Summary
Management Studio's Object Explorer and Query Editor are the two primary DBA and developer interfaces for SQL Server. Mastering the navigation of both these tools is vital to your success with SQL Server.
Following are a few key takeaways:
- Management Studio can be visually intimidating — so many windows. Close any window not needed for the task at hand. Remove the distractions and get the job done.
- Registered Servers can be useful if you have lots of servers to manage or if you want to easily query groups of your servers simultaneously.
- Management Studio offers a scalable experience. The accidental DBA can use the wizards and GUI, whereas the master DBA can work with raw T-SQL, PowerShell, DMVs, and wait states.
- The Query Editor is the place where T-SQL happens. Take the time to master its little features, such as bookmarks, to get the most out of SQL Server.
- IntelliSense takes some getting used to. But when it's mastered, it's great.