Book Review: Oracle Database Administration for Microsoft SQL Server DBAs

Alexander Kuznetsov — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 18:26:00 GMT

Working in mixed database environments is a very interesting challenge, both for DBAs and developers. If we already have experience with SQL Server, and need to work with Oracle, our SQL Server experience may be an advantage - we already have a good handle on what an RDBMS should do (backups, restores, etc.). On the other hand, our experience and common patterns with SQL Server may cause us to make mistakes on Oracle, because its internals and best practices are not the same.

I have read a book named “Oracle Database Administration for Microsoft SQL Server DBAs”, and I really liked it. The book’s goal is to introduce Oracle to SQL Server data professionals, to explain similarities and differences between these two very common RDBMS. This book is filled with practical, real life information, necessary to perform daily activities of a production DBA. The book can really prevent us from missteps when we try to use Oracle as if it were SQL Server. It has the following chapters:

Oracle Internals - I was especially fascinated by the description of transaction process flow, which is different in Oracle
Oracle Installation, which also describes a few useful Linux commands, and connectivity
Database Definitions and Setup (databases and schemas have different meanings)
DBA Tools
Database Backup, Restore, and Recovery

Database Maintenance
Performance and Tuning
PL/SQL (which is VERY different from T-SQL)
High Availability Architecture

Overall, this is a must-read book for any SQL Server professional intending to improve their Oracle skills.

The author of the book, Michelle Malcher, is an Oracle ACE, and is currently on the Board of the Independent Oracle User Group.She also co-authored another book, "

Oracle Database 11g: A Beginner's Guide"

She leads the DBA team at DRW, the same company I work for as a developer.

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Book Review: Oracle Database Administration for Microsoft SQL Server DBAs

Oracle Database 11g: A Beginner's Guide"