Database Administrator Lead

Description

Profile :DBA

A database administrator (DBA) manages computer databases.The role may include capacity planning, installation, configuration, database design, migration, performance monitoring, security, troubleshooting, as well as backup and data recovery.

10 - 15 Year relevant Experience

DB

Oracle, MS SQL, MySQL, PostgreSQL

Skill Set

Capacity Planning

Ensuring that the database hardware and configuration allows for good operational readiness at any appropriate, planned level of usage.

Knowledge and data to show the current capacity of systems which are in place and the impact on future plans for growth.

Installation

Installing as per vendor best-practice documentation in a manner which allows for best-possible performance

By preparing well, you ensure that you do not need to change an entire configuration later, at the cost of downtime.

Configuration

Ensuring that the database configuration handles user needs

DB has enough RAM / CPU / Disk IO to handle queries

DB is maintained to ensure data-files are defragmented,

• indexes are reorganized and pruned
• statistics are up to date
• No critical errors are happening
• No poison wait types are in the Management views

Knowing the impact of each configuration option in SQL server to its operation

E.g. knowing that enabling Snapshot Isolation Transactions mean that TempDB is going to be working much harder and so disk reads/writes are critical to monitor when this option is enabled.

Database Design

DBA should have their own DB which audits changes to the DB and its configuration as well as auditing logons to the server and changed made to schema.

Migration

DBA should be able to migrate to new hardware as needed

Performance Monitoring

• When queries to the server are slow at certain times but not at other times, this points to a DB problem, not an application issue
• DBA needs to be able to explain why the DB is slow at certain times (common issues are CPU, Disk, RAM, Locking/Blocking)
• If a DBA can determine that it is definitely application SQL which is bad 100% of the time, they can engage the vendor for assistance or a patch

Security

The DBA team are responsible for the security of data stored in the database, both in terms of disaster planning as well as physical security

Managing logons (users) for the database as well as roles and permissions

Monitoring for unauthorized access or suspicious activity such as deletions of data

Many of our customers use an Audit database which tracks changes using the SQL Server Events’ system.

Troubleshooting

• Errors which show up in the error logs, the Management Views of SQL server or the Agent log should be resolved
• Some of these could be trivial while others could indicate corruption of data that needs to be remedied via the SQL server toolset

Backup and Recovery

Checking the integrity of backups and the validity of the recovery process is usually done quarterly