Blog / Blog Article: April Question: What’s your favorite DBA book, and why?

April Question: What’s your favorite DBA book, and why?

Question of the Month | April 1, 2012 | 11:46 am

Over and over again, I get asked which DBA books I recommend. With this in mind, this month’s qustion is “What’s your favorite DBA book, and why?” Share with us your favorite book titles, authors, and why you like them. You can list more than one favorite book if you like.

Post your responses to the SQL Server Question of the Month in the comments section below (at www.bradmcgehee.com if you are viewing this from a syndicated newsfeed). And don’t forget to enter your e-mail address when you post your response, so I can contact you if you win.

Because there is no right or wrong answer, this month’s winner will be selected randomly from all the entries that are received.

This Month’s Prizes

SQL Backup

 The prizes this month are an Amazon.com voucher worth US $50.00 and a license for new SQL Backup Pro 7 (to be released in April) with one year of support and upgrades. SQL Backup Pro compresses, strengthens and encrypts SQL Server backups. New features in version 7 include integrated backup verification (so you can easily check whether your backups are corrupt) and scheduled restores. To download a free trial, visit the Red Gate website.
Be Sociable, Share!
    Related posts:
    1. November Question: What is your favorite, and not so favorite hardware to run SQL Server on?
    2. May Question: What is your favorite DBA joke?
    3. October Question: Tell us about your favorite experience as a participant in the SQL Server community.
    4. February Question: Share with us your “best” restore disaster stories.
    5. December Question: When reflecting on this year, what has gone well, and what would you do differently?

    Comments

    1. Garry Bargsley (subscribed) said April 2, 2012, 11:55 am:

      DBA Survirvor guide by Thomas LaRock.

    2. John Pertell (subscribed) said April 2, 2012, 11:58 am:

      Wow, where to start?

      The 2 MVP Deep Dive books, by SQL MVP’s, are great and cover a lot of topics. But I think it’s a tie for my favorite, between Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Internals, by Kalen Delaney, and Inside the SQL Server Query Optimizer, by Benjamin Nevarez. I think both are very helpful in understanding how SQL works.

    3. Mentor Ibrahimi (subscribed) said April 2, 2012, 12:27 pm:

      Definitely SQL Server 2008 Internals, it describes very preciselhow SQL Server behaves and why. It is the most advanced book i have encountered til now!

    4. Fabricio Lima said April 2, 2012, 12:56 pm:

      SQL Server 2008 Internals, it is the most advanced book ever…

    5. Steven Ormrod (subscribed) said April 2, 2012, 1:08 pm:

      I have two votes…

      1st is SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting. Reading this book prepared me for the SQLskills classes and has done more than any other book to push my knowledge to the next level. It really gets into the nuts and bolts of how SQL works.

      2nd is Troubleshooting SQL Server: A Guide for the Accidental DBA. This is a horrible title. It ought to be called, Getting Inside Jonathan’s Brain. He takes you through his troubleshooting methodology and explains why he’s doing each step.

      While I have many books on my shelf, these are the two I reach for over and over.

    6. Dan Denney said April 2, 2012, 1:24 pm:

      SQL Server 2008 Internals would be first. Grant Fritchey’s book SQL Server 2008 Query Performance Tuning Distilled would be second..

    7. Andy Galbraith (@DBA_ANDY) said April 2, 2012, 1:59 pm:

      SQL Server MVP Deep Dives (1 & 2) – they cover an amazing breadth of topics

    8. Toine said April 2, 2012, 3:05 pm:

      Can’t just pick 1 book so here’s my shortlist:

      - MVP Deep Dives (1&2)
      - Micrososft SQL Server 2008 Internals
      - Inside Micrososft SQL Server 2008 T-SQL Querying and Programming
      - Expert Cube Development with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services

    9. Patrick Klages (subscribed) said April 3, 2012, 7:49 am:

      I have been out of a pure DBA role for several years but the one I used the most way back when was SQL Server 2000 for Experienced DBA’s by Knight. I would love to see the same title by Knight for SQL 2008.

    10. Ankit Shah (subscribed) said April 5, 2012, 3:18 pm:

      Mine best so far
      SQL Server 2008R2 Unleashed ( For the Beginners is best ) ,waiting for SQL2012 unleashed to be released.
      Micrososft SQL Server 2008 Internals

    11. Kimberly said April 13, 2012, 8:45 am:

      DBA Survivor: Become a Rock Star DBA by Thomas LaRock was a fantastic read for a new DBA.

      Performance Tuning with SQL Server Dynamic Management Views by Louis Davidson and Tim Ford. I have used this book more for reference more than any other SQL Server book in my collection because its a great guide through a topic I know VERY little about.

    12. Shashikant Shakya said April 17, 2012, 9:37 am:

      I like the SQL Server 2008 Internals from Kalen Delaney, Paul S. Randal, Kimberly L. Tripp. this book is really good if you want to know what inside the sql server.

      In this book i like the indexing part from Kimberly and DBCC part from Paul.

    13. Oleksandr Dubelewskyj said April 18, 2012, 1:36 am:

      - MVP Deep Dives is very good for all DBA (both advanced and beginner levels)
      - SQL Server 2008 Internals is good for advanced DBA

    14. Tim Costello said April 24, 2012, 10:28 am:

      SQL Server Tacklebox by Rodney Landrum. Well written, easy to read and packed full of code samples that I use all the time. I recommend this book all the time. http://www.red-gate.com/community/books/sql-server-tacklebox

    15. Anup Warrier said April 24, 2012, 10:29 am:

      ‘Troubleshooting SQL Server A Guide for the Accidental DBA’ by Jonathan Kehayias and Ted Krueger

      This is an excellent book with great set of valuable information.This book is really a boon for those who want to jump start his/her career as a DBA.

    16. Robert said April 24, 2012, 11:24 am:

      Not to “brown nose” too much, but as a newbie in the field, I attended one of your sessions at SQL Saturday Baton Rouge a couple of years ago and actually answered a question correctly to recieve your book as a gift, “Brad’s Sure Guide to SQL Server Maintenance Plans”. Not only was this book good for me at the time because I was a newbie, it is a wealth of information. I still refer to it on occasion as reference material.

    17. Andrew Davidson said April 24, 2012, 11:40 am:

      The Guru’s Guide to Transact-SQL by Ken Henderson.

      The book is probably 10 years, so it’s missing features… But it provides so many amazing code examples, like the “clock-in clock-out” problem.

    18. Dan Brennan (subscribed) said April 24, 2012, 12:24 pm:

      Current favorite is the 2008 Internals by Delaney, Tripp, Randal, et al.

      Runners up:
      2008 Internals and Troubleshooting
      Still using Practical Troubleshooting by Ken Henderson.

    19. Rich Hansell said April 24, 2012, 1:55 pm:

      Like many of the others here, the SQL Server 2008 Internals book By Kalen, Paul, Kim et al, is by far the one I reference the most when I’m in need of some information or am just interested in diving a little deeper into one of the covered areas. It’s an awesome source of knowledge and the book I recommend to anyone looking for a good SQL book.

      On a side note, several others have mentioned ‘Troubleshooting SQL Server A guide for the Accidental DBA’ by Jonathan Kehayias and Ted Kreuger and I agree that it is a quality resource. It should be required reading for anyone that wants to put SQL Server DBA in their title. :)

    20. stephen (subscribed) said April 24, 2012, 4:36 pm:

      SQL Server in Action
      First tech book i ever managed to read from start to finish. I was a total newbie to SQL and this got me great info on the basics and whats expected

    21. Erickson Ricci said April 25, 2012, 1:44 pm:

      - Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting
      The approach used in this book is very useful, easy to assimilate and the level of knowledge are becoming higher and higher every chapter you read.

      - Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Internals
      Best ever! A “knowledge storm” as to say… =)

      All the books for Itzik Ben-Gan (T-SQL Querying, T-SQL Programming, Fundamentals). Master of T-SQL, absolutely!

    22. Francesco Quaratino said April 26, 2012, 4:44 am:

      “SQL Server 2008 Internals” + all the Itzik Ben-Gan stuffbooks …of course.

      Pluse, most recently, “Troubleshooting SQL Server: A Guide for the Accidental DBA” by Jonathan Kehayias and Ted Krueger

    23. Laszlo Toth said April 26, 2012, 6:14 am:

      First is SQL Server 2005 Practical Troubleshooting by Ken Henderson. Deep knowledge with very useful experiences even after six years. (We miss him.)
      And of course Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Internals for the most up to date informations.

    24. Scott Arendt said April 26, 2012, 6:29 am:

      While it may be somewhat basic, I often go back to T-SQL Fundamentals by Itzik. It’s amazing how someone (me) can fall into bad habits and get them corrected just by going back to the basics.

    25. Christian said April 26, 2012, 7:19 am:

      SQL Server Hardware Choices Made Easy by Glenn Berry
      All books are about the software but on large data WH, the right choice regarding hardware will make the difference between a solution that last 6 month and one that last 5 years.

    26. Pam Wampler (subscribed) said April 26, 2012, 7:39 am:

      My favorite by far is Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Internals, by Kalen Delaney. Understanding what goes on in the indexing has helped tremendously.

    27. SQLMental said April 26, 2012, 9:25 am:

      Wow, being that I’m currently going thru the process, it is hard to pick just one. I would probably start with DBA Survivor by Thomas LaRock, but I’m not sure that I can put it over the SQL Server 2008 Internals by Kalen Delaney. Both have been fantastic in my learning, even in my growth along the way. Amazing how you can read something, and then come back and read it again later, and find something that you missed the first time.

    28. Eddie said April 26, 2012, 9:36 am:

      MS SQL Server 2008 Internals. Not only are her books are instructional, but her classes were great.

    29. sean said April 26, 2012, 9:45 am:

      Troubleshooting SQL Server – A Guide for the Accidental DBA. I was given this book from our departed SharePoint admin and never understood why till I had to dive into SQL to troubleshoot performance issues on queries taking a long time.

    30. Louis Perlman said April 26, 2012, 10:17 am:

      SQL Server 2008 Administration in Action by Rob Colledge. Not where to learn how to become a DBA, but ideal for someone who isn’t already a star. Also good for upgrading skills from previous versions, or if you got pigeon-holed into only doing a few things. The last page or two in each chapter is pretty much a review, and if you understand everything there, you’ve got that area under control.

    31. Ravi Kumar (subscribed) said April 26, 2012, 10:44 am:

      “How to Become an Exceptional DBA” is an excellent DBA book. This book has a lot of information explaining about the DBA responsibilities, character, specialization, certifying, sharing the knowledge, managing the DBA career and many more. This is an exceptional book for an exceptional DBA.

    32. Cayton Polen (subscribed) said April 26, 2012, 4:51 pm:

      Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Internals by Kalen Delaney

    33. Paul Sweeney said April 28, 2012, 1:39 pm:

      Sorry, but it’s got to be ‘Effective Oracle by Design’ by the legendary Tom Kyte.
      This is a really good SQL book that everybody could learn something from.

    34. Boris Hristov (subscribed) said April 29, 2012, 4:50 am:

      That has to be the MCTS Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-432): Microsoft® SQL Server® 2008 – Implementation and Maintenance book by Microsoft and there’s a reason for that (a whole story behind it!) – when I started my DBA career I wanted to get the MCTS certificate and everyone, I mean everyone, was telling me how bad this book is. HOWEVER, when I bought it, I was clearly fascinated by the way the content is delivered! All the information needed for a guy who is just starting up in the DBA area + a bit of internals(which were, oh btw, unbelievably simple explained), just to make the topics even more clear and not left an “OK, but why is that” question not answered!

    35. Chris McGowan said April 30, 2012, 4:41 am:

      Inside the SQL Server Query Optimizer by Benjamin Nevarez, I was enthralled by it and learned something new on pretty much every page.

    36. Jon Russell said May 1, 2012, 10:38 am:

      I am currently enjoing SQL Server Hardware by Glenn Berry.

    37. Admin (subscribed) said May 1, 2012, 12:51 pm:

      The randomly selected winner of this month’s Question of the Month is SQLMental (Jason Grobe). Even though he didn’t select one of my books as one of his favorites, I’ll forgive him. :-) Thanks for everyone who participated this month, and don’t forget to enter next month’s Question of the Month.

    Copyright 2009-2012 Brad M McGehee