Oracle DBA Guide
All you need to be Oracle DBA and Database Administration Top Tips
So you want to be a successful oracle DBA in the lucrative career of Database Administration.
Well I remember there was a Unix System administrator in one of the company I worked, used to joke about DBA’s saying “Who wants to be DBA?” whenever help desk rang with problem tickets .
Gone are the days when you (Oracle DBA) could put on your blinkers and focus on a single skill set. Instead, the DBA needs to bridge the gap between several functional areas of the Business, hopefully acting as an enabler.
I think you agree that you need a wide variety of skills to be a successful Oracle DBA these days.
In IT world you must have realized that whenever there is a issue with the component of the business, it is always DBA’s who get problem ticket or help desk would call DBA’s first . Why is that ?
Let’s discuss why do companies need any Database administrator leave alone Oracle DBA ?
What is a database administrator ?
A company's data is its lifeblood and without this companies possibly cannot be in business. We are really talking about the data integrity of the entire company.
Therefore it needs an experienced, skilled steward like you who can look after their valuable information.
Why is Database Administrator or DBA is becoming more popular ?
I remember when I was in my primary school, when the post man arrived to deliver any mail I was so curious to know where it came from and what it contains. I am sure My parents had the same curiosity. These days when I check my Mail box, I always wish that my Mail box is empty. I think in this modern world we are all bombarded with information.
Wait a minute we are actually in “Information age” we have passed the “Industrial age”. You guessed it!. Somewhere this information needs to be stored , processed , Indexed, Managed, networked. For any company to have such detail information about anything for that matter. That is why Companies databases are growing bigger and bigger.
Olden days you were talking about kilobytes and these days you talk about Terrabytes. That explains why Database Administrator job is becoming more and more popular and oracle is the biggest database company in the world and obviously there is high demand for Oracle DBA.

Well what additional skills make a good successful oracle DBA these days?
Apart from knowing the database administration skill, I believe you need to have following skills to various degree to be a successful Oracle DBA
Development skills
Networking skills
System administration
System/Business analysis and design
Leadership skill/People Skill
Communication skills
Scripting Skills
Project management
Nevertheless as an Oracle DBA your task has been simplified by some of the database administration tools available these days.
To name few
Oracle Backup and Recovery Manager (RMAN)
Oracle Enterprise Manager (Grid Control)
Oracle Automatic Storage Manager (ASM)
Oracle Logminer
Oracle AWR (Automatic Workload Repository) and ADDM
Oracle Statspack
Oracle Automatic Storage Manager (ASM)
Oracle Flashback
Oracle Automatic CBO (cost based Optimizer) Statistics Gathering
Oracle Automatic Undo Management
Oracle Active Session History (ASH)
Oracle Automatic Segment Space Management
Oracle Automatic memory management
Apart form these there are lots of third party companies who provide Oracle Database administration tools in the intention of simplifying Database administrator job.
Ok then what does it takes to be a successful Oracle DBA ?
What do you normally do and how you feel when you are on call and helpdesk calls you at 2:00am in the morning when you are fast asleep saying we can not access the database.
How about those extended outage windows for regular database maintenance work in odd hours. Have you ever thought I wish I had chosen a different career sounds familiar ?
Worst still after working on weekend with round the clock, when you go back to work on Monday, some users complain about performance issue due to weekend maintenance work.
Oh dear! What goes on in your mind after fixing some critical issues when your manager and Business manager & few more invite you for Incident review meeting and make you go through all the drama once again and expected to answer technical questions to non-technical managers. It is not much fun isn’t it ?
Well personally, I believe you can still be a successful Oracle DBA and enjoy being what you are if you equip yourself with few skills I mentioned earlier.
The Practical Handbook on Oracle Real Application Cluster for Oracle DBA’s.
The “Oracle Real Application Cluster Field DBA Admin Handbook” is a practical guide for Oracle DBA’s who manage and administer the Oracle Real Application Cluster High availability solution.
This book provides practical steps to administer Oracle Real Application Cluster (RAC). It’s like a field guide rather than an in depth manual. It’s written for the DBA’s to handle the day to day challenges faced by DBA’s managing RAC on the job.
Click Oracle Real Application Cluster Field DBA Admin Handbook. for more details.
The Practical guide to Unix Commands and Tips for Oracle DBA’s and Developers.
The “Unix Handbook for Oracle DBA” is a practical guide for Oracle DBA’s and Developers working on Unix. It has the unix commands, tips and short scripts to help you find the most needed help on the job. It’s from my collection for over 15 years of practical usage of these tips and techniques as a Database Specialist on Unix.
Click Unix handbook for Oracle DBA. for more details.
|