SQL Server is one of the most popular relational database management systems (RDBMS) in the world. It has been evolving and improving over the years, adding new features and capabilities to meet the changing needs and expectations of users and businesses. As a result, the role and responsibilities of a SQL Server database administrator (DBA) have also changed significantly in the past two decades. Advancements in technology, data growth, and changing business requirements have led to new responsibilities and skills needed for today’s DBAs. In this blog, we will explore the top 10 differences between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago.
1. Development vs Administration
SQL Server DBAs twenty years ago were primarily responsible for managing databases, backups, and recovery. Today, their role has expanded to include more responsibilities such as performance tuning, security management, hardware setup best practices (VMs versus on-premise), and integration with other applications. Another major difference between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago is the scope and overlap of development and administration tasks of SQL Server databases.
Today, many SQL Server DBAs are expected to perform both development and administration tasks of SQL Server databases. They are expected to have skills and knowledge in both areas, such as T-SQL programming, stored procedures, functions, triggers, views, database design, database modeling, database security, database backup, database restore, etc. They are also expected to use various tools and frameworks, such as Visual Studio, SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT), Entity Framework (EF), etc., to perform development and administration tasks.
Twenty years ago, most SQL Server DBAs were expected to perform mainly administration tasks of SQL Server databases. They were expected to have skills and knowledge in mainly administration areas such as database security, database backup, database restore, etc. They were also expected to use mainly tools such as Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer, or command-line tools to perform administration tasks.
2. Data Volume vs Data Quality
Another major difference between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago is the amount and variety of data that is stored and processed by SQL Server databases.
Today, many SQL Server databases handle terabytes or even petabytes of data from various sources such as web applications, mobile devices, IoT devices, social media platforms, etc. These data are often unstructured or semi-structured and require special handling and processing techniques such as data lake, data warehouse, big data analytics, machine learning, etc.
Twenty years ago, most SQL Server databases dealt with gigabytes or megabytes of data from traditional sources such as business applications or desktop applications. These data were mostly structured and relational and required less complex handling and processing techniques such as normalization, indexing, querying, etc.
3. Cloud vs On-Premises
One of the biggest differences between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago is the availability and adoption of cloud computing.
Today, many SQL Server databases are hosted on cloud platforms such as Azure SQL Database, Amazon RDS for SQL Server, or Google Cloud SQL. These platforms offer many benefits, such as scalability, availability, security, and cost-efficiency. They also reduce the burden of managing the underlying infrastructure, hardware, and software for the DBAs. The rise of cloud computing has transformed the SQL Server DBA role. DBAs today need to be familiar with cloud-based database platforms and need to know how to manage databases in a hybrid environment.
4. Automation vs Manual Tasks
Additionally, another key distinction between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago is the level of automation that is available and expected.
Today, many tasks that used to be done manually by the DBAs can be automated using various tools and scripts. For example, tasks such as provisioning, monitoring, backup, restore, patching, tuning, auditing, and reporting can be automated using tools such as PowerShell, Azure Automation, SQL Server Agent, SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), Azure Data Studio (ADS), or third-party tools. Automation tools have reduced the manual work of a SQL Server DBA, freeing up time for more complex tasks. Automation has made database administration more efficient and streamlined.
5. Availability vs Recovery
The expectation and capability of availability and recovery of SQL Server databases are significantly different today versus twenty years ago.
Today, many SQL Server databases are expected to be highly available and resilient to failures and disasters. They are expected to have minimal downtime and data loss in case of any unplanned events such as hardware failures, network failures, power outages, natural disasters, human errors, or malicious attacks. They are expected to leverage various features and technologies such as Always On availability groups, Always On failover cluster instances, log shipping, database mirroring, backup and restore, etc. to achieve high availability and disaster recovery.
Twenty years ago, most SQL Server databases were not expected to be highly available and resilient to failures and disasters. They were expected to have more downtime and data loss in case of any unplanned events. They were expected to rely mainly on backup and restore or log shipping to achieve availability and recovery.
6. Security vs Compliance
Another major difference between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago is the importance and complexity of security and compliance issues.
Today, many SQL Server databases store sensitive and confidential data such as personal information, financial information, health information, etc. These data are subject to various regulations and standards such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, etc. These regulations and standards require strict measures to protect the data from unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure. They also require regular audits and reports to demonstrate compliance.
Twenty years ago, most SQL Server databases stored less sensitive and confidential data such as product information, sales information, inventory information, etc. These data were subject to fewer regulations and standards and required less stringent measures to protect the data from unauthorized access, modification, or disclosure. They also required less frequent audits and reports to demonstrate compliance.
7. Performance vs Scalability
Further, a key contrast between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago is the trade-off and balance between the performance and scalability of SQL Server databases.
Today, many SQL Server databases are expected to perform well and scale well to meet the increasing demands and workloads of users and applications. They are expected to leverage various features and technologies such as in-memory OLTP, columnstore indexes, partitioning, resource governor, query store, adaptive query processing, etc., to achieve performance and scalability.
Twenty years ago, most SQL Server databases were not expected to perform well and scale well to meet the increasing demands and workloads of the users and applications. They were expected to rely mainly on indexing, statistics, query optimization, etc. to achieve performance and scalability.
8. Integration vs Isolation
Another key difference between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago is the level of integration and isolation of SQL Server databases with other systems and platforms.
Today, many SQL Server databases are expected to integrate well and isolate well with other systems and platforms such as Azure, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, Hadoop, Spark, etc. They are expected to leverage various features and technologies such as PolyBase, external tables, linked servers, SQL Server on Linux containers or pods, etc., to achieve integration and isolation.
Twenty years ago, most SQL Server databases were not expected to integrate well and isolate well with other systems and platforms. They were expected to rely mainly on ODBC drivers, OLE DB providers, or SQL Server on Windows servers or clusters to achieve integration and isolation.
9. Learning vs Stagnation
The pace and necessity of learning and the stagnation of SQL Server databases and related technologies today and twenty years ago are very different.
Today, many SQL Server DBAs are expected to learn constantly and keep up with the latest trends and innovations of SQL Server databases and related technologies. They are expected to use various resources such as Microsoft Learn, Microsoft Docs, Microsoft Virtual Academy, Pluralsight, Coursera, Udemy, YouTube, Blogs, Podcasts, etc., to learn new skills and knowledge.
Twenty years ago, most SQL Server DBAs were expected to learn occasionally and stick with the established practices and techniques of SQL Server databases and related technologies. They were expected to use mainly books, magazines, or courses to learn new skills and knowledge.
10. Collaboration vs Silos
Finally, a significant difference between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago is the level of collaboration and silos of SQL Server databases with other teams and roles.
Today, many SQL Server DBAs are expected to collaborate well with other teams and roles such as developers, testers, analysts, business users, etc. They are expected to use various tools and platforms, such as Azure DevOps, GitHub, Power BI, etc., to communicate, share, review, test, deploy, monitor, etc.
Twenty years ago, most SQL Server DBAs were expected to learn occasionally and stick with the established practices and techniques of SQL Server databases and related technologies. They were expected to use mainly books, magazines, or courses to learn new skills and knowledge.
Conclusion
In this blog post, we have explored some of the major differences between a SQL Server DBA today and twenty years ago. We have seen how the role and responsibilities of a SQL Server DBA have changed significantly in the past two decades due to the evolution and improvement of SQL Server and related technologies. We have also seen how a SQL Server DBA today needs to adapt and adjust to these changes and challenges to be successful and effective in their job.
We hope you have enjoyed reading this blog post and learned something new. If you have any questions about SQL Server or our remote DBA services, please contact us!