Expert SQL Server Practices 2012 Edition is an anthology of high-end wisdom from a group of accomplished database administrators who are quietly but relentlessly pushing the performance and feature envelope of Microsoft SQL Server 2012.With an emphasis upon performance--but also branching into release management, auditing, and other issues--the book helps you deliver the most value for your company's investment in Microsoft's flagship database system * Goes beyond the manual to cover good techniques and best practices * Delivers knowledge usually gained only by hard experience * Focuses upon performance, scalability, reliability * Helps achieve the predictability needed to be in control at all times What you'll learn * Migrate to the new Extended Events framework for troubleshooting performance problems * Automate the tracking of key performance indicators such as available disk space, cpu utilization, index fragmentation, and more * Design performance into your database and its applications from the very beginning * Manage staged releases from development to test through to production * Diagnose resource and performance problems via dynamic management views * Analyze I/O patterns and plan reliably to obtain the performance you need Who this book is for Expert SQL Server Practices is aimed at SQL Server professionals who want to further their careers through expert-level practices in performance management, scalability, predictability, and security.Table of Contents * Jesper Johansen. Be Your Developer's Best Friend * Louis Davidson. Getting It Right: Designing for Database Performance * Gail Shaw. Hidden Performance Gotchas * Kellyn Pot'vin. Dynamic Management Views * Mladen Prajdic. From SQL Trace to Extended Events * Chris Shaw. The Utility Database * Jason Strate. Indexing Outside the Bubble * TJay Belt. Release Management * Jonathan Gardner. Compliance and Auditing * Jes Borland. Automating Administration * Wendy Pastrick. The Fluid Dynamics of SQL Server Data Movement * Herve Roggero. Windows Azure Features for DBAs * Jeremy Lowell. I/O: The Untold Story * Bradley Ball. Page and Row Compression * Glenn Berry. Selecting and Sizing the Server * Grant Fritchey. Backups and Restores Using Availability Groups * Carlos Bossy. Big Data for the SQL Server DBA * Ben DeBow. Tuning for Peak Load

When a SQL Server database is operating smoothly and performing well, there is no need to be particularly aware of the transaction log, beyond ensuring that every database has an appropriate backup regime and restore plan in place. When things go wrong, however, a DBA's reputation depends on a deeper understanding of the transaction log, both what it does, and how it works. An effective response to a crisis requires rapid decisions based on understanding its role in ensuring data integrity.