I started working with SQL Server more than 30 years ago, when it was a Sybase product that ran on Unix (as well as on more than half a dozen other operating systems), and we did all our work on Unix machines. SQL Server didn’t run on Windows at that time, because there was no Windows operating system. But several years later, when Sybase partnered with Microsoft to port its database product onto PC-based operating systems, few people could foresee just how powerful and ubiquitous these PCs would become. PC is hardly about only personal computers these days.
I’ve seen a lot of changes with SQL Server over these three decades, and some of the most interesting ones for me are when the product seems to circle back and add features or internal behaviors that were originally part of the product but had once been discarded. Some of the original ideas were not that far off base after all. Having SQL Server return to its roots and become available on Linux (a Unix-based OS) in SQL Server 2017 almost seems like coming home.
Benjamin Nevarez has been working with Unix-based operating systems almost as long as I’ve been working with SQL Server. He was also excited to see SQL Server make an appearance on Linux. It didn’t take him long to decide to get his hands dirty and figure out how SQL Server professionals could get the maximum value out of the new OS. He wrote this book to make available to others all that he had learned.
I have known Ben for more than a dozen years, since he first started finding typos and other errors in my SQL Server 2005 books. We started a dialog, and I then asked him if he was interested in being a technical editor for some of my work. Through this technical collaboration, I have learned that when Ben sets out to learn something, he does it thoroughly. His attention to detail and passion for complete answers never cease to amaze me.
In this book, Ben tells you how to get started using SQL Server on Linux and how the database system actually works on the new platform. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 are particularly useful if you’re new to Linux but experienced with SQL Server. Although most SQL Server books wouldn’t go into operating system administration details, Chapter 3 does just that, to make the transition easier for people who have many years, if not decades, of experience with Windows. Of course, if you’re already proficient with Linux, but new to SQL Server, you can focus on the following chapters when Ben’s expertise with SQL Server shines through.
In Chapter 4, he tells you how SQL Server can be configured and blends SQL Server details with the Linux tools you need to access and control your SQL Server. Chapters 5 and 6 are very SQL Server focused. Chapter 5 provides some very detailed information about working with SQL Server queries, including how queries are optimized and processed, and how you can tune slow-running queries. Chapter 6 tells you all about some of the latest and greatest in SQL Server’s optimization techniques in the most recent versions of SQL Server. Finally, in Chapters 7 and 8, he provides coverage of two critical focus areas for a database administrator: managing availability and recoverability, and setting up security. These are critical topics for any DBA, and because they involve the relationship between the database engine and the operating system, it’s best to learn about them from someone who is an expert in both areas.
Although both Linux and SQL Server are huge topics and there is no way one book can provide everything you need to know about both technologies, Ben has done an awesome job of giving you exactly what you need to know, not only to get SQL Server running on the Linux operating system, but to have it performing well, while keeping your data safe and secure.
—Kalen Delaney
www.SQLServerInternals.com
Poulsbo, Washington, March 2018