I spend my days working on and managing SQL Server instances—working days at least, and sometimes even on non-working days. I’ve been working with SQL Server for years now, and one might assume I’ve mastered every nook and cranny, as well as the nuts and bolts of its inner workings. It’s far from the truth.
Managing production servers means encountering something new every day. This constant variety keeps things interesting. I enjoy the challenges and the valuable lessons that come with them. They say managing databases is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re going to get.
And this brings me to the point of this blog post: continuous learning is therefore so important. In IT Ops, it’s common to work outside your role and across various technologies. Responsibilities for DBAs include addressing questions beyond the scope of typical database administration tasks.
A large portion of my learning comes from reading books. The two tech books currently on my desk are Microsoft Power BI Performance Best Practices: Learn Practical Techniques for Building High-Speed Power BI Solutions and Database Design and Modeling with PostgreSQL and MySQL: Build Efficient and Scalable Databases for Modern Applications Using Open Source Databases.
These two areas aren’t part of my day-to-day responsibilities at the moment, but I expect that, eventually, I’ll be asked to tackle issues related to them. Hence, learning about them now benefits not only me but also the company.
Disclaimer: Packt Publishing sent me these books in exchange for a review, but my views and opinions are in no way influenced by the company.
Power BI Performance Best Practices
Writing about best practices for any technology can be challenging, particularly when it comes to “performance.” There’s only so much you can cover within a limited number of pages. However, I believe the authors, Thomas LeBlanc and Bhavik Merchant, have successfully achieved the objectives of this book.
They cover all the key aspects of managing Power BI performance—from exploring its architecture and configuration to embedding it in web applications. And if you’re wondering whether it includes anything about Fabric, the answer is yes: there’s a dedicated chapter on OneLake, the data storage solution for Fabric.
I feel that this book provides enough information to help troubleshoot a struggling Power BI. I’m confident it will give me a good starting point if I’m ever at a loss on where to begin when dealing with the unfamiliar aspects of Power BI performance.
For a DBA not familiar with the pressure points of Power BI, like me, this is a helpful reference for navigating the vast areas of this technology. Chapter 3 provides information about the tools for performance tuning. If I’m venturing into uncharted territory, I’d like to know what provisions are available to help me navigate it. A great resource for navigating the unknowns is usage metrics and activity logs. Chapter 4 is dedicated to these topics.
Of course, this book also covers the usual suspects when it comes to Power BI performance issues—Fetching, Transforming, and Visualizing Data, Data Models, Calculations, and Large Semantic Models. These are discussed in Chapters 8 to 12.
My favorite part is Chapter 7, where a Performance Governance Framework is defined. I like that it’s discussed in the middle of the book, bringing everything together. The concepts in this chapter are easily applicable, no matter what technology you’re working with.
There are two distinct phases to consider performance management, this chapter says: one is Monitoring and identifying areas that are slowing you down and, two, Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and remediation. The main goal of this chapter is to establish a repeatable process for improvement. The authors outline how to approach the performance management cycle, set baselines and targets, implement preventative measures, and more. They also emphasize the importance of knowledge sharing and awareness.
Database Design and Modeling with PostgreSQL and MySQL
I’ve been hearing about these two platforms, PostgreSQL and MySQL, for a long time now. And I imagine that having to dabble in these platforms for me is not a matter of if, but when. I am aware of the growing interest in PostgreSQL (Brent O is already offering training in PostgreSQL).
Although my main interest lies in performance tuning, this book is right up my alley. It provides enough information to lay some solid foundation for learning PostgreSQL and MySQL, I think. This can help me build a strong understanding of these platforms.
I’m not really worried if my company suddenly decides to pull the rug out from under SQL Server. A vast majority of the knowledge I’ve gained with SQL Server can easily translate to these platforms (but please, not yet, boss. I’m not ready to give up SQL Server just yet!).
This book provides a jumpstart and helps anyone like me, who hasn’t managed these platforms in real-world, production environments, get up to speed. I feel like I can take everything I’ve learned here and build my PostgreSQL and MySQL instances tomorrow. Well, I could say the same about RTFM, so it’s not really an exaggeration.
If a book with this title were to cover everything about design and modeling, it would easily stretch to 600 pages—or even triple that. This is a 200-page book, which speaks to the limited scope of its coverage on database design and modeling, which is not a lot if you’re looking for in-depth coverage.
But this is a good thing for me. The key terms in these platforms are still the same ones I’ve been dealing with for the longest time—Entity, Attribute, Relationship, Primary Key, Foreign Key, Index, and Normalization. I guess one doesn’t have to make a huge leap when transitioning from one relational database to another.
Overall, this is a good book if you’re looking for a quick reference guide, though in most cases, RTFM might be the better option. Chapter 1 has 18 pages, and most of it is spent comparing Relational Databases with NoSQL Databases. I’m not sure that’s the best use of the introductory pages. But then again, Itzik Ben-Gan sets the standard when it comes to introducing database concepts to the masses. A great example of his work is T-SQL Fundamentals (Developer Reference), beloved by both beginners and experts alike. I’m not complaining here.
