How to better manage SQL Server databases

Are you a database administrator? If you’re a highly experienced one then the methods mentioned below may be already in the back of your head. But if you’re fresh and just starting out your career managing vital SQL Server databases, then you might just find the methods below handy.

1. Use DNS alias names to resolve where an application database resides.

Benefit: When there is a problem with a database server going down, the fastest way to bring it back up would be to quickly bring up another database. Once the database is restored,  you can easily change the DNS to point to the IP address of this new database server. This method eliminates the need for an application programmer to change the connection string from the app to the db. Imagine having 100 connection strings to change on the application layer just to be able to connect to the new database. Using DNS alias name is definately a better way.

2. Use linked server to retrieve data from more than one instance.

Benefit: You can join data from multiple SQL Server istances using just a single T-SQL Statement. With this method instead of importing data from one server to the other, you can let the data reside where it is but instead use the linked server capability to access the data.

3. Use transaction logs to better manage data recovery.

Benefit: It is vital to maintain the transaction log through an effective backup and recovery plan because the transaction log stores the most recent changes to the last backup. For example if the database is backed up at 8 am every morning, and the rat fried itself in the server at 3 pm, there is no way to restore the data entered in between 8am to 3pm, unless you have the transaction log with you.

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As a database administrator, it’s important to be aware of the methods mentioned above since the data is your business. For a complete and thorough explanation of the methods above do read through the ebook: Simplifying SQL Server Management which can be downloaded from Internet.com