Sql server installation is either corrupt or has been tampered with error getting instance id from name

When attempting to start a SQL Server named instance in single user mode using the command line steps below , I receive a "Sql server installation is either corrupt or has been tampered with error getting instance id from name" . Is there a workaround?

Cd C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.3\MSSQL\Binn>
Sqlservr.exe –m

 

To avoid this error , add the flag    -s<InstanceName> to the string .   If I have a SQL Server Instance called MyInstance ,  the command  should be :

 

Sqlserver.exe –m –sMyInstance

 

Connect to the server through SQLCMD - C:>\sqlcmd -S <sql server name>

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Career in DBA

A DBA career path is about thinking in strategic terms .  What  other skills can a DBA  develop their  in a  complex database server environment?

A rising trend  in the database server world is  a  hybrid of DBA and application administrator.

A common source of pressure is increased demand for DBA time but decreasing budgets for DBAs. Thinking clearly about career progression is a challenge. Here are some ideas.

Managing Enterprise infrastructure across the application stack is increasing in demand .  In an earlier post - DBA supertech . Specialise or generalise?   I introduced the idea of thinking beyond the database server.

A critical DBA skillset to develop is interacting at the Application, RDBMS OS, Hardware, network and storage layer.

How do you progress?

Basic DBA

1) Solid DBA skills  - backup and recovery, basic admin, security management, performance tuning, T-SQL. Read more on I want to become a DBA. What should I first learn ?

2) Dependant application admin skills

Intermediate DBA

1) Intermediate DBA skills – Solid basic skills & solid knowledge of an advanced SQL Server feature such High Availability ,Business Intelligence,Datawarehouse or other SQL Server – DBA Skills Growth Areas

2) Intermediate Dependant application admin skills

3) Deploy other middleware software – and interact with development teams on coding patterns, XML,.Net,single sign on

Advanced DBA

1) Advanced DBA skills – Intermediate DBA skills & solid knowledge of Enterprise management software. Experience and skills to operate in a complex database server environment

2) Advanced Dependant application admin skills such as Websphere, Business Objects,Sharepoint.

3) Deploy other middleware software – and interact with development teams on coding, XML,.Net,single sign on, connectivity, distributed transactions

4) Knowledge and experience of managing full Enterprise infrastructure in one of : BackUp \Recovery\Disaster Recovery, Security Management, Performance , Diagnostics

5) Knowledge of other database server systems such as DB2

Let me know  your thoughts and experiences . It is difficult to obtain experience and knowledge to progress. Hopefully this post offered some ideas

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The value of training and How to convince your boss

Value of training for DBAs

Improved SQL Server performance

Reduced server loads

Increased uptime

Less reworking of solutions

 

How to convince your boss

 

1) Present a detailed plan –  Include all aspects include the training\conference\seminar details and costs.Don't sound vague. Clear communication

2) Outline how the company will benefit  - I cannot state this point enough – what is their ROI? All companies are interested in how your training will benefit their bottom-line. Even though professional development  is mentioned – it’s always in the context of ROI.

3) “What if we  train them and they leave?” – the flip side is “What if we don’t train them and they stay?”  , this can have a long – term corrosive  effect on everyone.

4) Team effort -  Can you translate into a team effort? Are there knowledge transfer possibilities?

5) Give Better advice – You will be able to give better advice on a range of technologies – consider the range of DBA responsibilities : RDBMS, storage, virtualization.

 

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Top 5 habits of Performance Tuning Experts

Top Performance Tuning Experts have years of hard earned experience. They’ve worked on thousands of performance problems , acquiring in depth knowledge of SQL Server and the whole performance stack.

I’ve observed these top 5 habits of Performance Tuning Experts  

Servers

Learn everything about servers . You should have an in-depth experience of configuring Windows, SQL server , Service Broker, Caching Tier. Database Size, transactions per second and concurrent users  are continuously changing . If you don’t know how to understand and manipulate the components in-between a  client request  and the code, you are very limited in your ability to troubleshoot and improve performance

 READ Everything

Keeping up to date on performance – software and hardware – is  critical. Documenting all performance troubleshooting is a great learning tool.

Help is available

I work with SQL server and DB2. In my opinion, IBM DB2 has great documentation but the SQL Server community is much better developed.  There is some serious expertise  on various forums and through conferences. 

Budget for SQL Server performance experts . Downtime on SQL Server can be costly .

Experiment

SQL Server default configurations since SQL Server 2005 are very good. But , different access and usage patterns can require configuration changes. 

Focus on bottlenecks – become effective

Don’t optimize on ghost issues. Don’t just blindly optimize. The “Kill it by Iron” approach is popular , as hardware becomes cheaper. Before upgrading hardware gather metrics  and  understand the bottlenecks. Understand the bottlenecks – fix them and move onto the next bottleneck. Repeat……

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DBA - Database Architect - Data Architect - What’s the difference ?

DBA , Database Architect, Data Architect : I was asked to differentiate between these three job functions.

1) The different job functions are : Part of the same workflow, but serve different functions.

 2) A Data Architect looks at the wider use of data , independent of RDBMS.

A Database Architect focuses performance,optimisation, capacity planning, data storage techniques and so forth (more details below)

DBA works with the Database Architect to develop the relevant knowledge in being able to support the database systems.

3) How the skills are implemented depends on the organisation. In large organisations it is not unusual to see all three jobs represented by different people. Other organisations integrate all three skillsets into onto one job.

4) It depends on a number of factors such as skill level of staff  and service agreements .

 Some sample skills to differentiate Data Architect versus Database Architect

Database Architect

Database Engine in-depth

Database Design and Usage Patterns – OLTP ,DSS

Database Optimization Techniques such as Partitioned Tables, Queues,sql programming, Exceution Plans, Data File management to support different usage ,full range of Backup and Restore  strategies, Indexes, XML optimization

Performance Tuning – Strategies for improved performance

Disaster Recovery and High Availability -  Techniques such as Linux Clustering,Tivoli Storage Automation,HADR, SAN Replication,Database Mirroring planning on SQL server 2005

Security Architecture

Capacity Planning

Data Storage Techniques. Defining database server IO profiles  and mapping to storage methods such as DAS, SAN, SSD, RAID levels ,PCIe attached .

 

Data Architect

Database Design – Structured methods for design

Data Architecture – Conceptual Model methods

Data Analysis

Data Migration Tools

Data Modeling – Enterprise Data Modeling with an emphasis on transactional enterprise data models meeting normalization rules

Data Integration -  disparate source systems and disparate data formats.

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