What Kind of DBA Are You?
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What kind of DBA am I?
After the effort this morning, I'd be saying: "A bad one!"
You know how it goes when you work with people from the Network area and near to you and you get a bit lax about procedures when things need to be done? Well, that happened this morning and the old BOHICA* came back to haunt me
[*BOHICA - Bend Over, Here It Comes Again]
I get told about a DB on a production server that is being taken out and migrated to something else. Network boy says that there are no users and everything in the new app. Take him at his word and take DB offline to take copy of files (after the backup) to ensure that I have a couple of points of recovery if there is an issue. All works OK.
Turns out that, thanks to a program called LogMeister, the DB2 DBAs discover that a program they have that monitors the SS-DB for info is useless now because the Network boy didn't put in any change control info and nobody else on the floor knew about the app upgrade.
That's what you get for assuming that someone you work with is professional and you don't second guess every request that comes across your table
A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
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Nice topic Steve
At least for SQL Server DBA I personally feel there is not much to do (unless there is some crisis). But playing with SQL queries, tuning them is my favorite. Understanding the SQL Server architecture, data page storage, indexing that helps in improving query performance are some more good topics.
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So what kind of DBA are you if part of your duties will see you become the King of Documentation (when you enter an organisation that has done *none*....
)I'm more of an all-rounder. Will do anything to help out users and developers in the slow times between system crises
A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
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I am a Do Bugger All.. An Unix Admin once told me Dump Bloody Arsehole
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Well, I support the production environment (Data fixes, performance monitoring, backups, etc.). I support the Dev/Test/QC environments (backups, restores, releasing T-SQL code created by our development team). I do schema changes, T-SQL development (procs, functions, etc.), create jobs for all environments, create SSIS packages and migrate them through the environments, design reports, create & update database diagrams (via Erwin), tune indexes and queries for better performance, create test data for the developers' releases, run ad hoc reports for the users, monitor and implement security on all servers, advise/assist the developers when they do T-SQL coding or create SSIS packages, create metric monitoring for our SAN drives and the SQL databases, monitor network performance (only in regards to our internal application which accesses our SQL Servers), and now I'm in the middle of learning BI and how to create a datawarehouse (our first true DW).
Also, there's a little bit of cross-over in my job between the Server Admin types and the DBA types. As a DBA, I'm responsible for monitoring the clusters, the Event logs and general OS performance (paging files, Performance Monitor etc.) on our servers.
What flavor is that? @=)
Actually, I became a DBA because I like to troubleshoot systems (hardware and OS) and I like to program. Being a DBA gives me the best of both worlds and is probably the only IT job where you can truly do all of that at the same time.
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I have supported SQL Server databases for different types of companies-- a vendor of an ERP application written on platforms Ingres and SQL Server 6.5; a manufacturing company that purchased the ERP application and "customized" it to the extent of rewriting it completely; a Fortune 50 company consolidating data centers internationally; and others. I have a big collection of "SQL DBA" job postings, started in year 1997, I've been copying from job boards and saving. I'm the kind of DBA who is interested in data and data analysis.
Almost universally, a "DBA" job description actually describes the SQL Server sa / sysadmin role. Why don't they notice they are about servers rather than about databases? Because so many companies think they don't need the actual DBA role because all their data is "in applications" and "the applications take care of that." I'm the kind of DBA who thinks that a company that has not compiled a Data Dictionary but is ready to spend $$ buying BizTalk should replace its IT Director. I'm the kind of DBA who thinks whiz kid programmers who know barely more than connect strings should not have the authority to create a database. I solve performance problems created by programmers who put a clustered index on the PK in every table. I write clever SQL, always looking for the simplest solution. I love correlated subqueries; sometimes I kill the urge for potato chips or chocolate by writing one.
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"Look, those sheep have been shorn."
data analyst replies, "On the sides that we can see.." -
in my opinion a DBA is the one who can do "anything" that has to do with data within or outside the working environment, data import, export, cleansing, mapping, db server tuning, manipulation, ... etc and most of all the ability to do gap analysis especially for systems upgrades
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The new manager asked me that question several months ago as he was obviously struggling with both the concept of a DBA and the budget. the answer then was obvious:
"The kind you cant afford to be without"
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Colin,
I think we all aspire to be that DBA
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I have recently rediscovered something that really helps me in my role as a DBA - it makes me nicer to be around and far more productive when it comes to monitoring the system and getting those fiddly little tasks done that we all try to avoid (like: documentation).
A set of headphones plugged into the PC playing Led Zeppelin
Only problem now is that I only have about 20 songs - need to bring in more from home....
A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.
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I am not really sure that I am a true DBA at all even though my last and current job titles say I am. I work to maintain the SQL Server 2000 database behind a CRM application and customize the application.
I can attach, detach and create all kinds of queries.
However, I am on sites like this to learn more "pure" SQL related info in case I have to get another job. I used to be a network admin, but I don't want to do that ever again.
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Galanda,
Sounds like you're in the vague DBA/Developer realm. If you maintain any sort of database, that qualifies you as a DBA, though maybe entry level if all you do is backups, data quality updates and make sure it's still running. The developer part comes from the application customization.
Does that sound like what you do?
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Long time reader. First time replier.
I am definitely a Newbie, green as they come ok maybe not that green - been acting something like a DBA for 4 years now. I may know more than I think. Conversely, I may know nothing at all. I sort of exist in a vacuum.
Let me explain:
I work for a large-ish company where SQL Servers exist but are not recognized.
A company that has millions of $$ wrapped up in MS products but yet still does not 'support' microsoft technology.
We are the pariahs of the company what with many of our DBs having been moved from ACCESS to that unsupported but more robust SQL 2k technology! But hey, I had nothing to do with this, I just found myslef smack dab in the middle of an ideological dispute.
IT/IS hate us for our insolence. To them we are SHadow IT...
Nevertheless somebody had to grab the reins and hold on.
That's me.
So, I monitor Performance, research issues for developers, create and maintain my own databases and do maintenace checks and Back-ups for everyone elses, tune queries etc. I have even started to Document! I know there is so much more I should do and I like the learning piece. Learning keeps me interested. Finding out however, that I am always behind the curve.
I understand many things about many things. Nothing about many more.
Jack-of-all...Master of None.
I am essentially a 33/33/33 guy ...1/3 DBA. 1/3 Developer. 1/3 Administrator. Though always considered myself more in the Developer camp.
But based on some of the replys here I'm not sure that doesn't mean I am 100% DBA.
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Michael,
Sounds like you're the Stealth DBA
, or maybe the Ninja DBA -
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I work for a large-ish company where SQL Servers exist but are not recognized.
A company that has millions of $$ wrapped up in MS products but yet still does not 'support' microsoft technology.
>>>
I've experienced that! Officially, A*c*a's DBMS platform was/is Oracle. A vendor of a 3rd party add-on to Oracle whose revenue depended on Oracle requiring his mapping product used the term "off flavor" in a discussion of whether to use SQL Server or Oracle for a new application. The company IT "lead team" -- or "team lead" -- I forget which term was for the most important managers-- think they have no "mission-critical" SQL Server databases. Ha!
_________________
"Look, those sheep have been shorn."
data analyst replies, "On the sides that we can see.."
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