Showing posts with label performance tuning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label performance tuning. Show all posts

SQL Server 2008 Transact-SQL Recipes (Books for Professionals by Professionals) Review

SQL Server 2008 Transact-SQL Recipes (Books for Professionals by Professionals)
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SQL Server 2008 Transact-SQL Recipes (Books for Professionals by Professionals) ReviewThis book is among the finest works on SQL Server which I've ever read. Joseph Sack has a well-deserved reputation for quality writing, yet I'm frankly more impressed than I expected to be. I've read many of his articles & the previous edition of this book has long been one of my favorites.
This latest-&-greatest edition, SQL Server 2008 Transact-SQL Recipes, has lots of new material & is his best yet. Joe's writing style is clear, concise, & comprehensive. The approach is unique, the chapter sections flow logically from one to anothter, yet they are written in independent vignettes for byte-sized consumption. His examples allow us to play along at home. They are accompanied by lucid explanations. The book doesn't stoop to copying code, but instead relies on unique examples followed by my favorite feature of all: "How It Works" in which the concepts are characterized in plain English. You'll enjoy it, too.
If it can be done in Transact-SQL, Joe teaches us not merely how it's done, but how it's done right. Topics run the gamut from fundamental concepts such as interrogating tables, creating views, defining indexes, & writing stored procedures, triggers, & functions, to more complex topics such as error handling & principals to newer constructions such as XML, Service Broker, CLR, spatial data, encryption, & auditing--& much more.
I used the book as my primary resource to study successfully for 70-441 & 70-442 (MCITP: DB Dev). I recommend it to all my customers. If you're a SQL Server DBA or a developer, I recommend this book is for you as well.Jimmy May
Microsoft Sr. Performance Consultant: SQL Server
SQL Server Pros, Founder & Visionary-in-Chief
Indianapolis Professional Association for SQL Server, Founder & Executive CommitteeSQL Server 2008 Transact-SQL Recipes (Books for Professionals by Professionals) OverviewWithout Transact-SQL, there is nothing. Developers and database administrators using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 are highly-motivated to learn Transact-SQL, because that language enables them to store and retrieve data, to move business logic into the database, and to interface with advanced SQL Server features. The recipe format facilitates just-in-time learning, showing readers immediately how to perform their assigned tasks, and is sure to be a hit with today's busy professional.

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Oracle SQL Developer 2.1 Review

Oracle SQL Developer 2.1
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Oracle SQL Developer 2.1 ReviewI've been using Oracle SQL Developer I think since the very first initial betas. I could never stand the TOAD interface and the few bugs I encountered with SQL Developer were never bothersome enough to stop using the tool.
Over the years SQL Developer has matured very nicely and now is very stable and feature rich.
Oracle SQL Developer 2.1 by Sue Harper covers the latest release for SQL Developer - 2.1. This release brought a lot of stability to the project and also introduced the new Data Modeler from Oracle.
I've been skimming through the book for the last week or so. I honestly thought since I've been using SQL Developer for so long there would be very little new to me in the book but I've been pleasantly surprised and have picked up a lot of small tips that have helped me work smarter and more efficiently with SQL Developer.
The book covers quite a bit:
* Install, configure, customize, and manage your SQL Developer environment
* Includes the latest features to enhance productivity and simplify database development
* Covers reporting, testing, and debugging concepts
* Meet the new powerful Data Modeling tool - Oracle SQL Developer Data Modeler
* Detailed code examples and screenshots for easy learning
A few useful tips I've picked up since reading the book have been:
* The ability to highlight and filter data in the grids. This is really useful when you are trying to dig through some complicated data looking for very particular information.
* Using bind variables in the worksheet.
* The code formatter - cleaning up my mess!
What else does the book cover? There are chapters devoted to PL/SQL, dubugging and tuning, extending SQL Developer, source control integration (using Subversion) and a large chapter on the Data Modeler which I'm just waiting for a new project to start to begin exploring that particular tool.
If you are just getting started using SQL Developer I'd highly recommend the book. It will get you up to speed quickly and seems useful as a quick reference. If you are an experienced SQL Developer user I still think the added section on the new Data Modeler will be quite useful.Oracle SQL Developer 2.1 OverviewCovering SQL Developer fundamentals as well more intermediate and advanced topics, this book uses in-depth explanation and detailed examples to help you get the most out of Oracle SQL Developer. The book has a modular structure, so that you can dip into any chapter that covers your current area of focus and get going. This book is for Oracle developers who want to ease their database development, and enhance their productivity using Oracle SQL Developer. You should have a programming knowledge of SQL and PL/SQL, and a general familiarity with Oracle database concepts.

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Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting Review

Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting
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Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting ReviewBrief Review: Having a book on internal and associating that with real life is "almost" an impossible task. The reason for using the word "almost" is because this book has accomplished this very well. This internals book is written by keeping real life scenarios as top focus. The highlight of the book is that it teaches how to use internals to troubleshoot the real life issues of performance, storage, query processing and all the other important aspects of SQL Server - A must-have book for everybody who is a hands-on DBA/Developer.
Detail Review: I planned to finish reading this book within a week. Very soon, I realized that I was going over very interesting subjects of SQL Server very quickly and understanding them very well. In fact, I finished reading this book in less than a week, and I have to accept that it offers an interesting journey for its readers. This book is also quite easy to read. This book has addressed some of the complex subjects in such a simple manner that any SQL user can understand it very easily.
The three very important components for any server are CPU, Memory and IO. This book effectively elucidates these three components. The topics usually begin by covering internals which shift to practical implementations after proper amount of internals. In other way, I can say that this book is NOT a usual boring book, which can put you to sleep. Each chapter keeps you interested till the end of it. CPU and IO, which are very important deciding factors for Query cost, are very well explained in the book. This book explains how any query can be understood in terms of internals. After explaining the query internals in terms of CPU and IO, it also explains how the physical memory affects query execution and what are the techniques to improve performance?
This book gives an in-depth explanation of Wait Types and Extended Events. I must admit that I was quite scared of Wait Types and Extended Events thus far and learned how "friendly" they can be after reading this book. In fact, I can really see that how I can use these concepts in my real life scenarios and help my servers to run better and efficiently. This book also covers some topics which do not have much available help online, i.e. SQLDiag, RML Utilities, etc. One who is new to these subjects can easily learn from the basics and soon can move to an advanced level. Again, as mentioned earlier, this book is written by taking the real world into consideration and all these subjects follow the same goal.
In fact, I liked the entire book. However, the chapters which I really enjoyed the most are Chapter 3: SQL Server Waits and Extended Events by Jonathan Kehayias; Chapter 4: Working with Storage by Brent Ozar; and Chapter 5: CPU and Query Processing by Steven Wort. Each chapter is independent of the other chapters; this way, the reader can practically start reading any chapter from anywhere and explore the book according to his/her convenience.
Databases are required because there is a large amount of data available, and keeping the data safe, secure and available is the MOST important task of any database system. The fourth chapter on Storage by Brent covers this important basic concept very thoroughly. The most impressive part of Chapter 4 is that it explains how storage works in real time. While taking about storage, Brent manages to effectively explain the concepts of High Availability and Disaster Recovery as well. Maintenance of storage has always been a challenge, and also there has been a lack of understanding on storage devices and techniques available. This chapter answers few very basic but important questions like when should SAN be used for data storage, and what is its effect on performance? This chapter also explains RAID setup; however, please note that it focuses on "practical internals." After setting up good storage, it is equally important to test it; this chapter continues discussing different tools and methodologies for testing storage. This chapter also covers Windows Server Configuration as well as tuning of software by means of storage devices. Corruption can be significant problem in case of a large database; this chapter also covers the proper usage of DBCC CHECKDB and its best practices.
There is no doubt that this book is written by experts who have extensive experience in the subject, which is covered in different chapters. Solid and thorough content, plenty of code, easy-to-understand diagrams, lots of tips along with each topic and simple language are the key highlights of this book.
Rating: 5 Stars
Summary: There is no doubt that this book is by far one of the best books available for anybody who is interested in SQL Server Internals and applying its knowledge to real world troubleshooting scenarios. I think this is one of the must-have books for understanding SQL Server, and believe me, you will find yourself flipping the pages of the book when you are facing a trouble with the SQL Server instead of using search engine!Professional SQL Server 2008 Internals and Troubleshooting OverviewA hands-on resource for SQL Server 2008 troubleshooting methods and tools
SQL Server administrators need to ensure that SQL Server remains running 24/7. Authored by leading SQL Server experts and MVPs, this book provides in-depth coverage of best practices based on a deep understanding of the internals of both SQL Server and the Windows operating system.
You'll get a thorough look at the SQL Server database architecture and internals as well as Windows OS internals so that you can approach troubleshooting with a solid grasp of the total processing environment. Armed with this comprehensive understanding, readers will then learn how to use a suite of tools for troubleshooting performance problems whether they originate on the database server or operating system side.
Topics Covered:
SQL Server Architecture
Understanding Memory
SQL Server Waits and Extended Events
Working with Storage
CPU and Query Processing
Locking and Latches
Knowing Tempdb
Defining Your Approach To Troubleshooting
Viewing Server Performance with PerfMon and the PAL Tool
Tracing SQL Server with SQL Trace and Profiler
Consolidating Data Collection with SQLDiag and the PerfStats Script
Introducing RML Utilities for Stress Testing and Trace File Analysis
Bringing It All Together with SQL Nexus
Using Management Studio Reports and the Performance Dashboard
Using SQL Server Management Data Warehouse
Shortcuts to Efficient Data Collection and Quick Analysis

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

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Expert PL/SQL Practices: for Oracle Developers and DBAs Review

Expert PL/SQL Practices: for Oracle Developers and DBAs
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Expert PL/SQL Practices: for Oracle Developers and DBAs ReviewI was a little bit puzzled when I got this book: who is the author? There are 15 of them! After reading it, I now believe it is a very good idea to combine knowledge from multiple experts into a single book, especially for a technical book. I would like to see more of these kinds of books coming.
The writers of this book are all very active in the Oracle community, most are authors, Oracle ACE, members of the OakTable network, etc. I actually met a few of them at seminars and user group activities. One of them, Arup Nanda, was once my RAC class instructor, and I've always been impressed by his ability to explain complicated issues in a simple and interesting way. In this book, he discussed dependencies and invalidations with the same clear logic.
The book has 15 chapters, with each author contributing one. Every chapter has a brief summary. Almost all of them go deeply into the topic using very good sample codes, traces, and tkprof output to prove their points.
You may read it as a book focusing on the newest and most powerful PL/SQL features, or you can treat it as 15 top level technical articles - each concentrates on a specific PL/SQL field and digs deeply into it. You'll learn the best practices from their expertise; real experiences and lessons. You can also gain lots of TTTs: Tips, Tricks and Traps to avoid. Many new data dictionary views mentioned by the authors are also very useful.
Based on the needs of my current work, I went through some chapters in close detail, and browsed others for future reference. The book touches the most recent Oracle version, including many new features of 11gR2.
This book is not for beginners. You will need some PL/SQL background to start with. I've been working with PL/SQL since version 6, but in the past few years, I've used more SQL than PL/SQL. By reading this book, I've realized how much more powerful PL/SQL is now than in the past. As new features come, we will have to keep learning. Often difficult tasks can become much easier if you learn the new ways rather than stick with what's familiar.
The order of the chapters does not matter. You can pick up any topic and start reading. Some similar issues are addressed by multiple authors, with each expert offering a different perspective on the problem.
I'd group the chapters into 3 main topics:
PART 1: What To Do And What Not To Do (Chapters 1, 2, 9,10, 12)
These chapters discuss when and when not to use PL/SQL from functional and performance points of view. They also discuss the differences between SQL and PL/SQL engines, the dynamic PL/SQL programming and its pros and cons, the different types of cursors and their usage, etc. Data modeling is not only important at the design stage but is also an evolutionary process.
PART 2: How To Do It Right (Chapters 5,7,8.11,14)
These chapters discuss coding standards and conventions, unit testing, best practices, etc. These are critical factors for successful application development, especially when you have a large group of developers working on a very complex application. Like Chapter 7 says, good developers need to `know your code' and to make your code simple, well organized, well documented, effective and efficient.

PART 3: How to Do More and Better (chapters 3, 4, 6, 13,15)
These chapters discuss more specific topics, including parallel processing, conditional compilations, bulk operations, methods to identify and measure performance issues as well as methods to shorten dependency chains and reducing cascading invalidations.
Chapter 6 is one of my favorate topics. Bulk operation is a very useful but underused feature. This chapter demonstrates the huge performance benefit you can get using bulk processing. The author also provides methods and solutions to find and handle the pitfalls of using bulk processing. The examples are interesting and the results are persuasive.
My coworker saw this book and agreed it is very good. I strongly recommend it to Oracle developers and DBAs.
I received a hard copy of this book. To me the line spacing is rather small for text, but the sample codes look fine.
Expert PL/SQL Practices: for Oracle Developers and DBAs Overview
Expert PL/SQL Practices is a book of collected wisdom on PL/SQL programming from some of the best and the brightest in the field. Each chapter is a deep-dive into a specific problem, technology, or feature set that you'll face as a PL/SQL programmer. Each author has chosen their topic out of the strong belief that what they share can make a positive difference in the quality and scalability of code that you write. The path to mastery begins with syntax and the mechanics of writing statements to make things happen. If you've reached that point with PL/SQL, then let the authors of Expert PL/SQL Practices show you how to combine syntax and mechanics with features and techniques to really make the language sing. You'll learn to do more with less effort, to write code that scales and performs well, and to eliminate and avoid defects. These authors are passionate about PL/SQL and the power it places at your disposal. They want you to succeed, to know all that PL/SQL can offer. Let Expert PL/SQL Practices open your eyes to the full power of Oracle's world-class language for the database engine.

Goes beyond the manual to cover good techniques and best practices
Delivers knowledge usually gained only by hard experience
Covers the functionality that distinguishes PL/SQLas apowerful andscalable programming language for deploying logic inside the database engine

What you'll learn
Learn when PL/SQL is best used, and when to avoid it
Move data efficiently using bulk SQL operations
Write code that scalesthrough pipelining, parallelism, and profiling
Choose the right PL/SQL cursor type for any given application
Reduce coding errors through sound development practices such as unit-testing
Create and execute SQL and PL/SQL dynamically at runtime

Who this book is for
Expert PL/SQL Practices is for PL/SQL developers who want to develop deep expertise in key aspects of the language and its use in database programming. Any developer writing code against Oracle's class-leading database engine will find value from the collected wisdom in this book. Some knowledge of PL/SQL is assumed. Readers should at least be past the beginning stage with the language.

Table of Contents
Do Not Use
Dynamic SQL: Handling the Unknown
PL/SQL and Parallel Processing
Warnings and Conditional Compilation
PL/SQL Unit Testing
Bulk SQL Operations
Know Your Code
Contract-Oriented Programming
PL/SQL from SQL
Choosing the Right Cursor
PL/SQL Programming in the Large
Evolutionary Data Modeling
Profiling for Performance
Coding Conventions and Error Handling
Dependencies and Invalidations


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Expert Oracle Exadata Review

Expert Oracle Exadata
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Expert Oracle Exadata ReviewThis is a fantastic technical tome on all things Exadata. Outstanding coverage includes intro of the technology, hardware configurations, administration tasks, performance monitoring and diagnostics, wait events, backup & recovery, and application SQL tuning. Quite easily one of the two best books I've ever read regarding any Oracle technology (The other being Guy Harrison's Oracle Performance Survival Guide). I've met some of the book's authors over the years at various Oracle events (e.g. Hotsos) and thus knew these guys were top notch. But this book still totally blew me away even expecting it to be great knowing who it was coming from. I've been doing Oracle databases for over 20 years, written nine book myself, taught for Oracle Education, and worked extensively with all things Oracle. In fact I'm an Oracle ACE. So I know a good book when I see one - and this book is tops. You will not be disappointed - worth every penny.Expert Oracle Exadata Overview
Throughout history, advances in technology have come in spurts. A single great idea can often spur rapid change as the idea takes hold and is propagated, often in totally unexpected directions. Exadata embodies such a change in how we think about and manage relational databases. The key change lies in the concept of offloading SQL processing to the storage layer. That concept is a huge win, and its implementation in the form of Exadata is truly a game changer. Expert Oracle Exadata will give you a look under the covers at how the combination of hardware and software that comprise Exadata actually work. Authors Kerry Osborne, Randy Johnson, and Tanel Põder share their real-world experience, gained through multiple Exadata implementations with the goal of opening up the internals of the Exadata platform. This book is intended for readers who want to understand what makes the platform tick and for whom-"how" it does what it is does is as important as what it does. By being exposed to the features that are unique to Exadata, you will gain an understanding of the mechanics that will allow you to fully benefitfrom the advantages that the platform provides.
Will changes the wayyou think about managing SQL performance and processing
Provides a roadmap to laying out the Exadata platform to best support your existing systems
Dives deeply into the internals, removing the "black box” mystique and showing how Exadata actually works


What you'll learn
Configure Exadata from the ground up
Optimize for mixed OLTP/DW workloads
Migrate large data sets from existing systems
Connect Exadata to external systems
Support consolidation strategies using the Resource Manager
Configure high-availability features of Exadata, including real application clusters (RAC) and automatic storage management (ASM)
Apply tuning strategies utilizing the unique features of Exadata

Who this book is for
Expert Oracle Exadata is for database administrators and developers who want to understand what makes Exadata unique so that they can take advantage of all the platform has to offer. It is also for anyone who needs to plan and execute migrations of systems to the Exadata platform. Finally, the book will be invaluable to those who support and maintain such systems.

Table of Contents
What Is Exadata?
Offloading / Smart Scan
Hybrid Columnar Compression
Storage Indexes
Exadata Smart Flash Cache
Exadata Parallel Operations
Resource Management
Configuring Exadata
Recovering Exadata
Exadata Wait Events
Understanding Exadata Performance Metrics
Monitoring Exadata Performance
Migrating to Exadata
Storage Layout
Compute Node Layout
Unlearning Some Things We Thought We Knew


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