Tasks of a Database Administrator
Posted by grabameat on July 10, 2009
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This chapter describes your responsibilities as a database administrator (DBA) who administers the Oracle database server.
The following topics are discussed:
- Types of Oracle Users
- Tasks of a Database Administrator
- Identifying Your Oracle Database Software Release
- Database Administrator Security and Privileges
- Database Administrator Authentication
- Creating and Maintaining a Password File
- Database Administrator Utilities
Types of Oracle Users
The types of users and their roles and responsibilities at a site can vary. A small site can have one database administrator who administers the database for application developers and users. A very large site can find it necessary to divide the duties of a database administrator among several people, and among several areas of specialization.
This section contains the following topics:
- Database Administrators
- Security Officers
- Network Administrators
- Application Developers
- Application Administrators
- Database Users
Database Administrators
Each database requires at least one database administrator (DBA) to administer it. Because an Oracle database system can be large and can have many users, often this is not a one person job. In such cases, there is a group of DBAs who share responsibility.
A database administrator’s responsibilities can include the following tasks:
- Installing and upgrading the Oracle server and application tools
- Allocating system storage and planning future storage requirements for the database system
- Creating primary database storage structures (tablespaces) after application developers have designed an application
- Creating primary objects (tables, views, indexes) once application developers have designed an application
- Modifying the database structure, as necessary, from information given by application developers
- Enrolling users and maintaining system security
- Ensuring compliance with your Oracle license agreement
- Controlling and monitoring user access to the database
- Monitoring and optimizing the performance of the database
- Planning for backup and recovery of database information
- Maintaining archived data on tape
- Backing up and restoring the database
- Contacting Oracle Corporation for technical support
Security Officers
In some cases, a site assigns one or more security officers to a database. A security officer enrolls users, controls and monitors user access to the database, and maintains system security. As a DBA, you might not be responsible for these duties if your site has a separate security officer.
Network Administrators
Some sites have one or more network administrators. A network administrator can administer Oracle networking products, such as Oracle Net Services.
Tasks of a Database Administrator
The following tasks present a prioritized approach for designing, implementing, and maintaining an Oracle Database:
Task 1: Evaluate the Database Server Hardware
Task 2: Install the Oracle Software
Task 4: Create and Open the Database
Task 7: Implement the Database Design
