Inside SQL Server 2000 Book/CD Package (DV-MPS Inside) [Paperback]

Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2000 has the details you need to design Microsoft database servers that will achieve the best possible performance. For one thing, author Kalen Delaney (who used Ron Soukoup's fantastic first edition as a starting point) explains how SQL Server 2000 works at a level that will interest all database administrators. She packs in the sort of minutiae that can make a real difference in the performance of especially large or complex data-storage structures, explaining what goes on inside the database management system (DBMS) when it's presented with various commands, and using that information to back up her abundant advice on the right way to design, build, and operate databases under SQL Server 2000.

Delaney makes extensive use of DBCC PAGE dumps to show what's going on in the databases that demonstrate concepts (incidentally, that utility is documented, as well as the others in the DBCC toolbox). In a typical section, DBCC PAGE is used to show how index pages work. There's careful attention to database structure at the byte level too, with conceptual diagrams that explain how pointers work and how strings of bytes combine to represent stored data. It's the sort of detail you need if you'll be writing software for SQL Server 2000, or need to extract maximum performance from the DBMS itself.

Topics covered: Microsoft SQL Server 2000 internals, especially data structures and the behaviour of queries. Table design is emphasised, especially indexing decisions. Transact-SQL programming, including the use of cursors, gets lots of attention. --David Wall

Master the inner workings of today’s premier relational database management system with this official guide to the SQL Server™ 2000 engine. Written by a renowned columnist in partnership with the product development team, this is the must-read book for anyone who needs to understand how SQL Server internal structures affect application development and functionality. Its extensive details about the latest product enhancements, updated installation and administration, and its development advice can help you create high-performance data-warehousing, transaction-processing, and decision-support applications that will scale up for any challenge.

Topics covered include:

• Evolution, architecture, and toolset: The history of SQL Server since 1989, an architectural overview, and a comprehensive tour of its tools and features
• Planning and deployment: Everything you need to know about installation and deployment issues such as multiple instances, Super Sockets, and upgrades
• Databases, files, tables, and data: How to create, modify, back up, and restore databases, files, and tables; and how to query and modify data
• Built-in development tools: Using Query Analyzer and SQL Server Profiler to simplify system administration and optimize performance; programming with Transact-SQL; and extending functionality with batches, transactions, stored procedures, and triggers
• Query-processing techniques: Multiple indexes, hash and merge joins, and data-manipulation capabilities such as parallel queries
• Internal architecture: Low-level details of data and index-page structures, locking mechanisms, optimization, and plan caching
• Integration with other tools: Usage with Microsoft® Office 2000, Visual Studio® development system, and the BackOffice® server familyINCLUDED ON TWO CD-ROMS!
• A 120-day evaluation copy of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition
• A searchable electronic copy of the book
• Sample scripts
• White papers and articles
• Tools and utilities

There’s no comparable source for up-to-date, authoritative SQL Server 2000 information—complete with extensive examples and practical advice.