Microsoft SQL Server: Planning and Building a High Performance Database - Softcover

Schneider, Robert D.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0132662221 ISBN 13: 9780132662222

Publisher: Prentice Hall Ptr, 1996

Synopsis

Programmers, analysts, and database and systems administrators will discover the strategies that lead to a successful index, including structure, columns, keys, data types, and clustering; how to minimize network traffic with joins, batches, searches, and tables; the secrets of disk management and replication to optimize the database engine's design; the essentials of a successful testing environment; and planning strategies for an effective roll-out. The disk contains SQL Replay, a performance monitor designed specifically for Microsoft SQL. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

About this title

From the Back Cover

Plan it right for optimum performance—from the ground up!

Make your database applications

* More productive
* More reliable
* Simpler to use

With Microsoft(r) SQL Server: Designing and Building a High Performance Database, you'll learn how to develop the blueprint for a Microsoft SQL Server database that will grow with your unique needs. Make the most of the Microsoft SQL Server by mastering the structural approach that gives you high performance from Day 1, and keep your system running at its best throughout its lifetime.

Efficient design—Some databases seem to grow almost organically, without any logical form. Learn to evaluate your requirements and create a customized structure that will handle the way you really use your database. Master the three forms of normalization and when to use them. Discover the strategies that lead to a successful index, including structure, columns, keys, data types, and clustering. Unlock the power of the Microsoft SQL Server optimizer to get the highest degree of performance.

Effective access—Users judge a database by what it can do for them. When you understand the power of stored procedures and triggers, you'll be able to make transactions quick and easy for users at all levels, as well as simplifying many programming tasks. You'll also learn how to assess your network's capabilities to minimize traffic and improve distribution by taking advantage of Microsoft SQL Server's facility with joins, batches, searches, and tables. Get insider's tips on powerful features including transactions, cursors, and concurrency.

Ongoing performance tuning—Data always grows faster than the storage and hardware that accommodate it. Using Microsoft SQL Server's monitoring tools, you can find and fix problem areas before they become a drag on performance. Master the secrets of disk management and replication to optimize your database engine's capacity.

Testing for success—When you're ready to put your new plans to work, you'll need accurate feedback before you implement change. Learn the essentials of a successful testing environment, and the planning strategies for an effective roll-out of your innovations.

Learn from experience—Five detailed case studies show how a range of organizations have used Microsoft SQL Server to maximize their database power. You may recognize situations you have already faced, and see the experts' solutions.

Microsoft SQL Server: Designing and Building a High Performance Database is packed with experience and tips, but it's not just for application developers. Database administrators, systems analysts, and system administrators can all learn the basics of Microsoft SQL Server applications, without having to master all the intricacies of the Microsoft SQL Server engine.

Microsoft SQL Server: Designing and Building a High Performance Database also includes a free disk containing SQL Replay, a performance monitor designed specifically for Microsoft SQL Server. Use it to analyze processes, measure user activity, uncover bottlenecks, isolate locked tables, and benchmark overall server activity.

For Microsoft SQL Server version 6.0 and newer.

From the Inside Flap

Intended audience
Microsoft SQL Server: Designing and Building a High Performance Database is a tool for application developers, database administrators, systems analysts, and system administrators who are interested in designing, developing, maintaining, and administering efficient applications that use the SQL Server engine, version 6.0 and newer.
To get the most out of this book, programmers and analysts should be comfortable with:
- Basic Structured Query Language (SQL) - Database administrators should understand:
- Relational database design concepts
- Intermediate or advanced SQL
- Microsoft SQL Server engine architecture
- System administrators should understand:
- Microsoft SQL Server engine architecture
- The Windows NT operating system at an intermediate level
Benefits of using the book.

Microsoft SQL Server: Designing and Building a High Performance Database provides you with these benefits:
- Enhanced productivity. It's hard for a user to be productive if a typical query takes three minutes to return data. End-of- week reports that take 36 hours to run generally don't lead to a more robust bottom line, either. In this book, we cite dozens of specific changes you can make to your applications and systems to upgrade your organization's productivity.
- Increased application reliability. Generally, an inefficient application is an unreliable application. At the very least, slow systems are perceived as being less reliable than fast systems. When you increase a system's speed, you will improve its reliability.
- Reduced hardware expenditures. Few organizations can afford to continually upgrade their hardware environments to get better performance. Therefore, they expect their IS staff to do more with less. You can use the suggestions in this book to squeeze extra speed out of your existing hardware.
- Simpler applications. In many cases, the simplest solution is the fastest solution. You will find many tips in this book to help you increase a system's speed while reducing its complexity.
- More satisfied users. In the past, most users were mainly concerned with whether a system worked; performance wasn't a major consideration. Today's users are more sophisticated than ever and view system speed as the crucial element. Many organizations have learned this painful lesson the hard way, when users don't approve a slow system, no matter how well- designed.

How to use this book.
This book is divided into these major sections:
Chapter 1. In this chapter, we discuss how to set up the most effective optimization test environment.
Part 1.—Creating a Well-Designed Database. Your entire application relies on an efficient database design. In this part, we review some of the most important facets of a good database design.
Part 2.—Improving Database Access. Whether via direct SQL, or stored procedures, it's important that your database access be as effective as possible. In Part 2, we describe how to write efficient SQL, stored procedures, and triggers. In addition, we cover several other important topics, such as transactions, concurrency, and cursors.
Part 3.—Tuning the Database Engine. Even the most efficient application can be sluggish if the underlying database engine is tuned incorrectly. In Part 3, we review many techniques you can use to make your database engine run as rapidly as possible.
A. Case Studies.This appendix contains several case studies. Each case study features several interrelated problems.
B. Software. We've also included a powerful utility, SQL Replay, to help you gather and analyze SQL Server performance statistics. SQL Replay collects data about SQL Server activity by making periodic snapshots of system information. Information derived from system tables, sysprocesses, syslocks, and some of the SQL Server global variables allows you to review past SQL Server activity, and find performance problems or bottlenecks, research locks contention, or heavy usage time intervals.
You don't need to read this book from cover to cover. To get the most benefit from our suggestions, review only those sections that apply to your particular situation. However, there are several sections that deserve your attention, regardless of your situation. These include:
- Setting Up an Optimization Test Environment. It is a big mistake to rush in and start making performance enhancement changes to your system without first observing a few very important details. This chapter covers these details.
- Relational Database Design Concepts. A good database design is the foundation of a system that performs well. This section teaches you how to implement the relational model when you design a database. It also covers specific situations where the relational model is not appropriate.
- Indexing Strategies.The wrong indexing strategy can wreck an otherwise perfect database design. We list some straightforward indexing techniques you can use to dramatically raise your systemÕs throughput.
- SQL Tips. Without SQL, you canÕt access data. In this chapter, we cite several ideas you can incorporate to improve your SQL statements.
- General Tips. This chapter contains numerous suggestions that can help you develop better, faster applications, no matter what engine or tools you use.
- Case Studies. This appendix contains a number of multifaceted case studies. Spend some time reviewing them: chances are you may already have experienced some of the problems we illustrate.

How to use the examples.
You'll find numerous examples in each chapter, which we have made as clear and concise as possible. This will help you implement our suggestions quickly. Because this book is intended as a reference, the examples in one chapter do not necessarily rely on one another. This will help you concentrate on specific problems and solutions. Keep in mind that while the examples in this book may not exactly match your database design, application software, and/or engine configuration, you can still apply them to your specific problems.

Edition details

• Publisher: Prentice Hall Ptr
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0132662221
• ISBN 13: 9780132662222
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 582