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Real World SQL Server Administration with Perl |
Real World SQL Server Administration with Perl is written with the goal of super-charging your SQL Server administration skills with Perl scripting, taking you to the next level of SQL Server administration. Through a broad range of scenarios, this book shows you how to write Perl scripts (often in combination with T-SQL scripting) to solve a wide variety of SQL Server administration problems. This unique book will provide you with the techniques to conquer real-world problems that frequently trouble DBAs. You will take away at least two things from reading this book: a DBA toolkit complete with over 150 Perl scripts, and problem-solving techniques perfect for attacking additional SQL Server administrative challenges. Many of the sample problems are described in SQL Server 7 or 2000 context, but in reality, the examples arent version specificall the Perl scripts are open and may be adapted to work with any version of SQL Server.
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Publisher:
Apress
Author:
Linchi Shea
Release Date: 2003-07
ISBN/EAN: 159059097X / 9781590590973
New Price: $14.22 /
Used Price: $3.00 /
Collectible Price: n.a.
Buy
it Now!
Average Rating: 5.0
Number of
Reviews: 3 |
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| Great resource when working SQL Srvr and/or Perl on Windows | Rating: | Real World SQL Server Administration with Perl focuses on how Perl can be applied to perform administration tasks involving SQL Server. Shea has provided a great detail of material in nearly all major areas of SQL Server administration. Subtopics include migrating data, comparing and sorting database objects, analyzing log files, analyzing and generating SQL code, monitoring SQL Servers, and managing SQL Servers in an enterprise environment. In every subtopic, Shea succeeds in demonstrating how Perl can be used to build tools to perform a particular administrative task. A common theme found throughout the book is to use Perl to bridge the gap between standard and third-party SQL Server administration management tools with Perl scripts.
The first three chapters of the book along with Appendix B review the basics of Perl as well as Perl modules. Much focus is given to Windows specific modules included in ActivePerl, the leading freeware Perl runtime environment from ActiveState. Over the course of chapters 2 and 3, Shea details how to use Perl to connect both with ADO and ODBC (as part of this, he touches upon using COM from Perl). Also introduced in these chapters are utility routines that Shea has developed to support the tools that he provides in later chapters.
Starting in chapter 4, Shea launches into the gist of the book, SQL Server administration. The first topic covered is data migration focusing on the bulk copy program (BCP). As examples, he demonstrates the importing of both the SQL Server error log as well as the Windows PerfMon log. Changing gears in chapter 5, the comparison of table columns, column indexes, contraints, stored procedures is introduced. In each case, at least one script is shown as an example. Later in chapter 5, Linchi provides a comprehensive script that compares several database objects in one script execution pass. His intent in this chapter is to address a common DBA task, comparing database schemas for change management whether it be for application trouble-shooting or upgrading deployments. He then concludes chapter 5 with scripts for generating stored procedure call trees and procedure dependency lists.
Chapter 5 is jammed packet with several cool Perl scripts including the following:
1. Table columns - compareColumns.pl
2. Table indexes - compareIndexes.pl
3. Constraints - compareConstraints.pl
4. Store Procedures - compareSPs.pl
5. Schemas - The first comparison rolled into script, compareDBs.pl
6. Stored Procedure Call Tree (callTree.pl)
7. Stored Procedure (Package) Dependency Lister (sortSPs.pl) - this Perl script will scan a group of stored procedures and identify the dependencies of other stored procedures.
8. Producting a Reference Tree for a Table (tableTree.pl) - this Perl script will generate a table dependency graph of other tables that are referred to by their foreign keys.
In chapter 6, Shea switches to a different track, analysis of the internals of a SQL Server database. Here he dives into more advanced facilities such as the trace flag 1200 - useful for debugging the locking behavior of a particular row - and the DBCC PAGE command, as well as details that help identify potential database problems. Once again, scripts are provided to help analyze the information that can be gleaned from SQL Server.
Chapters 7 and 8 deal with analysis and generation of SQL code. In starting off on these series of topics, Shea introduces filerQueryPlans.pl, a script that analyzes the output generated by the SQL Profiler tool. He also provides scripts for identify queries with excessive joins and dynamic SQL (reviewSP.pl). indexSummary.pl is another script that is quite useful, this script scans the a query plan and analyze how a given SQL query utilizes indexes. This script thus helps you to determine which indexes are used, not used, as well as how often a script is used. SQL code generation is also covered with examples that generate T-SQL code from a configuration file, database schema, from data in a table, existing T-SQL script files, and other SQL-DMO object instances. Perl script code to split files containing multiple stored procedures into a single file for each procedure is also provided here.
Chapters 9 and 11 are companion chapters. Chapter 9 introduces log file analysis of the SQL Server error logs, Windows event logs (grepEventLog.pl), DBCC output files, log files from scheduled jobs, SQL Server agent files, replication error log files, and agent output files. Other types of log files include Windows cluster log files, application server log files, as well as third-party log files. In this chapter the author discusses and develops scripts for alerting based on evaluations of the SQL Server error log, local drive space, database server availability and cluster. Then as a follow-up in chapter 11, Linchi develops scripts for monitoring of these areas with the ability to notify via SMTP e-mail.
Chapter 12, Managing SQL Servers in the Enterprise, is the last chapter. This chapter provides material and scripts for managing many SQL server instances in an enterprise environment. As the reader has come to expect, this chapter is also packed with useful scripts for managing SQL server instances as well as system and user accounts.
ListSysadmin.pl - Lists Sysadmin accounts and logins
scanForSQLServer.pl - Scan for SQL Server machines on a network
scanNullSAPasswords.pl - Scanning for sa accounts with null passwords
trackSQLAccounts.pl - Tracking SQL Server Service accounts
findOpenShares.pl - identify file shares on your SQL Server systems that are wide-open
In conclusion, the book Real SQL Server Administration with Perl is a wonderfully useful book for DBAs managing SQL Server databases. I have come across no other book targeted at a particular community within the world of Microsoft and Windows that demonstrates the power and usefulness of Perl. In addition to packing the book with incredibly useful Perl scripts for SQL Server administration, I also find myself using the first few chapters as well as the appendix as a general reference to programming Perl in the Windows environment. | | Total Votes: 4, Helpful Votes: 4, Date: 2005-03-16 | | | | Fantastic Perl/Windows/SQL Server book | Rating: | | What a fantastic, well written, example laden book. If you are a SQL Server DBA or Developer (or Windows Admin or Power User) and know or wish to learn Perl to help automate many of your proactive and reactive monitoring tasks then this book is for you. Shea is one smart cookie and I'm really impressed by his book. | | Total Votes: 2, Helpful Votes: 2, Date: 2004-06-10 | | | | Very practical | Rating: | | This book contains a lot of good and practical perl code. It really help me a lot. | | Total Votes: 3, Helpful Votes: 2, Date: 2003-11-20 | | |
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