SearchSQLServer.com e-book
Consolidate SQL Servers for availability, scalability and cost savings
Chapters
Chapter 1: The case for consolidation
Chapter 2: Planning your consolidation
Chapter 3: Performing your SQL Server consolidation
Description
SQL Server was created as a powerful database management system (DBMS) that is easy to use, easy to deploy, self maintaining, self tuning and cheaper than the competition. Wonderful attributes for a DBMS to have? Yes, until your company finds itself with way more SQL Servers than an already-overworked DBA can handle.
This "boom" in uncontrolled and uncoordinated SQL deployments – known as SQL Server sprawl – has spelled headaches for IT managers and DBAs. Their time is now spent fighting fires relating to wasted SQL Server resources, maintenance and patching difficulties, and frequent database failures – all while their organizations lose money on underused hardware and a poorly used staff.
To get a handle on this out-of-hand problem, organizations must consider consolidation. Although not as simple a task as simply adding more SQL Servers, consolidation will ultimately save enormous amounts of time and money, while getting your shop running much more efficiently.
This e-book, by SQL Server MVP and author Hilary Cotter, will introduce you to the worlds of server and storage consolidation, offering the advice you need to ease into the process and work your way toward a smooth-running, highly available, consolidated SQL Server environment.
In Chapter 1, Hilary presents the case for consolidation. He details problems associated with SQL Server sprawl, defines storage and server consolidation, and helps you determine if consolidation is right for your organization. In Chapter 2, he will focus on key considerations for planning your consolidation effort and discuss when to consolidate on 32-bit vs. 64-bit SQL Servers and on single vs. multiple SQL Server instances, as well as consolidation risks. Finally, in Chapter 3, he will offer step-by-step advice for consolidating SQL Servers.
This e-book is being released in installments. As chapters become available you will be able to access them here.
Author
Hilary Cotter has been involved in IT for more than 20 years as a Web and database consultant. Microsoft first awarded Cotter the Microsoft SQL Server MVP award in 2001. Cotter received his bachelor of applied science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Toronto and studied economics at the University of Calgary and computer science at UC Berkeley. He is the author of a book on SQL Server transactional replication and is currently working on books on merge replication and Microsoft search technologies.
