KEY POINTS Accurate, practical techniques for SQL Server 2008 administration Easy-to-use task-based reference format Over 100 specific tips, procedures, and best practices SQL Server 2008 Administration isn't a standard SQL Server tutorial - there are dozens of those to choose from. Instead, this book breaks down the role of SQL Server Administrator into its key focus areas and tasks and details the techniques and best practices that make an administrator effective. In this book, a reader can quickly identify a task and find the best practice associated with it. For example, a reader looking for information about indexing would find step-by-step procedures for identifying and dropping unused indexes, creating missing indexes, selecting the appropriate clustered index, and so forth. Each technique is presented in a clear, straightforward style and in the order of the typical lifecycle of a SQL Server system. This allows a reader to easily open the book at the appropriate page and focus on what you need to know for each specific situation. While most techniques will work for all versions of SQL Server, this book is current for the recent final release of SQL Server 2008.ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rod Colledge is an independent SQL Server consultant based in Brisbane, Australia. Since 1996, Rod has specialized in the development and administration of SQL Server database systems. His recent work has included the design and implementation of custom transactional replication and log shipping solutions, performance tuning large high-volume databases, and developing procedures for operational maintenance of large database systems. In September 2007, Rod founded sqlCrunch.com, a website specializing in summarizing and categorizing links to SQL Server white papers and best practices.