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Rating: 
Summary: From a Beginner
Review: I found this book to be an excellent introduction to sql 2000. I am a Network/Systems Engineer/Consultant. Most the environments I have worked in have dedicated staff acting as DBA's. In these environments the cultish status of the DBA camp has always left me wondering what do and how they do it. Now I have a pretty good idea what dba's do and ideas about how to resolve problems with databases in a pinch. Basically, this book has given me enough that when confronted with SQL I will know where problems are rooted and be better equiped to solve them. The bulk of the reviews here say this is far from an Administrators companion and will leave you high and dry. Point is these reviewers have more experience than myself and need finer granularity of information. If you are experienced with SQL this book will probably fall flat other than to introduce you to the product and version specific enhancements. If you are looking for a way to begin unraveling the SQL knot, this is a good way to start. Look at it as a first step.
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction for Those New to SQL Server
Review: I found this book to be very helpful for people who have some database knowledge, but who are unfamiliar with SQL, and SQL server services. To this end, I found that this book has one of the most concise, and clear reference to the SQL language. I have read two tutorials before on the subject of SQL, but have always felt somehow that the ideas behind the language seem to elude me. Maybe the third time was the charm. After I read this particular book, I felt that I got a solid understanding of SQL, and I feel that I would be referring back to this book from time to time for its lucid explanation on SQL operations. Many previous posters have noted the abundance of tutorials for introducing users to how to use wizards. I find this a welcoming feature, as novices like me would certainly be comforted in knowing that there are such user-friendly features available in SQL to lower the learning curve. Nonetheless, some claims that the book lacked examples on how to use the T-SQL language is simply note true. The book provides corresponding examples of everything it covers in T-SQL script. So far, I have yet to find one script to fail executing on my default installation of SQL Server 2000. Those T-SQL scripts may not have the same sophistication as some other DBA books offer, they nonetheless provide a very good introduction to the novice in the field. I must also commend the author of this book in his clear style of writing. I didn't find a single instance where I was bogged down while reading this book by the complicated structure of the language. I find this to be an exceptional gift in any technical documentation. Overall, I found this book to be a perfect fit for my purpose. I have always resented books which packed too much information into too little space, and this book has shown that it has the right balance of material as it couldn't have hoped to be both a good introduction for novices and a "bible" for advanced users. I did not expect this to be the last book I will purchase on SQL Server, since it certainly doesn't cover the nitty-gritties of SQL Server as books like "Inside SQL Server 2000" do. As a first book, though, it is perfect.
Rating: 
Summary: I wish the other two reviews
Review: I wish that the two most recent reviews of this book had been written before I bought this book. This book is a waste of time. As the other two reviewers have stated, the majority of the book is stepping the user through Wizards. How anybody can call this a good book for experienced DBA's is beyond me. Anybody who is technical or has a lot of experience will find this book a waste of time and money. I will definitely be waiting for more reviews of Microsoft Press books before I buy them again in the future. I think that I must have bought this because it was one of the first books to be released on SQL 2000. If I had to say something good about this book, it is graphically pleasing. Lots of pictures of the screens as it steps you through the wizards. This book might help a lot if you're the company stud at Excel and they suddenly promote you to network administrator and you're looking at SQL for the first time. This book is defintely a newbie book.
Rating:
Summary: I wish the other two reviews
Review: I wish that the two most recent reviews of this book had been written before I bought this book. This book is a waste of time. As the other two reviewers have stated, the majority of the book is stepping the user through Wizards. How anybody can call this a good book for experienced DBA's is beyond me. Anybody who is technical or has a lot of experience will find this book a waste of time and money. I will definitely be waiting for more reviews of Microsoft Press books before I buy them again in the future. I think that I must have bought this because it was one of the first books to be released on SQL 2000. If I had to say something good about this book, it is graphically pleasing. Lots of pictures of the screens as it steps you through the wizards. This book might help a lot if you're the company stud at Excel and they suddenly promote you to network administrator and you're looking at SQL for the first time. This book is defintely a newbie book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book
Review: It is the best book I have read for the following areas: Clusters
DTC
RAID The problem with this book is that is a little boring.
It is a good referential book. I do not recommend this book for beginners because it contains a lot of technical details.
Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: It is the best book I have read for the following areas: Clusters
DTC
RAID The problem with this book is that it is a little boring.
It is a good referential book. I do not recommend this book for beginners because it contains a lot of technical details.
Rating: 
Summary: Another bad book from Microsoft Press
Review: This book does a good job of describing how the database functionality and concepts work, but that's about it. As far as examples go, it just walks you through a bunch of wizards, so you end up playing sheep to the click here and click their method. Also the book doesn't describe how to fix any problems that may occur while walking through the examples. Should any errors arise, your stuck. The book also seems to be slightly outdated or not completely thorough, I've noticed steps in a few solutions that are completely missing!???
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Summary: Look else where, like BOL
Review: This has to be one of the worst books I own. Time and time again I look to it to provide some knowlege in hopes that the purchase may redeem itself. I am always vastly disappointed! If you want general SQL Server information, the Books Online that come with SQL Server provide MUCH more information. There are also many more worthwhile books out there. Keep looking!
Rating:
Summary: Good introduction/walk through - lacks depth.
Review: This is really a good beginner's book. Anyone who doesn't have experience in SQL Server can pick up this book as a good walk through. It does have some good coverage on the rich features such as clustering, DTS, and replication. However, it only shows you how to set it up. There's really very little talk about how to optimize these services or what problems are common as well as their solutions. If you're new to SQL Server and want to learn the breadth of features, this is a good book for you. It's easy to follow, since it's a picture book that takes you screen by screen. If you're a somewhat experienced or a veteran in SQL Server, you'll be disappointed. There's really very little to learn in the areas of architecture, design, disaster recovery, optimization, and troubleshooting. I believe to be a strong DBA, you'd need to know the very intricate operations within SQL Server (which is why I like Inside SQL Server 2000, even though it's not written as a DBA book) and know how to use Knowledge Base (which is what will really get you out of hot water).
Rating:
Summary: Probably good for newbies, too light if you have exprience
Review: Unfortunately I have to disagree with other reviewers. I didn't find this book particulary useful. Half the space is devoted to snapshots from Enterprise Manager and walking through its wizards. It is probably an OK book if you are completely new to SQL Server, but if you have a couple of years behind your back, don't waste money. Very little coverage of new features in SQL2000 (UDF's, INSTEAD OF triggers, Cascading DRI, Partitioned views, etc.) I was unpleasantly surprised that such weak book was produced by the same team of authors who wrote a real gem: "SQL7 Performance Tuning Technical Reference". Get back on track, guys! Michael Neymit, MCSE, MCDBA
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