Getting Started with SQL Server 2012 Cube Development

Packt Publishing have again asked me to review one of their books. At first I thought of declining the offer but then decided to invest the time. I am glad I did.

This book is an excellent resource for those who are starting their SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) journey. This is like a boot camp where you are given the relevant information to begin the journey of SSAS developer and/or administrator.

The book guides you through the complete install of SSAS and covers both multidimensional and tabular modes. I would have like to seen extra pages on the modeling aspect of the 3nf/Star Schema's.

If you want to quickly grasp the fundamentals that give you the foundation to take your skill sets further, then this is one those books to purchase.

NOTE: This should have been posted on 19th of January but was saved as a draft instead. 

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Security Cookbook

This post is a review Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Security Cookbook from Packt Publishing.

Please note the publisher has not paid me for this review, I purchased the book myself.

Name: Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Security Cookbook
Authors: Rudi Bruchez
Released: September 2012
ISBN: 1849685886
Pages: 322

As somebody who has experience in both Unix systems and enterprise firewalls, I was impressed that the first chapter talks about how to secure the service, the server, the protocol and the network. However, it only does so in the context of the machine with which the server is operating on. For most DBA's this is sufficient information to possibly communicate the information to the perimeter administrators, if communication beyond site boundaries is required (which a corporate VPN would probably better suite).

The number one question I have seen on sites with beginning DBA's is the dynamic ports. This book addresses this question on page 40.  The information on how to hide it's presence was particularly useful those in even more high secure environments that don't want to expose that feature specifically (ie: Defence, Police).

You can tell the author is authoritative and passionate and also understands security from both internal and external influences. I was also impressed that the discussion of login SID's and how to replicate these between instances or remap from a restore process. Very handy recipes for DBA's in the field.

The section on SQL Injection Attacks should empower DBA's as to how these things occur so they can work with Developers to ensure that applications do not exhibit these flaws.  The information about SQL firewalls was particularly eye opening for myself as I did not know specialist products were now available for this particular method of attack.

The section on the other parts of the entire suite of tools that makes up Microsoft Business Intelligence Stack are not neglected either. While the provided information is small compared to the Database Services security, at least the author has not neglected these other crucial aspects of the suite.

The only part of the suite that gets no mention is securing SSIS but this is minimal in the grand scheme of things.

Overall, I think this book deserves it place on your bookshelf if you are an SQL Server DBA of any sort.

SQL Server 2012 Integration Services - An Expert Cookbook

I have been asked to review SQL Server 2012 Integration Services - An Expert Cookbook from Packt Publishing.

Please note this review has been over one weekend and is not an exhaustive look at every word and chapter for correctness and completeness.

Name: SQL Server 2012 Integration Services - An Expert Cookbook
Authors: Reza Rad, Pedro Perfeito
Released: May 2012
ISBN: 978-1-84968-524-5
Pages: 564 (eBook pdf)

I first came into contact with Microsoft's ETL tools in Windows Server 2000. This tool was called DTS and well, it did the job. With the release of 2005 Microsoft completely overhauled SQL Server and brought out SSIS. This release is what helped propel SQL server into the Enterprise market. I am currently a Data Warehouse Consultant so will be reviewing this book with a perspective of an Agile Data Warehouse Developer.

The book starts of giving a brief history of the SSIS tool and its heritage. This book's target audience would be those who have used SSIS and are looking for deeper knowledge or more experienced SSIS developers looking for goto manual. As this is a cookbook the chapters then move on relevant subject areas and have recipes based on those areas.

It covers a fair bit of the components available in the toolbox. It tells you what this component is used for and then gives a recipe for using that component. I can see this book being the reference manual when building packages and it answers that, how do I do that again, thought.

The sections on scripting & logging are a little lite. The scripting section could have gone further into depth about what you can do from the .NET environment by offering a little more than just a mail example. However, keeping in mind this is a recipe book, there is enough for you to understand how to setup a basic script and then use the power of .NET to extend this to enable you to do tasks beyond the standard components.

I really liked the recipe for the checkpoint as I have not realised this feature was available and will ensure if I need to build SSIS packages again in the future, I refer to this recipe.

Overall this is a fantastic book at giving you the right information on how to use/do a particular task that you can then start modifying to suit your environment. I would have this book on my shelf and hope that Packt get positive feedback so they can then create an Advance Recipes book that gives you some real world useful recipes for overcoming some of the shortfalls that SSIS may have in specific situations.

I would rate this book 4/5 stars - A worthwhile investment for any SSIS developer.