This book is designed to teach you to become a SQL Server administrator. It has been divided into 21 lessons, which you can actually do in 21 days. Although some lessons are bigger than others, no lesson should take more than 3-4 hours, with the average being about 2 hours.
This book starts with SQL Server basics, and progresses through various skills and techniques that a SQL Server administrator needs to know in order to perform his or her job. This book was written for the beginner in mind--explanations have been provided not only for what to do, but why something should be done.
Later lessons build on earlier ones, so you should go through them sequentially, although you will probably take less time on subjects with which you are familiar.
This book assumes no prior SQL Server knowledge. If you have already had some exposure to SQL Server, you will only be the better for it.
Windows NT experience, although not required, is useful when dealing with SQL Server; many of the optional features of SQL Server require interaction with Windows NT. If you find your Windows NT experience lacking, try Sams' Teach Yourself Windows NT Server 4 in 14 days, ISBN 0-672-31019-8, also by Sams Publishing.
This book is dedicated to IS professionals and the many (underappreciated) evenings and weekends spent keeping the network running.
Rick Sawtell Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to put this book together. I would like to thank Corrine for all of her hard work. Corrine, you did a great job despite the funky email and major changes in project flow. Thanks for keeping on top of things, and for keeping the deadline police off our backs! Lance, thanks for all of the hard work and especially for being a good friend, with whom I could bounce ideas around or just vent some frustrations. I think I will try computer games next time. Richard, what can I say to you? You really came in and saved this project from being an ugly, gooey mess. Thanks for the phenomenal work you did to get us back on track. You are a real credit to the IS industry. I would also like to thank the technical editors, Dan and Beth, also known as DDW and BW (grrr--here come some more red pencil marks!). You guys did a great job of keeping the book honest and technically accurate. Thanks for the hard work.
I would also like to thank my wonderful wife, Melissa, for putting up with me during those late nights and stressed-out days. You put up with a lot, as I get grouchy when I'm stressed. I love you.
Finally, I would like to thank my parents for all of their support throughout my life. Both of you have been a source of inspiration and wealth of love and support.
Richard Waymire Thanks to Rick Sawtell for recruiting me for the book. Thanks also to our tech reviewers for their excellent work and dedication to their work. Thanks also belong to my wife and daughter for their patience while writing progressed, and no, I'm not actually married to my laptop. Finally, thanks to all of my students and coworkers for helping me learn SQL Server over the years.
Lance Mortensen Thanks to Rick for keeping this project alive, and to Richard for infusing new blood and excitement into the book. Thanks also to Corrine for never giving up.
Kudos to Microsoft for bringing an affordable SQL database engine out in the form of SQL Server. The additional benefits of SQL Server being easy to use and very powerful only make it a more compelling solution.
Thanks to the computer gaming industry, and its ability to come out with games that make deadlines so hard to meet.
Once again, thanks to Luann for putting up with me. The best thing about writing is getting to stay home, even though I might as well be out of town for all I see you some nights. Bryce, Jessany, and Devin: You kids are what make it all worthwhile.
Rick Sawtell is both a Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer as well as a Microsoft Certified Trainer. He owns his own consulting firm based in the Southwest United States and is currently a consultant and trainer, in addition to writing computer books on several Microsoft products. He has over 13 years of experience in the consulting and programming arena, with an emphasis on database front-end and back-end development. Rick can be reached at Quickening@msn.com.
Richard Waymire is a Principal Engineer with Aris Corp. in Bellevue, WA. He is also a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Solution Developer (MCSD), and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MDSE). He is president of the Pacific NorthWest SQL Server User's Group. Richard primarily trains and consults on SQL Server, although he also teaches and consults on Windows NT and other BackOffice and development technologies. He still considers himself a Database Administrator and enjoys performance-tuning work. Richard can be reached at rwaymire@aris.com.
Lance Mortensen is both a Microsoft Certified Engineer (MCSE), and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and consults, teaches, and writes on Windows 95, Windows NT, and BackOffice. He has a Master's degree in Business Information Systems, and has over 10 years' experience in the PC and networking environment. Lance can be reached at LMSQL@AOL.COM.
Kalen Delaney is an independent SQL Server trainer and consultant based in the Pacific NorthWest. She has been working with SQL Server since 1987, when she joined the Sybase Corporation. Kalen spent five years at Sybase doing technical support and customer training. Prior to working for Sybase, she taught for eight years at UC Berkeley in the Computer Science department. Kalen loves to teach, and in addition to teaching all the official Microsoft SQL Server courses, she teaches her own, custom SQL Server curriculum at client sites around the world. She writes a regular column for SQL Server Professional journal from Pinnacle Publishing, and is coauthor of Microsoft SQL Server 6.5 Unleashed, also by Sams Publishing. In addition to certification as a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Kalen also holds the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and has been recognized by Microsoft as an MVP (SQL Server).
Roberta Bragg is a technical evangelist...training, writing about, reading, talking, breathing, drinking, and promoting the use of technology. A Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Roberta can frequently be found teaching and writing about Microsoft BackOffice products and programming languages. She has over 25 years of experience in the computer industry from Fortran programming via punch cards in the 70s and PC consulting in the 80s, to technical training and evangelizing in the 90s. Roberta's current project is presenting seminars and writing courseware for CompEd Solutions, a division of Rockhurst Continuing Education Center (www.compedsolutions.com).
Darren Brinksneader is VP of Operations at A Technological Advantage, Inc., a Microsoft Solution Provider Partner and ATEC based in Louisville, KY. He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Novell CNE, and a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT). Darren also has a B.S. in Computer Science Information Systems from Indiana University-Southeast. He has worked with SQL Server since version 4.2 from both a system administration and an implementation standpoint. Part of his job is to support SQL Server in his company's network, as well as train and consult on the product. His area of expertise is integrating SQL Server with Microsoft's Internet Information Server and Exchange Server.
Daniel Woodman is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), Certified Solutions Developer, and Certified Trainer (MCT). He has been working with both Sybase and Microsoft versions of SQL Server since 1991, as well as a variety of other client/server application development technologies, having worked for both Sybase and Microsoft in the past. After contributing to Sams' Microsoft SQL Server 6 Unleashed, Daniel founded his own consulting and education practice, which he continues to this day. Daniel Woodman can be reached at danwood@gte.net.
Beth Woodman is a veteran Microsoft database specialist. She has served in a variety of roles, including a database evangelist in Microsoft's Field Sales Force, ODBC Product Manager, overseeing the launch of ODBC 3.0, and most recently, as lead program manager for the JET database engine group. Beth has since left Microsoft to pursue other personal interests, but continues to be active in the Microsoft Access and Microsoft SQL Server communities. Beth is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP), having certifications on Windows NT and SQL Server technologies.
Welcome to Sams' Teach Yourself SQL Server 6.5 in 21 Days. We hope that this book helps not only teach you about SQL Server, but also proves valuable for everyday work involving SQL Server. We have worked hard to see that the skills you learn from this book easily translate into real-world methods and solutions.
There are certain skills that you need in order to successfully install, administer, troubleshoot, and configure SQL Server. The skills you need to know can be divided into two general categories:
NOTE: In a small company, the developer and administrator might be the same person, while large companies usually have the functions separated.
A SQL Server developer is generally responsible for designing, programming, and populating the database. Sams' Teach Yourself Transact-SQL in 21 Days (ISBN 0-672-31045-7) or the Teach Yourself SQL in 21 Days, (ISBN 0-672-31110-0) is a great place to start for beginning SQL programmers. When the database has been created, responsibility for the database is often turned over to an administrator, who takes care of the ongoing maintenance.
A SQL Server administrator is usually responsible for the day-to-day database administration. This book is designed more for administrators, although many of the lessons apply to programmers as well. Although some administrators may never have to do any SQL programming, these lessons have been written with enough detail so that if an administrator wants to pick up on SQL programming, he or she can do so. Programming tasks that are covered relate to skills that an administrator may be called upon to perform, such as creating tables, indexes, and writing complex queries.
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