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I’m not alone with my most recent predicament. Through inheritance or bad luck, I’m an IT administrator that has found myself with new duties that involve providing some level of administration for Microsoft SQL Server. That makes me the SQL guy responsible for the SQL servers and the databases, although I’m not formally trained as a DBA.
The Petri IT Knowledgebase – Getting Started with Microsoft SQL Server Article Series
I do have had some experience with SQL Server, mostly from working with SharePoint. But installing an application that creates databases is a far cry from designing databases, writing complex SQL joins, and architecting the SQL Server infrastructure. Telling my bosses the truth wouldn’t do me any good. They wouldn’t hear it. I could try to tell them that SQL Server is too complex to just add to my duties, that I already have too much to do.
Alright, so complaining won’t get me anywhere. I’ve realized that my only choice is to accept my fate. I will become a DBA or at least learn enough to be able to effectively execute my job. If I’m going to increase my skills with SQL Server, I might as well document my adventures and bring you all along with me, so I’ll be starting an article series here on the Petri IT Knowledgebase that will provide information for non-DBA IT staff who need to get up to speed with SQL Server as part of their regular duties.
Here are some of my first orders of business in getting my SQL skills updated:
Whether my bosses will approve training is still not known. If they do approve training, will it be a two week boot camp or reading MSDN at my desk while juggling other duties? In the coming weeks, I’ll be setting up my training plan, and I’ll share with you what I’ll find for options for training both onsite and online.
Regardless of the training that I end up taking, there is of one thing I’m certain: the real learning won’t begin until I’m applying what I’ve learned in training. I’m going to need some great reference materials sitting on my desk or my tablet that will help me get out of a jam when I’m stuck.
One way to get up to speed quickly with a SQL Server test environment is to setup a Microsoft Azure VM, install SQL Server onto the VM, and then start creating some sample databases to play with. In order, those steps are:
Doing any of these things once or twice is good for some basic familiarity with SQL Server. But for anything to really stick, I’m going to either need a lot of repetition or an easy way to go back and retrace my steps. Since it’s not likely that I’m going to be required to install SQL Server often, and I can’t count on repetition to maintain any specific skills, I’m going to save my work in two places:
Learning is a lifelong process, so as long as I’m working with SQL Server, I’ll keep an ear on the ground, listening for what’s new and noteworthy.
Speaking of that, while I’m not a SQL expert as of yet, I’d love to connect and share what I’ve already learned with you. We’ll be posting additional updates to this series in the weeks and months to come so you can follow my progress. So reach out to me on Twitter or Google+ to let me know how you’re doing along your path.
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