Many people in the SQL Server world have become DBAs by accident, myself included. The problem with being an accidental DBA is that you usually learn things the hard way: when something is on fire. At that point, you are under intense pressure to solve everything NOW. It’s a real pain.
Of course, there are a number of great resources if you are learning SQL Server from scratch. Here are two of them that have helped me:
- The 6-Month Accidental DBA Training Plan by Brent Ozar
- Troubleshooting SQL Server: A Guide for the Accidental DBA by Red Gate Software
These will lead you in the right direction, but the real challenge is learning how to deal with problems while under pressure. Reading about a problem isn’t the same as dealing with it first hand. What I think is really exciting is the idea of a safe environment where you can solve a problem without any risk.
Enter Azure (or any virtualization solution). Azure provides a really fun opportunity, in my mind. You can spin up a virtual machine with SQL in a matter of minutes. Then you are free to break things to your heart’s content. So why not take that a step further? Why not create labs where things are intentionally broken and your job is to fix it. Your only guides are a vague error message and your Google-Fu. Just like in real life.
So, I’m going to start a series of posts on how to create intentionally broken VM’s to train your junior DBA’s on. Next, I’ll start creating Powershell scripts to automate the creation process. Finally, we’ll take a look at consolidating those scripts to create a single SQL machine with a lot of problems that need fixed.
For the first lab, I’m going cover how to create a machine with an out of control transaction log. Please feel free to suggest any ideas or provide any comments.
