It's amazing that people often buy the 3rd party perf tools before looking at the perf dashboard reports that are now available. I agree about SQLServer Central. There's also PASS which employers who won't spring for training might fund. Niall Litchfield On Jul 16, 2010 3:00 PM, "Rich Jesse" <rjoralist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Hi Manjula, > I am now being roped in to being a SQL Server DBA as well. That is something I have not touched a... I was in the same situation a few years back. The things that helped me most? 1) "Maintaining a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Database" class by a local MS training partner. Your version (and mileage) may vary. 2) "SQL Server 2000 for the Oracle DBA" e-book by Christopher Kempster. While MS2K is out-of-date, we still use it quite a bit here for the time being, and the important structural concepts are valid through v2008. However, the author's website is no more, so I'm not sure how to legally obtain a copy of this PDF. 3) http://www.sqlservercentral.com has lots of hints and tips and a daily email that I'm wishing some Oracle vendor would try to mirror. 4) Toad for SQL Server by Quest Software. Sure I'm a Quest junkie, but for good reason. The Log Reader (like a GUI for Oracle's Log Miner, although this is not native functionality in SQL Server) is worth the price alone to me. 5) Spotlight on SQL Server Enterprise by Quest Software. Most of our SQL Server DBs support vendor software, and have therefore much left to be desired. This tool can be a quick way to give some guidance as to potential problems with your SQL Servers until you've got some knowledge to start managing things *better*. I use it as a dashboard (for now at least). HTH! GL! Rich -- //www.freelists.org/webpage/oracle-l