UNIT-1

CHAPTER 1.1
Lecture-1.3 (Database Administrator)

What is DBA?

A Database Administrator, Database Analyst or Database Developer is the

person responsible for managing the information within an organization. As most
companies continue to experience inevitable growth of their databases, these positions are
probably the most solid within the IT industry.

The DBA has many different responsibilities, but the overall goal of the DBA is to keep the
server up at all times and to provide users with access to the required information when they
need it. The DBA makes sure that the database is protected and that any chance of data
loss is minimized.

A DBA can be a programmer who, by default or by volunteering, took over the

responsibility of maintaining a SQL Server during project development and enjoyed the job
so much that he switched.

A DBA can be a system administrator who was given the added responsibility of
maintaining a SQL Server. DBAs can even come from unrelated fields, such as accounting or
the help desk, and switch to Information Systems to become DBAs. To start your journey to
becoming a Microsoft SQL Server DBA.
DBA Responsibilities

The following sections examine the responsibilities of the database administrator and how
they translate to various Microsoft SQL Server tasks.

Installing and Upgrading an SQL Server

The DBA is responsible for installing SQL Server or upgrading an existing SQL Server. In
the case of upgrading SQL Server, the DBA is responsible for ensuring that if the upgrade is
not successful, the SQL Server can be rolled back to an earlier release until the upgrade
issues can be resolved.

The DBA is also responsible for applying SQL Server service packs. A service pack is not a
true upgrade, but an installation of the current version of software with various bug fixes and
patches that have been resolved since the product’s release.

Monitoring the Database Server’s Health and Tuning Accordingly

Monitoring the health of the database server means making sure that the following is done:

● The server is running with optimal performance.

● The error log or event log is monitored for database errors.
● Databases have routine maintenance performed on them, and the overall system has
periodic maintenance performed by the system administrator.
Using Storage Properly

SQL Server 2000 enables you to automatically grow the size of your databases and
transaction logs, or you can choose to select a fixed size for the database and transaction log.
Either way, maintaining the proper use of storage means monitoring space requirements and
adding new storage space (disk drives) when required.

Performing Backup and Recovery Duties

Backup and recovery are the DBA’s most critical tasks; they include the following aspects:

● Establishing standards and schedules for database backups

● Developing recovery procedures for each database
 ● Making sure that the backup schedules meet the recovery requirements
Managing Database Users and Security

With SQL Server 2000, the DBA works tightly with the Windows NT administrator to add
user NT logins to the database. In non-NT domains, the DBA adds user logins. The DBA is
also responsible for assigning users to databases and determining the proper security level for
each user. Within each database, the DBA is responsible for assigning permissions to the
various database objects such as tables, views, and stored procedures.

Working with Developers

It is important for the DBA to work closely with development teams to assist in overall
database design, such as creating normalized databases, helping developers tune queries,
assigning proper indexes, and aiding developers in the creation of triggers and stored
procedures.

In the SQL Server 2000 environment, a good DBA will show the developers how to use and
take advantage of the SQL Server Index Tuning Wizard and the SQL Server profiler.

Establishing and Enforcing Standards

The DBA should establish naming conventions and standards for the SQL Server and
databases and make sure that everyone sticks to them.

Transferring Data

The DBA is responsible for importing and exporting data to and from the SQL Server. In the
current trend to downsize and combine client/server systems with mainframe systems and
Web technologies to create Enterprise systems, importing data from the mainframe to SQL
Server is a common occurrence that is about to become more common with the SQL Server
2000 Data Transformation Services. Good DTS DBAs will be in hot demand as companies
struggle to move and translate legacy systems to Enterprise systems.

Replicating Data
SQL Server version 2000 has many different replication capabilities such as Merge
replication (2-way disconnected replication) and queued replication. Managing and setting up
replication typologies is a big undertaking for a DBA because of the complexities involved
with properly setting up and maintaining replication.

Data Warehousing

SQL Server 2000 has substantial data warehousing capabilities that require the DBA to learn
an additional product (the Microsoft OLAP Server) and architecture. Data warehousing
provides new and interesting challenges to the DBA and in some companies a new career as a
warehouse specialist.

Scheduling Events

The database administrator is responsible for setting up and scheduling various events using
Windows NT and SQL Server to aid in performing many tasks such as backups and
replication.

Providing 24-Hour Access

The database server must stay up, and the databases must always be protected and online. Be
prepared to perform some maintenance and upgrades after hours. Also be prepared to carry
that dreaded beeper. If the database server should go down, be ready to get the server up and
running. After all, that’s your job.

Learning Constantly

To be a good DBA, you must continue to study and practice your mission-critical procedures,
such as testing your backups by recovering to a test database. In this business, technology
changes very fast, so you must continue learning about SQL Server, available client/servers,
and database design tools. It is a never-ending process.

The DBA should posses the following skills:

(1) A good knowledge of the operating system(s)

 (2) A good knowledge of physical database design

(3) Ability to perform both Oracle and also operating system performance monitoring
and the necessary adjustments.

(4) Be able to provide a strategic database direction for the organization.

(5) Excellent knowledge of Oracle backup and recovery scenarios.

(6) Good skills in all Oracle tools.

(7) A good knowledge of Oracle security management.

(8) A good knowledge of how Oracle acquires and manages resources.

(9) Sound knowledge of the applications at your site.

(10) Experience and knowledge in migrating code, database changes, data and Menus
through the various stages of the development life cycle.

(11) A good knowledge of the way Oracle enforces data integrity.

(12) A sound knowledge of both database and program code performance tuning.

(13) A DBA should possess a sound understanding of the business.

(14) A DBA should have sound communication skills with management, development
teams, vendors, systems administrators and other related service providers.

Different types of Database Users

Database users are categorized based up on their interaction with the data base.

These are seven types of data base users in DBMS.

1. Database Administrator (DBA) :

Database Administrator (DBA) is a person/team who defines the schema and also controls
the 3 levels of database.
The DBA will then create a new account id and password for the user if he/she need to access
the data base.

● DBA is also responsible for providing security to the data base and he allows only the
authorized users to access/modify the data base.
● DBA also monitors the recovery and back up and provide technical support.
● The DBA has a DBA account in the DBMS which called a system or superuser
account.
● DBA repairs damage caused due to hardware and/or software failures.

2. Naive / Parametric End Users :

● Parametric End Users are the unsophisticated who don’t have any DBMS knowledge
but they frequently use the data base applications in their daily life to get the desired
results.
● For examples, Railway’s ticket booking users are naive users. Clerks in any bank is a
naive user because they don’t have any DBMS knowledge but they still use the
database and perform their given task.

3. System Analyst :

System Analyst is a user who analyzes the requirements of parametric end users. They check
whether all the requirements of end users are satisfied.

4. Sophisticated Users :

Sophisticated users can be engineers, scientists, business analyst, who are familiar with the
database. They can develop their own data base applications according to their requirement.
They don’t write the program code but they interact the data base by writing SQL queries
directly through the query processor.

5. Data Base Designers :

Data Base Designers are the users who design the structure of data base which includes
tables, indexes, views, constraints, triggers, stored procedures. He/she controls what data
must be stored and how the data items to be related.
6. Application Program :

Application Program are the back end programmers who writes the code for the application
programs. They are the computer professionals. These programs could be written in
Programming languages such as Visual Basic, Developer, C, FORTRAN, COBOL etc.

7. Casual Users / Temporary Users :

Casual Users are the users who occasionally use/access the data base but each time when they
access the data base they require the new information, for example, Middle or higher level
manager.

OTHER REFRENCES

• What is DBA? - Computer Notes (ecomputernotes.com)

• Database Users and Administrators - [DBMS Notes] (techantena.com)

• Different types of Database Users - GeeksforGeeks

• What is DBA? - Computer Notes (ecomputernotes.com)

SUGGESTED BOOK REFERENCES

1. J. Date, “An Introduction to DatabaseSystems”, Addison Wesley.
2. Ramez Elmasri and Shamkant B. Navathe,“Fundamentals of Database System”, The
Benjamin / Cummings Publishing Co.
3. Korth and Silberschatz Abraham, “DatabaseSystem Concepts”, McGraw Hall.
4. Pratt,”DBMS”, Cengage Learning.

VIDEO REFERENCES