42 review for Learn SQL Server Administration in a Month of Lunches: Covers Microsoft SQL Server 2005-2014

1. 

   5 out of 5

   Eric Stevens – Jan 29, 2018

   I think this is a good book for system administrators who don't know where to start with MS SQL administration. After reading it I better understand what I don't know and what i need to learn. Don as always gives some immediately useful and practical advise. I think this is a good book for system administrators who don't know where to start with MS SQL administration. After reading it I better understand what I don't know and what i need to learn. Don as always gives some immediately useful and practical advise.

2. 

   5 out of 5

   Derek – May 07, 2020

   Helped me to deepen my understanding of the systems I work on. The bite-sized chapters made information easily digestible.

3. 

   5 out of 5

   John Alan – Nov 28, 2014

   A few months ago I was asked to take over the administration of a SQL Server database. I've been administering Oracle databases for several years but I'm not a full time DBA and I've never managed a system on Windows. So although I'm not starting from scratch as a DBA I'm pretty close to it for SQL Server. After a bit of searching I chose this book as a starting point. Aimed at the novice DBA the book presents you with a good mix of information and hands on labs which ensure you gain self belief A few months ago I was asked to take over the administration of a SQL Server database. I've been administering Oracle databases for several years but I'm not a full time DBA and I've never managed a system on Windows. So although I'm not starting from scratch as a DBA I'm pretty close to it for SQL Server. After a bit of searching I chose this book as a starting point. Aimed at the novice DBA the book presents you with a good mix of information and hands on labs which ensure you gain self belief as well as knowledge. The book is based around the "Month of Lunches" learning technique. Read a chapter a day - over lunch - and let the knowledge sink in over a whole month. You don't need to stick to this but I did and found it to be a good fit. The author presents you with a great deal of knowledge in a relaxed and easy going style. I found myself looking forward to each lunch and thoroughly enjoyed getting hands on experience in the labs. Although you'll not become a SQL Server guru by reading this book you will gain a lot. You'll cover a broad range of topics such as Authentication and Authorization, backups, monitoring, optimization and more. I managed to cover the majority of chapters, including the lab, within an hour. That said I did leave some of the later labs out when a second database instance was needed. But I do hope to get back to these at some point in the future because I see the value of hands on experience in these areas. Pros: I very much enjoyed the labs and the hands on style of the book. A "learn by doing" approach suits me and gives me real belief in what I'm reading. I also appreciate that someone has taken the time to break down a very large subject into byte-sized chunks while making the learning experience fun. Cons: The support material for some of the labs could have been a little better. If you only have an hour of learning time then typing lots of T-SQL can be a bit difficult. All in all I really enjoyed both the book and the month of lunches format. If you are just starting with SQL Server this is a really good and enjoyable book and I would recommend buying it. However, if you are already actively using SQL Server this is probably not the book for you. Note: When setting up the lab/test environment. In the version I have the author strongly suggests Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012 - this is the platform that the book is aimed at. You may be a bit restricted if you can't match this but you are assured that most things will work across versions. I'm not sure if newer version of the book are different in this respect but you should check that you can set up the fitting lab environment otherwise you'll not get nearly as much as you could from this book.

4. 

   5 out of 5

   Rock – Apr 05, 2015

   I had some experience with SQL server administration but found this book a good refresher after a year away from it. It is clearly organized with approachable explanations and tries to be version-agnostic. I didn't read it in a month of lunches, though, and the inconsistent chapter length didn't seem very conducive to it (and that is probably good so that topics can get the depth of treatment they deserve). I had some experience with SQL server administration but found this book a good refresher after a year away from it. It is clearly organized with approachable explanations and tries to be version-agnostic. I didn't read it in a month of lunches, though, and the inconsistent chapter length didn't seem very conducive to it (and that is probably good so that topics can get the depth of treatment they deserve).

5. 

   5 out of 5

   Nick Ver Halen –

6. 

   4 out of 5

   Shawn –

7. 

   5 out of 5

   Prabha Kutty –

8. 

   5 out of 5

   Anna –

9. 

   5 out of 5

   Bill –

10. 

    4 out of 5

    Kate –

11. 

    5 out of 5

    Ann Summers –

12. 

    5 out of 5

    Justin L –

13. 

    4 out of 5

    Eric –

14. 

    5 out of 5

    Patrick –

15. 

    4 out of 5

    Jamie Absalom –

16. 

    4 out of 5

    Mateusz Janecki –

17. 

    5 out of 5

    Christopher –

18. 

    5 out of 5

    Wesley B –

19. 

    4 out of 5

    Christopher Reyes –

20. 

    4 out of 5

    Michael Neal –

21. 

    5 out of 5

    Mikael Kristiansson –

22. 

    5 out of 5

    Kidd –

23. 

    5 out of 5

    Richard Fohrenbach –

24. 

    5 out of 5

    Frankie Boyle –

25. 

    5 out of 5

    SQL Mohi –

26. 

    4 out of 5

    Alaina –

27. 

    4 out of 5

    Alain –

28. 

    5 out of 5

    Angelie –

29. 

    5 out of 5

    Sivakumar –

30. 

    5 out of 5

    NIHAR –

31. 

    5 out of 5

    Jobber –

32. 

    5 out of 5

    Jonne Savolainen –

33. 

    4 out of 5

    William David Chandler –

34. 

    5 out of 5

    Dirk-Pieter –

35. 

    4 out of 5

    Sashwat Kondepudi –

36. 

    5 out of 5

    John –

37. 

    5 out of 5

    Aaron Angel –

38. 

    4 out of 5

    Brandon –

39. 

    4 out of 5

    Cameron Jones –

40. 

    4 out of 5

    Jon Valentinusson –

41. 

    5 out of 5

    Chris Carstensen –

42. 

    4 out of 5

    Jacob –