Instead of boring you with content that you can easily find on Amazon, I will do something different this review post. I will give you the three reasons why I recommend this book for SQL DBAs and data professionals. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an expert. This book will be a great addition to your library regardless of your level of SQL Server knowledge.
SQL Server 2019 Revealed by Bob Ward
You can watch a quick video below or continue reading.
3 Reasons Why I Recommend This Book
First – The 400+ page book is spread over 11 chapters. Bob starts Chapter 1 with an amazing “behind-the-scenes” of how SQL Server 2019 came to be. Not only that, but he gives a “behind-the-scenes” look into how Big Data Clusters came to be. If you are like me then you love to watch the “Director’s cut” of movies, or even the bloopers. Bob description of how the team met up years ago and first brainstormed these cutting edge features is fascinating. It really puts context behind the product and the vision that the team had early on.
Second – The book really goes in depth of all its newest features. Whether it’s the newest security capabilities or intelligent performance features, there is a wealth of information. On the flip side, with a lot of information can come confusion as not everyone is an expert in all of SQL Server’s capabilities. No worries! Bob takes that into account and always includes links to other resources where the reader can go and learn more about a certain topic. This makes having the book so much easier. No need to take notes, or write down anything in the book. All links are already printed there for future use. All you need is a bookmark. Ha! Bob anticipates the reader is a beginner and packs a wealth of information in the book for further study. A big kudos for that!
Third – Passion. All the “inside stories” really tell one big story. The team behind this product is passionate about it. The team behind SQL Server is some of the most passionate people I have came across. When the team, the engineers, etc. have passion you end up seeing it in the product. There has been cases where I’ve had a question or two about a Big Data Cluster issue and almost immediately I get a reply from the BDC team. Amazing! Their willingness to help and listen to customer feedback is unmatched in the industry. That really makes me feel blessed to be part of a community that loves their mission to keep SQL Server at the cutting edge as much as I love learning and teaching it.
About the Author
Bob Ward is a Principal Architect for the Microsoft Azure Data SQL Server team, which owns the development for all SQL Server versions. Bob has worked for Microsoft for 25+ years on every version of SQL Server shipped from OS/2 1.1 to SQL Server 2019 including Azure. Bob is a well-known speaker on SQL Server, often presenting talks on new releases, internals, and performance at events such as PASS Summit, SQLBits, SQLIntersection, Microsoft Inspire, and Microsoft Ignite. You can follow him at @bobwardms or LinkedIn.