Relational databases place heavy demands on their underlying hardware and many of these databases are mission-critical resources for multiple applications, where performance bottlenecks are immediately noticeable and often very costly to the business. Despite this, many database administrators are not very knowledgeable about server hardware. Many medium-to-large companies have completely separate departments that are responsible for hardware selection, configuration, and maintenance, and the DBA with no knowledge of hardware is often completely at their mercy. Likewise, many DBAs are also unaware of the performance implications of the various options and configurations for SQL Server, and the Operating System on which it is installed. Glenn Berry is a highly experienced Database Architect, teacher and SQL Server MVP, and his book is designed to provide the fundamental knowledge and resources you need to make intelligent choices about optimal installation and configuration of SQL Server hardware, operating system and the SQL Server RDBMS. With what you learn in this book, you'll be able to ensure that your SQL Server instances can handle gracefully the CPU, memory and IO workload generated by your applications, and that the operating system and SQL Server itself are installed, patched, and configured for maximum performance and reliability. I wanted this book to be a little different from the multitude of good, existing books about SQL Server performance and scalability. I wanted to start, from the ground up, showing how to evaluate and choose hardware and storage subsystems from a SQL Server specific perspective. Next, I wanted to show how to properly install and configure the operating system and SQL Server itself for the best performance, scalability, and reliability. I also wanted to give you ammunition for convincing your boss or customers why newer versions of the operating system and newer versions of SQL Server were a better solution than older versions. Finally, I wanted to talk about the tangible performance benefits you get from SQL Server Enterprise Edition, that make it worth the extra licensing cost. I think that I accomplished most of these goals, but I will leave that judgment up to the reader. I really enjoyed writing this book, and I hope it is a valuable resource to you! Glenn Berry works as a Principal Consultant at SQLskills in Parker, CO. He is a SQL Server MVP, and has a whole collection of Microsoft certifications, including MCITP, MCDBA, MCSE, MCSD, MCAD, and MCTS, which proves he likes to take tests. He is also an Adjunct Faculty member at University College, University of Denver, where he has been teaching since 2000, and he has completed the Master Teacher Program. Used Book in Good Condition