. Don't just trust him to reveal everything, also check the SQL Server error and run logs yourself to see if you can spot anything unusual.
- Go through the process of restoring a full backup to a staging server, just to insure that such a things actually exists and is accessible when needed.
- Ask business managment or end users about what issues regularly or occasionally occur with the database server. They may reveal important information that the DBA either forgets to tell, doesn't consider relevent, or would have you discover on your own after he's gone.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
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