I received a tweet today pointing me to a really cool EBook written by David Klee and James Green. Together they wrote “The Gorilla Guide to Modern Storage Strategies for SQL Server. The EBook is only 78 pages long. In that limited space they do an amazing job defining and demonstrating the different technologies and processes that bring together a simple, or sophisticated implementation of SQL Server.
They cover both the hardware, and implementation techniques that make multiple components work as a single, well tuned beast, ready to take on your business requirements. They provide an introduction to SAN systems, along with server connections, disk organization, and data management. Different kinds of database load are considered in the discussion of SAN and Server configurations.
Always of interest are load balancing and disaster handling. Different strategies from Always On, Replication, mirroring, and log shipping are introduced.
This is probably not a book you are going to use to configure the LUNS on your SAN, or setup Virtual Machines to support your needs. However, this book is going to help you understand how the different pieces fit together. While you will not become an expert on any particular level, you will be able to communicate more effectively with those who are. This will help you understand what all the pieces are, how they fit together, and interact effectively. It will not give you detailed step by step instructions to set everything up.
It’s well worth the cost of sharing your contact information. I’d give it a look.
Cheers,
Ben