SQL Server administration is one of the key responsibilities for every DBA to keep up the availability, performance, and scalability of the data platform. This chapter will cover all the aspects of database administration.

SQL Server 2008 R2 features include important elements as part of a toolkit to automate the core database development and administration functionalities. To be a competent Developer and Database Administrator, the user needs to have a firm understanding of the tools, features and architecture of the system.

In this chapter, we will look at the automated administration practices such as the implementation of security, availability, performance monitoring, and tuning features of SQL Server 2008 R2. We will also look at the concepts related to scheduling aspects of the SQL ServerAgent to handle the Extract-Transform-Load (ETL) processes, and administering the replication process to trouble shooting multi-server instances using the new utility administration tool...