November 18, 2011 at 10:59 am
I'm sure some of you will agree that virtualization is the wave of the future that's coming fast. However, for someone with some SQL server certs and some field experience, how feasible is it to develop expertise in SQL Server and MS Hyper-V? I personally have had some exposure in building virtual machines but certainly not an expert because it's not really possible to specialize in IT field.
I think virtualization is where the jobs and money will be as just about ALL (I literally mean ALL) organization will be implementing virtualization whereas SQL server has much bigger competition from other RDBMS vendors.
Anyone opinions?
November 18, 2011 at 11:04 am
JakeSA (11/18/2011)
I'm sure some of you will agree that virtualization is the wave of the future that's coming fast. However, for someone with some SQL server certs and some field experience, how feasible is it to develop expertise in SQL Server and MS Hyper-V? I personally have had some exposure in building virtual machines but certainly not an expert because it's not really possible to specialize in IT field.I think virtualization is where the jobs and money will be as just about ALL (I literally mean ALL) organization will be implementing virtualization whereas SQL server has much bigger competition from other RDBMS vendors.
Anyone opinions?
In my experience only small shops - which usually pay low salaries when compared to the market - are the ones that trully appreciate a "I do it all" kind of professional. On the same line of thinking and according to my experience large shops which usually pay the higher salaries want a specialist that knows his/her domain from A-to-Z.
In my personal opinion a DBA should stick to his/her guns and work hard to become the best DBA he/she can be.
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Pablo (Paul) Berzukov
Author of Understanding Database Administration available at Amazon and other bookstores.
Disclaimer: Advice is provided to the best of my knowledge but no implicit or explicit warranties are provided. Since the advisor explicitly encourages testing any and all suggestions on a test non-production environment advisor should not held liable or responsible for any actions taken based on the given advice.November 18, 2011 at 11:07 am
Most of the organisations I have worked in previously have virtualised SQL servers. Obviously not all SQL Servers are ideal virtualisation candidates, this requires some due diligence.
In my opinion virtualisation skills are a must, even for a humble database administrator 😉
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"Ya can't make an omelette without breaking just a few eggs" 😉
November 18, 2011 at 12:15 pm
I concur with perry that the pros and cons and pitfalls of virtualization need to be embraced by any well rounded DBA.
The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival.
November 18, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Perry Whittle (11/18/2011)
Most of the organisations I have worked in previously have virtualised SQL servers. Obviously not all SQL Servers are ideal virtualisation candidates, this requires some due diligence.In my opinion virtualisation skills are a must, even for a humble database administrator 😉
I think DBA's need to understand virtualization and how it affects/interacts with SQL Server. It is also beneficial to know how your organization has implemented their virtualization (ESX, Hyper-V, other...), how the farms are managed and how the SAN interacts with the environment.
But, understanding is not necessarily being able to do it yourself.
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November 18, 2011 at 12:49 pm
sturner (11/18/2011)
I concur with perry that the pros and cons and pitfalls of virtualization need to be embraced by any well rounded DBA.
That makes three of us! However, in the field, if you are not able to convince the management, then it will be out of your control as to what stays physical and what gets consolidated into virtual.
We are in a historic times where most (if not all) companies are trying to reduce the budget and reduce headcount. If you can help them do so by virtualizing, then you may improve your job security.
November 18, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Check out my highly acclaimed 3 part guide for creating a virtual SQL server cluster on this site. It educates the DBA in server, clustering, AD, networking and storage technologies. A virtual sandbox is a god send for the DBA 😉
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"Ya can't make an omelette without breaking just a few eggs" 😉
November 18, 2011 at 1:36 pm
A lot of skills may help a DBA. I won't say that DBA's should posess these skills, but it gives an idea of some skills which may be beneficial for a DBA. The importance of the various skills will vary from DBA to DBA.
* Active Directory, especially GPO and Group Policy Preferences and how group membership and user token works
* Windows Server Administration, among these security policy, file system properties and permissions
* Networking, especially TCP/IP, routing, name resolution, teaming and firewalls
* SANs, including selective storage presentation, multipath configuration, caching options and raid levels
* Server hardware, including NUMA nodes, hyperthreading, dualport vs two single port adapters.
* .NET Entity Framework, Hibernate, ADO.NET development
* Virtualization, including snapshots, disk considerations, dynamic memory allocation, networking and the difference between some of the solutions, like VMWare, Hyper-V and Xen.
* T-SQL Development
Personally, I find it a shame that Microsoft removed the networking/server requirement from the SQL Server Certification with SQL Server 2005.
November 19, 2011 at 5:02 am
Personally, I find it a shame that Microsoft removed the networking/server requirement from the SQL Server Certification with SQL Server 2005.
I am thankful to MS for the same. Who knows it could stop me from getting my Certification. 😉
It's a debateable topic actually. SQL Server knowledge's width (& depth) is increasing day by day. It's not possible for one (am not referring SQL GURUs on SSC) to have command on all the areas what you listed out (and also what you have missed :-P).
On the same time it shouldn’t be an excuse to stop our learning on the subject. The policy I made for myself is "Make sure you won't lose your core skills & don't lose any opportunity to add more". It pretty much sums up my case.
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