Become a database administrator DBA

What is DBA?

Database Administrator (DBA. This position has different meanings for different people. A small software development studio has broader responsibilities than a large company with a highly detailed division of labor. A company, whether it is developing its own application software or purchasing third-party application software, only needs to involve databases (how many applications that do not involve databases? Databases are the soul and brain of business. You need to determine whether to hire one or more DBAs. Knowing what requirements are required for a DBA position is crucial to the definition of the position within the enterprise or to those DBAs in the future.

DBA's responsibilities:

Install and upgrade database servers (such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server) and application tools.
Design System storage solutions for databases and plan future storage requirements.
Once a developer designs an application, DBA is required to create a database storage structure (tablespaces ).
Once a developer designs an application, DBA is required to create database objects (tables, views, indexes ).
Modify the database structure as necessary based on the feedback from developers.
Register database users to maintain database security.
Ensure that the database is used in accordance with relevant laws and regulations on intellectual property rights.
Controls and monitors user access to the database.
Monitor and optimize database performance.
Develop a database backup plan to restore database information when a disaster occurs.
Maintain the archive or backup data on the appropriate media
Back up and restore Databases
Contact the manufacturer of the database system to track the technical information.

DBA personality

In many cases, administrators ignore the individual characteristics of DBAs. They only focus on the technical capabilities of DBAs. In fact, all of the responsibilities mentioned above mean that DBAs need to deal with various people who may be sellers, users, developers, or administrators. This indicates that DBAs must have the following characteristics:

Self-confidence
Curiosity
Tough willpower
Sophisticated
Self-driving
Pay attention to details

Why are these personality characteristics important?

I have a few undermen who lack self-confidence. They repeatedly ask me some questions that don't matter. They don't have the confidence to make even the smallest decisions. They also lack the initiative to work. This may not be a big problem for junior DBAs, but for those senior DBAs, if they lack self-confidence, who can they rely on to help them make decisions? In the DBA interview, you must show sufficient self-confidence even if you cannot answer a technical question. The most critical thing is not knowing the answer to the question, but not where to get the answer.

Almost all database systems are constantly updated. However, not all updates have technical documents. Curiosity is essential for good DBAs. DBAs without curiosity and curiosity always wait for someone to tell them the answer. A knowledgeable DBA will install the latest version of the database system, and immediately start searching for any slight functional and performance differences and enhancements to improve their work. A question that must be asked during the exam is: what references do you have? How do you use them? Without a doubt, if you only answer the database documentation or you have not even read them, your "stock market value" will be greatly reduced. Curiosity will drive DBAs to understand data dictionaries, tools, and other packages ).

DBAs often encounter difficult problems. The answer is a kind of personality that requires strong willpower and can withstand the fight. I often see the questions raised by DBAs in some discussion groups or forums. These questions are often solved by the questioner. If they have a tough personality, they will try to find answers to the questions.

Self-driving is important to everyone, especially DBAs. DBAs should be able to find a way to solve the problem, rather than waiting for the problem to occur. DBAs with high self-drive capacity often try to obtain or write some necessary scripts to monitor projects including table size and tablespace usage, if these projects are ignored, they will be in trouble. DBAs are often asked about their experience in PL/SQL, SQL, or SQL * Plus, these problems will separate the DBAs who have never compiled their own scripts.

Not to mention dealing with users, that is, dealing with programmers and managers, also requires you to be sophisticated. A dba who does not do anything for you will not do anything good for you, but will only ignite the fire of hostility in your department. Sophisticated is such a kind of ability. You advise someone to go to the local government. Haha, this person finally went with a desire. In many cases, developers, managers, and users make unreasonable demands. DBAs need to guide and correct their requirements and persuade them. Your response shows you are sophisticated.
Finally, let's talk about the details. This kind of disposition is very important. DBAs who pay attention to the details are neatly dressed and have their own schedules. They have investigated the applicants before the test. DBAs who pay attention to the details have a deep understanding of the database kernel and the relationship between views and tables.

DBA level

DBA levels are not very strict. Based on my understanding of the database, I simply divided it into three levels: Elementary primary, intermediate, and advanced senior.

Dbbs, also known as dbbs, is the abbreviation of database baby sitter. Junior DBAs often work part-time, and they are programmers or other jobs at the same time. Junior DBAs often write their resumes well and participate in many database-related projects or jobs. However, these projects or jobs are often: third-party software vendors have installed and configured databases, and they only do some monitoring work. They can handle some simple problems, but most of the time they ask for help from application software vendors. Primary DBAs prefer Graphical Database Management or monitoring tools. They prefer desktop databases such as access, which are easy-to-use and apply the experience of these small databases to work related to large databases.

It is best to distinguish between primary DBAs. However, intermediate dBA and senior DBA are not very well differentiated. They differ in experience, personality, and ability. There are many intermediate DBAs who are competent for most of the work of senior DBAs, including:

Database Installation
Database configuration and management
Permission settings and Security Management
Monitoring and Performance Tuning
Backup and recovery
Solve common problems

An intermediate DBA often works for about a year and is familiar with databases in an operating system environment. For intermediate DBAs, Windows NT and Unix are very different. Intermediate DBAs are familiar with SQL. They bought several database books and studied them in depth. Intermediate DBAs often serve as database programmers at the same time. Their Pursuit of performance, stability, and security is basically not very high. They often work with senior DBAs to do some routine work.

There are very few senior DBAs in China. They have bought too much English information about the database, maybe from Amazon. Compared with their compensation, the amount of money to buy books is very small. Senior DBAs are generally familiar with several large databases on many operating platforms. They know the advantages and disadvantages of different databases in different environments and can make decisions on the selection of database platforms and database environments. They are generally familiar with the system architecture and database design, and can optimize the database at various levels. Senior DBAs are generally equipped with assistants who prefer to make decisions and plans. Senior DBAs are often used in key business processing fields that require high stability, security, and performance in the banking, insurance, and online transactions industries.

In many cases, it is not important to obtain the Database Expert certificate. I know that many database vendors will receive certificates if you go to training. There are many companies offering commercial training, and their service quality is also good and inferior. Therefore, the certificate is not particularly meaningful.

Several popular database systems

The easiest Database System-Microsoft SQL Server

If you want to create a DBA, we recommend that you select the database systems that are currently popular. This means that you will have more job opportunities, communication and training opportunities, and you can worry a lot about the reasons for popularity. Of course, there is a lot of pressure on job competition. Generally, Microsoft SQL Server is used as a database system for small and medium-sized enterprises. Users familiar with access can easily use Microsoft SQL server to become a dbbs database. J
Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 quotation, 5 user version 1399 US dollars, increase users, 127 US dollars per user.

The most "difficult" database-Oracle

If you have the opportunity to access Oracle, it is a good opportunity. Oracle is currently the most promising database vendor. Due to its powerful functions and configurable and manageable capabilities, the salary of Oracle DBA is generally higher than that of other database administrators. Moreover, Oracle's key applications in large and medium-sized enterprises are also more common. Oracle can run on Windows NT, Sun Solaris, Linux, and other platforms. In many cases, you are required not only to be familiar with NT, but also to be familiar with Unix. Moreover, Oracle's unfriendly interface and boxed Oracle product information may also be an obstacle.
The quotation for Oracle 8i Standard Edition. If it runs on Windows NT and comes with jserver and intermedia, five concurrent users are supported. The quotation is USD 3925 per CPU. When concurrent users are added, $785 is USD per user. When an additional named user is added, $392.5 is USD per user.

Database System nobility-ibm udb/DB2

As a result of 30 years of database research, IBM DB2 is indeed called "Database System Nobility ". Whether it's a small business system or a large banking system, you can rest assured with DB2. The latest version of DB2 6.1 provides superior and easy-to-use management and adjustment tools. DB2 can run on Intel architecture or ibm s/390 computers. If your industry is particularly commendable for IBM machines, we recommend that you study IBM DB2.

DB2 has two editions: Work Group Edition and Enterprise Edition. The Work Group version is USD 999 per server, plus USD 249 per concurrent user. The Enterprise Edition is USD 12500 per CPU, with no limit on the number of concurrent users.

Java-centered database-Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) 12.0

The forthcoming Sybase ASE 12.0 is directly oriented to Java programmers. This Java-centered database system will be the best choice for enterprises preparing to build enterprise applications on the Java platform. However, ASE is not a leader in the database field, although it has improved a lot compared with its previous versions, and supports multiple CPUs and more concurrency, there are many new features. However, Sybase does not seem to have any advantages.

Expected Informix Centaur

Sometimes "first" means that your opponent needs to wait for a longer time to catch up with you. This is exactly what Informix was created in 1997. Informix is one of the first large database vendors to add multimedia features to relational database systems. However, today, IBM, Oracle, and Sybase have all crossed this concept. Therefore, Informix had to seek new support to distinguish itself from other database vendors. This is the goal of Informix centaur. Informix Centaur combines the object-relational database and Informix Universal Data Option 7.3 of Informix Dynamic Server 9.1 to achieve better adaptability and multimedia support. We will wait and see how it works!

DBA salary

There are many factors that affect your salary as a DBA:

DBA level determined by your experience and capabilities
Database System you are familiar
Your personality characteristics and potential