It seems like we return to this question frequently. I get pretty regular "where do I start" type questions – and of late, I’ve noticed they’re changing. Not just "where do I begin" as a new DBA or someone just handed the tasks of managing their servers, but things are changing.
The change comes from the on-premises and off-premises configurations having to be supported. While the skill sets are similar, they’re not identical I don’t think. This seems especially true when you first come into a situation with a virtual environment where you have to essentially triage the configurations and get up to speed with them.
Do you think the priorities remain the same for getting started? If your friend came to you as newly having the responsibilities to run the databases, what would you tell them in terms of getting started? Does it change if it’s a mixed environment?
I think the big change is that I’d suggest someone start with understanding and validating the security setup. Find out what controls are in place, find out what protections are in place and, perhaps most interestingly, find out what people THINK are in place. You may find gaps that really need to be addressed ASAP.
What do you think? Let me know…