To get started, you might want to look at some of the links off the Database Professional Team Center. Specifically, I'd look at the introductory web casts near the bottom of the page. This is a link to the overview. Once you get going, there are a several articles here on SSC that might be interesting.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood" - Theodore Roosevelt