SQL Server DBA : Common tasks and solutions

Welcome to the SQL Server DBA section of this site.

In this section, you will find a set of common tasks needed to be mastered and performed by any SQL Server DBA. The articles are basic level, and graphic intensive.

I recommend that you print each article for better reading experience. Use landscape orientation on your printer.

The SQL Server Database system from Microsoft Corporation has gained popularity over the last years, and it is believed to be one of the few surviving relational database systems in this marketplace (the others being Oracle and DB2 from IBM).
I tend to agree with that, and want to present to you a set of SQL Server DBA articles, which include:

• Adding users
• Backup and restore
• Import and export data
• Job scheduling

So let's get on with it. Here are some SQL Server traing lessons for DBAs:

• Adding users in SQL Server is one of the most funtamental tasks you'll perform. This article describes in great detail the different steps you have to take to establish a new user in SQL Server.
• Have you ever needed moving the database from one location to another? In SQL Server, you will need functionality to detach and attach your database in order to move it from one location to another. Here you will find a thorough description of what you'll need to do.
• As a DBA, you will very likely need to move bulks of data from one database to another, or make a copy of your data. This article provides a step-by-step tutorial on Import and Export in SQL Server
• Today's database systems need mechanisms to increase performance. One of the most important things you can do, is adding SQL Server indexes
• Scheduling jobs is a very useful functionality of the SQL Server database. There are several uses of this feature. Read more in this article on SQL Server jobs
• Preparing a maintenance plan is an important task, but SQL Server provides you with a wisard for such a plan. Read this tutorial on how to set up a SQL Server Maintenance Plan
• Every database needs a backup copy. Hopefully, you will never need it, but all practice has learnt us that a backup can come in very handy. Read this tutorial on how to produce a SQL Server backup
• When disaster happens, you have of course a disaster plan and a backup of the database?. If so, it is easy to perform a SQL Server Restore Database operation.
• Sooner or later, you will most likely have to search for performance bottlenecks, or perform other monitoring tasks. This article is a simple tutorial on how to use SQL Server Profiler
• If your database should go down, you need to bring it back to as current state as possible. In case of a system failure, the SQL Server Transaction Log will prove invaluable.

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