If I search my blog for Policy Based Management in SQL Server, I notice there are a fair few posts on the matter. I am not going to apologise for this as it’s a vital tool in any DBA’s armoury in the world of ever increasing databases compliance and risk management.  My blog is also like paging to disk, so when my brain is full of stuff I write to blog so I can fetch it later. A good example of this is so I can find the links for the resources I am often asked about.

However I no longer need to really bother blogging about this topic any more because the definitive work has just landed on my desk,Pro SQL Server 2008 Policy Based Management from Apress.

There are several reasons to I would recommend this book specifically:

• It covers all the bases including building your own reporting solution around BPMusing powershell, SQL server tables and, or using the Enterprise Policy Management Framework on codeplex.
• It is very practical and covers the wider topics around compliance very well.
• It is is written in English, not techno babble and isn’t overburdened with lists of features and functions which I can get from books on line or a system view.

If you’re serious about securing and managing SQL Server, then start looking at this topic, and if you hate watching screencasts or reading blogs to find out how to get stuff done then the book is definitely going to help.