How You Can Ace the Technical SQL Server Interview

Name: How You Can Ace the Technical SQL Server Interview
Rating: 4.3 (96 reviews)

A Pragmatic Approach to the Technical SQL Server Interview

Created byMike West

Last updated 4/2016

English

What you'll learn

Be able to answer many real world SQL Server interview questions.
Understand how the buffer pool works and answer many questions around the storage engine.
Feel more confident heading into the Technical SQL Server Interview.

Course content

3 sections • 28 lectures • 1h 13m total length

Course Introduction1:20
What is this course about?
Is this course right for you?2:01
Let's take a moment to decide if this course is right for you.
What We Are Going to be Doing in this Course2:05
Types of Authentication Modes1:48
There are only two types of authentication in SQL Server.
Let's answer what they are and how we alter that setting.
What is the default port number?1:27
The default port number is 1433 but let's give the interviewer a little more.
Local Temp Table Vs Global Temp Table1:44
Once you see the difference this one is easy to remember.
Let's see the difference in this lecture then craft our interview response.
What is Log Shipping?1:36
This is asked in almost every interview.
Let's answer the question in detail without deep diving.
Should You Index Foreign Keys?1:52
You'll see this one often.
Is it a good idea?
Summary0:39
Quiz

What is a clustered index?2:08
What is a clustered index? It's the single most asked SQL Server interview question.
Difference Between a Primary Key and Unique Key1:33
Both enforce uniqueness but what's the real difference?
TRUNCATE vs DELETE. Some MYTH busting here.2:44
There's less than a difference than you think.
Let's bust a myth here and then answer the question.
How are Table Stats Different from Index Stats?6:25
Let's define what stats are then let's answer our question.
What are the Advantages of Stored Procedures?3:02
The biggest benefit is caching.

However, the data isn't cached... then what is?
What is the Buffer Pool?2:44
Let's talk about the buffer pool and learn some basic architecture so we gain more lucidly answer basic architecture related questions.
Page Questions. What's a Page? What's Flushes a Page to Disk?2:20
The fundamental unit in SQL Server is the Page.
Let's talk about it.
GUIDS as Primary Keys. More Myth Busting.3:25
Are GUID keys really a bad idea for OLTP boxes?
The conventional wisdom here might not be so accurate on systems of scale.
Is a Non-Clustered Primary Key Possible?2:12
This question isn't... is it a good idea... the question really is... can it be done?
How DBAs Measure Subsystem Performance2:51
One of the most missed questions.
How do DBA gauge IO performance.
We don't use IOPS.
What's the Difference Between OLTP and a data warehouse?2:29
This is one of the more common questions and easy to answer and recall.
What's an Execution Plan?5:10
As a DBA you'll need to be able to read execution plans but first, you'll need to know the basic vernacular.
Are Multiple Log Files a Good Idea?3:17
Are multiple data and log files a good idea?
Yes for one but no for the other.
The ACID Properties. Bonus Points on this Definition3:19
One of the most asked questions in SQL Server interviews.
What is Performance Tuning?4:03
Most can't answer this correctly.
After watching this video you'll be able to.
Performance Tuning Example4:22
Once you get the definition correct the next question will be an example.
Here's a great one.
High Availability Options in SQL Server5:13
There are several options but in my opinion only two real ones.
Summary1:08
Quiz

Requirements

You'll need a pen and paper so you can put the answers to these interview questions in your own words.
There is no software to install and everything is included in the course fee.

Description

Reviews from other courses:

"Honestly Mike your classes speak for themselves. They're informative, concise and just really well put together. They're exactly the kind of courses I look for." -Alex El

This is a great course so far. Mike explains the content very well. - Doug

Course Summary

All videos filmed in 1080 and audio is crystal clear.

In this course we will move beyond the simplistic responses given by most SQL Server DBA candidates.

We are going to give the answer the interviewer is looking for while adding a sentence or two more to reinforce to the interviewer our solid understanding of the concept.

In the course we will be word smithing our way to an offer by adding additional pieces of information to every one of our interview questions.

Here’s an example: What is SQL Server Profiler? We could simply say… it’s a tool that allows us to capture data about events.

While that would be correct we are going to add to it and communicate to the interviewer that while it’s a great tool we know of and have used other options.

Here the new response. Profiler is graphical tool for capturing the transactions running on an instance. However, it’s a very heavy tool and I’ll often use Adam Machanics's sp_whoisactive’s quick debug feature to capture data on live boxes because it’s much less resource intensive.

With our new answer we’ve gone far beyond answering a question about profiler. We have indeed answered the question however we’ve let the interviewer know we use sp_whoisactive and why we use it. We’ve also communicated to them we know one of the greatest limitations to profiler and we have a way around that for troubleshooting live boxes. We’ve done this is one sentence.

Thank you for your interest in How You Can Ace the Technical SQL Server Interview.

The first 10 minutes are free on every Udemy course. Please take a moment to watch all ten minutes to ensure this course is right for you.

See you in the course!!

Who this course is for:

This course can be taken by anyone but was designed for mid-level to senior level SQL Server resources.
Prior knowledge of SQL Server is strongly recommended.

How You Can Ace the Technical SQL Server Interview

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

An Introduction to Technical Interviewing9 lectures • 15min

How to Handle the Most Common Questions18 lectures • 58min

Conclusion1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: