Database Administrator (DBA) Articles

Why This SQL Server DBA is Learning Powershell

In this article, I will describe several examples of using PowerShell that I would hope a DBA would find useful. My scripts will demonstrate how to run SQL queries, WMI queries or SMO code on one or more machines, and help you to better manage multiple database servers. All of the scripts have been tested on SQL Server 2005. . Read more... By Ron Dameron

MySQL_Database_Administration

If you need to administer MySQL, this article gets you off to a good start. The first of a multi-part series, it is excerpted from chapter four of the book MySQL Administrator's Guide, written by Paul Dubois . Read more... By Sams Publishing

Manually Creating an Oracle Database on Windows

Manually Creating an Oracle Database on Windows Below are the steps involved in manual database creation on Windows. . Read more... By john niveth

How to Develop, Maintain, and Support a Quality Management and Development Process

The task of defining test plans, acceptance criteria, and testing deliverables and processes for any software development effort can face many different and evolving challenges, from identifying applicable processes to maintaining those decisions over time. . Read more... By James Downs

An Introduction to Linux Shell Scripting for DBAs

About seven years ago, Oracle released the first commercial database on Linux. Since then, Oracle, Red Hat, and Novell/SUSE have been steadily collaborating on changes to Linux kernel as they relate to database and application performance. . Read more... By Casimir Saternos

Tuning Up for OLTP and Data Warehousing - Part 3

There are many types of DBAs. Some DBAs work in the developer arena, while others are heavy into performance and tuning, and still other DBAs fall into the operational aspects of managing SQL Server. . Read more... By Gregory A. Larsen

Tuning Up for OLTP and Data Warehousing - Part 3

We mentioned that 20 to 25 percent of performance tuning improvements result from configuring the database manager, database, and tablespace container and parameter settings. But 75 percent or more of performance improvements come from properly tuning SQL. . Read more... By Scott Hayes and Philip Gunning

Oracle Workshop's Support for Java EE 5 Web Standards

For a long time, J2EE seemed a powerful, complex technology. If you took the time to fully understand it, however, you would have discovered ingenious solutions for building scalable component-based multi-tier enterprise applications. . Read more... By Andrei Cioroianu

MySQL Tuning: Getting the most out of your database

This article will deal with a few basic MySQL Tuning options that can make queries run faster on your MySQL database. This problem can be approached from several different angles. . Read more... By

A Quick Look at MySQL 6.0’s New Backup

I still remember the day. I was working for a large systems integrator on a very major account, and had responsibility for some DB2 databases, but also had the unfortunate duty of also taking care of some legacy IMS databases!' . Read more... By Robin Schumacher

What use is a Development DBA?

I'm sure that there are many Developers who would respond to that question immediately, with something like: 'None, other than to obstruct me at every opportunity!' 'Well, he'd be more use if he stopped breaking things!' . Read more... By Doug Burns

Which Scripting Language for Sybase Administration on Windows?

This paper considers five scripting options available to automate the administration of Sybase database servers on Windows. . Read more... By Caroline Walsh

DBA: TEN YEARS AFTER AND BEYOND

In March of 1990, a little booklet of ancient and medieval rules appeared on the market. This had the strange name of De Bellis Antiquitatis (and known ever since as just DBA). . Read more... By Bob Beattie

Certifications Compared: Oracle vs. DB2 vs. SQL Server

If you’re looking into DBA certification, you’ve got to decide with which product to certify. Which DBA certification is most marketable? Which best fits you? How do the vendors’ certification requirements vary, and what are the costs and the time involved? . Read more... By Howard Fosdick

Basic Java Persistence API Best Practices

Consider and employ these simple approaches to make your Java Persistence API applications more maintainable. . Read more... By Dustin Marx

How to find out virtual index from database?

Virtual index can be created in oracle database which doesn't has any physical body and location. It can create with NOSEGMENT clause for testing purpose. . Read more... By Gitesh Trivedi

SQL Server Performance Coding Standards

In this article Amol Ramesh Kulkarni provides a list of his top SQL Server Performance Coding Standards . Read more... By Amol Kulkarni

Getting started with Bazaar for MySQL code

Since you're reading this, you probably know that Sun is switching to the Bazaar version control system for all development work on the MySQL server. Unlike the version control system that we've been using previously, . Read more... By Amol Kulkarni

The SQL Builder Development Accelerators

DB2 9.5 and IBM Data Studio: Part 8: The SQL Builder Development Accelerators – The Rest of the Story . Read more... By Paul Zikopoulos

Using Database Advisors

Advisors are powerful tools that provide specific advice on how to address key database management challenges, covering a wide range of areas, including space, performance, and undo management. . Read more... By Sushma Jagannath

Introduction to SQL 2005 Profiler Part 1

Profiler is a tool that monitors the events and activity running on a SQL Server. Using profiler, this monitoring can be viewed, saved, and replayed. This article focuses on using Profiler with SQL Server 2005, but the tool is also included with SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2008. Read more... By Don Schlichting

Automate Audit Requests

In this article TJay Belt describes a process to help respond to audit requests in a timely manner. Read more... By TJay Belt

MySQL Workbench for Database Change Management

Managing database change is an incredibly important discipline that very few database professionals overtly talk or worry about until they're in the thick of things with a particular database - moving it from development to production, making changes to a newly installed production database, or implementing an updated version of the database (new tables, modifications to existing objects, etc.) in a SaaS application. It's at that point where change management becomes very important because if you don't do things right the first time, you can make a royal mess of things and even (in a small number of cases) reach the point of no return where you've completely torched your database. Read more... By Robin Schumacher

Posting Microsoft Access Information “Into the clouds

Part one of this article demonstrated how to retrieve data and save it into XML using Microsoft Access and MSXML. Part 2 shows how to add new data to a Web2 website ("in the clouds"). Read more... By Garry Robinson

Accelerating Data Warehouses

An option of Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition, Oracle OLAP 11g is a full-featured online analytical processing engine. Because Oracle OLAP 11g is embedded in Oracle Database, it benefits from database scalability, security, and manageability features. Read more... By Dan Vlamis

ERP and Data Migration to packages like SAP, PeopleSoft

ERP and Data Migration to packages like SAP, PeopleSoft Read more... By

A look at Falcon Diagnostic Tables

Performance tuning is one of the top disciplines (if not THE top discipline) that database professionals want to excel at. Being able to take a system that's running sluggish and turn it into one that's running as fast as a scalded dog is a talent that's part art and part science, but whatever the combination necessary to make it happen, there will always be strong demand for folks who are good at it. Read more... By Robin Schumacher

SQL Server Management Studio Reports and Dashboard

SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 provide graphical reports for monitoring system health and performance. While there have always been various queries, stored procedures, and of late, Dynamic Management Views, to gather system statistics, none were graphical. . Read more... By Don Schlichting

Authorizing Access to Dynamic Spatial-Temporal Data

Authorizing access to individual data objects based on spatial and temporal references is a complex task. Read this case study to learn one feasible approach. Read more... By Lucas Jellema

Build a Google Talk Client Using Oracle ADF Faces Rich Client and the Active Data Service

As Oracle OpenWorld 2007 made very clear, the integration of Web 2.0 concepts and trends into enterprise applications is a major trend in application development. Oracle Fusion Applications offer a good example of how combining very appealing, visually rich user interfaces with popular internet trends such as social bookmarking and instant messaging (IM) lead to attractive and productive applications.... Read more... By Lucas Jellema

How the MySQL Enterprise Upgrade Advisor Helps DBAs Avoid Being Bitten by Known Bugs

In an earlier article I described how MySQL Enterprise takes the guesswork out of deciding which version of the MySQL server customers should be running by providing alerts around regularly scheduled Monthly Rapid Update and Quarterly Service Pack releases of the Enterprise Server. Read more... By Budi Raharjo

The Basic Steps to Connect Oracle and Java Program

Traditionally, up to Oracle8 Release 8.0.5 the management of free and used extents of a tablespace was done in the data dictionary. These “traditional” tablespaces are also called “Dictionary Managed Tablespaces”, in order to differentiate them from a new type of table space called Locally Managed Tablespaces introduced in Oracle8i Release 8.1.5.... Read more... By Budi Raharjo

Locally managed tablespaces in Oracle

Traditionally, up to Oracle8 Release 8.0.5 the management of free and used extents of a tablespace was done in the data dictionary. These “traditional” tablespaces are also called “Dictionary Managed Tablespaces”, in order to differentiate them from a new type of table space called Locally Managed Tablespaces introduced in Oracle8i Release 8.1.5.... Read more... By Manikandan Govindaraj

Managing Complex XML Data in Oracle XML DB 11g

Learn how to manage complex XML with Oracle XML DB 11g, including how to change schema online... Read more... By V.J. Jain

SQL Server DBA : Adding users in SQL Server

SQL Server provides an effective method for adding users in SQL Server and for managing data and information so that it can easily be stored and retrieved from the underlying files in order to provide the functionality it is designed for ... Read more... By

The DB2 for Linux, UNIX, and Windows DBA Checklist

While databases are becoming more and more self-aware and self-healing, they still require some monitoring to keep them running as efficiently as possible. Just like your car, a database requires some checks to keep it running optimally. Read more... By Dwaine Snow

SQL Server DBA Dashboard

This article examines a tool called the "SQL Server DBA Dashboard" that provides a number of different Custom Reports that can be used to monitor activities within a SQL Server instance. Read more... By Gregory A. Larsen

MySQL for Oracle DBAs and Developers

Outline- „X DBA Tips, Tricks, Gotcha's & Tools „X Key Differences for Developers „X Migrating from Oracle to MySQL „X Questions & Answers Read more... By Ronald Bradford

Instance Shared Memory and Semaphore Segments

This article was written for educational purpose only. Please refer to the related vendor documentation for detail. Read more... By Vinod Sadanandan

The Self-Taught DBA

You can’t go to college to become a DBA. Sure, you can take some basic classes on database theory and design, and maybe even a couple classes on specific databases, but there is no comprehensive college program you can take to become a DBA. Read more... By Brad McGehee

Installing Oracle9i Release 2 on Linux

This article is a comprehensive guide for installing Oracle9i Release 2 (9.2.0.4.0) on the Red Hat Linux Fedora Core 2 operating environment. Read more... By Jeff Hunter

MySQL 5.1 partitions in practice

This article explains how to test the performance of a large database with MySQL 5.1, showing the advantages of using partitions. Read more... By Giuseppe Maxia

Importing Poorly Formatted Text Files using SSIS

Handling text files from SQL Server Integration Service (SSIS) is not new and I am not going to discuss about importing well formatted text files. There are many occasions when database developers must import text files which are not properly formatted. I will discuss three methods of doing this. For these situations we are going to use Script Component data flow task. Read more... By Dinesh Asanka

Multiple Selection Through Bitmasks

Ever wish you could store multiple selections to a single table column? The solution, Bitmask Fields, have been in use for decades. Follow along as Danny Lesandrini shows you how to unlock the power of two. Read more... By Danny Lesandrini

Integrating Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition Plus with SOA

A detailed look at the integration possibilities between Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition Plus, from Oracle ACE Director Mark Rittman. Read more... By Mark Rittman and Joel Crisp

Migrating Access Apps to SQL Server

This installment concludes the series started by Marc Israel, Migrating Access Applications to SQL Server by Marc Israel. In previous articles, we discussed some of the migration issues, from upsizing tables to conversion of Access queries to SQL Server stored procs. I've procrastinated on this last topic, Query Optimization, because it's the most difficult to describe. Read more... By Jon Stephens

Using XML in MySQL 5.1 and 6.0

In this article, we discuss the XML functionality available in MySQL, with an emphasis on new features coming online in MySQL 5.1 and MySQL 6.0. We assume that you already have a working knowledge of XML, and that you know what the terms Read more... By Jon Stephens

Open Source PostgreSQL Developer Bruce Momjian Spills The DB Beans

The database architect talks about the emergence of a commercial company, EnterpriseDB, behind PostgreSQL and the vitality of the database itself. Read more... By Charles Babcock

Open Source PostgreSQL Developer Bruce Momjian Spills The DB Beans

The database architect talks about the emergence of a commercial company, EnterpriseDB, behind PostgreSQL and the vitality of the database itself. Read more... By Charles Babcock

DB2 9.5 and IBM Data Studio: Using OLE DB to Integrate Data

So far, in this series about the IBM Data Studio integrated development environment (IDE) that’s available with DB2 Version 9.5 (DB2 9.5), I’ve shown you how to set up database connection objects and the actions that you can perform on them. In addition, Read more... By Paul Zikopoulos

Installing Oracle Database 11g Release 1 on Oracle Enterprise Linux 5 (32- and 64-bit)

Learn the basics of installing Oracle Database 11g Release 1 on Oracle Enterprise Linux 5 from the bare metal up (for evaluation purposes only). Read more... By John Smiley

Oracle RAC Wait Events

The main difference to keep in mind when monitoring a RAC database versus a single-instance database, is the buffer cache and its operation. In a RAC environment the buffer cache is global across all instances in the cluster and hence the processing differs. Read more... By

Developing MySQL Applications with Eclipse_CDT

In September, the Developer Zone featured Chapter 6 of Paul DuBois' MySQL, 3rd edition on Writing C Programs with the MySQL C API. This month, we continue in this series on developing MySQL applications in C with a tutorial from Mark Schoonover about using the Eclipse CDT (C Development Toolkit) as an IDE for developing C applications for MySQL. Read more... By Mark Schoonover

DB2 9.5 and IBM Data Studio

At the IBM Information Management Information on Demand (IOD) conference in Las Vegas in October 2007, IBM made a number of major announcements, which included the christening of the DB2 Viper 2 beta as DB2 Version 9.5 (DB2 ... Read more... By Paul Zikopoulos

Installing SQL Server 2008

This article will highlight the steps involved to install SQL Server 2008. The installation is simple and straightforward. Trial and preview versions can be downloaded from Microsoft at ... Read more... By Don Schlichting

Using Python with TurboGears

TurboGears offers Python-istas an excellent framework for creating Web-enabled applications backed by an Oracle database. Read more... By Daniel Rubio

Oracle DBA Exam ( the Oracle Architecture )

The Oracle Architecture The Diagram below gives a clear idea of the background processes, memory structures, and disk resources that comprise the Oracle instance, and also of the methods in which they act together to allow users to access information. Read more... By

Basic Database Design

Database design is becoming key to developing applications. Almost all web applications are driven by a database, and with Core Data, Cocoa applications are starting to have true database back ends. Therefore it is surprising that so many programmers don’t know anything about database design. So here is a simple overview of the theory behind database design. Read more... By Pilky

Why DBAs Must Be Jacks-of-All-Trades

Data is at the center of today's applications; today's organizations simply cannot operate without data. In many ways, business today is data. Without data, businesses would not have the ability to manage finances, conduct transactions, or contact their customers. Databases are created to store and organize this data. The better the design and utility of the database, the better the organization will be positioned to compete for business. Read more... By Craig Mullins

Locally Managed Indexes

OK, I'll say it. Oracle does not always work the way I want it to work. The most obvious example of this is how indexes are managed. As data is manipulated, it is evident that the index does not reuse space that it had. For example, if I have a column containing the values A,D,B,E,C,F, and I put an index on this, then the index is created in the following order: Read more... By John Weeg

Oracle Blocksize and Index Tree Structures

Each data block within the Oracle index serves as a “node” in the index tree, with the bottom nodes (leaf blocks) containing pairs of symbolic keys and ROWID values. To properly manage the blocks, Oracle controls the allocation of pointers within each data block. As an Oracle tree grows Read more... By Donald K. Burleson

Monitoring Index Usage in Oracle9i

DBAs and developers love indexes. They speed up query searches, especially in a data warehouse environment, where the database receives many ad-hoc requests. To avoid fulltable scans, we tend to put indexes on every potentially searchable column. Read more... By Daniel T. Liu

Automated Table/Index Reorganization In Oracle8i

Automation can free the DBA of boring, time-consuming tasks and allows him to focus on more challenging activities. Read more... By Mike Hordila

Learn how to use the various partitioning methods in Oracle9i Release 2.

Oracle DBAs face an ever growing and demanding work environment. The only thing that may outpace the demands of the work place is the size of the databases themselves. Read more... By Liza Fernandez

An introduction to foreign keys and referential integrity in MySQL.

Referential integrity is an important concept in database design. The term refers to a state when all the references in a database are valid and no invalid links exist between the various tables that make up the system. Read more... By Contributor Mellonfire

An Oracle Instructor's Guide to DBA Tips and Tricks

This series of articles is a little different than others you may read. It doesn't focus on one, single topic, but it does provide a wealth of interesting information on a lot of different areas. Read more... By Christopher Foot

Work in multiple databases using these methods

SQL Server developers sometimes have to use tables residing in a database other than a project's "home" database. This need typically arises when you need to draw information from some other application; Read more... By Arthur Fuller

Transaction Log Guidelines

Every SQL Server database has at least two files associated with it: one data file that houses the actual data and one transaction log file. Read more... By Craig S. Mullins

Understand the ambiguities of compound JOINs in SQL

This article begins with a test. Look at the SQL below and determine, without using your computer, what the result set will look like. Read more... By Arthur Fuller

Project Raptor – Oracle's New Tool for DBAs and Developers

It may be possible that raptors once feasted on toads, and if that were the case, it would be safe to assume that Oracle hopes its new Raptor product will do the same to the Toads of today. Read more... By Steve Callan

Database Migration - A Planned Approach

A fairly common event in a database's lifecycle is that of the migration from version "older" to version "newer." Migrating from one version to another may be as simple as exporting the old and importing into the new, but chances are there is a lot more involved than first meets the eye. Read more... By Steve Callan

Copying Databases from Server to Server

Method 1-- The fastest way to achieve this is by detaching the database from source server and then attaching the data and the log files to the destination server. Read more... By Rahul Sharma

Project Raptor - Oracle's New Tool for DBAs and Developers

It may be possible that raptors once feasted on toads, and if that were the case, it would be safe to assume that Oracle hopes its new Raptor product will do the same to the Toads of today Read more... By Steve Callan

CASE STUDY OF RMAN IMPLEMENTATION --- Administering the database

This paper focuses on the real-world implementation of RMAN at Eaton Cutler-Hammer. It includes a brief explanation of various Oracle backup methods, requirements at Eaton Cutler-Hammer Read more... By Ketan Shah, Eaton Cutler-Hammer

New and Improved Methods for Administering Your Database

Expose you to some of the database features available in 10g and compare them to the lengthy workarounds that were used in previous Oracle versions. Read more... By Howard Horowitz

Review of Pro .Net Oracle Programming

The reason I got this book is simple. I have spent a very large part of my development career firmly in the Microsoft stable. I know how to use Microsoft technolgies such as .net and I am very familiar with Read more... By Adrian Allan

Review of SQL Server 2000 Programming

SQL Server 2000 Programming claims to be a comprehensive guide to SQL Server 2000, and at a hefty 1390 pages, you can't argue with that. Being a programming guide, it concentrates only on issues that affect an SQL Server developer, but it still covers topics such as Database Administration to a reasonable level. Read more... By James Crowley

Database Design Guidelines and Rules of Thumb

Primary Keys You have three choices for defining the primary key for most tables: a 'natural' key, a system generated or 'internal' key, and (for smaller lookup tables) a mnemonic code. Internal ID numbers Rule of thumb: for any table over 100 records, use a system-generated number as the primary key. Read more... By Thomas B. Cox

Beginners Guide To MySQL and PHP

We've assembled a series of thoughts and examples based upon my own experience using Php 3.0 and MySql. Our goal is that it will aid any beginners in jumping over the common obstacles that hinder progress at the earliest stages of Php/MySql implementation. Read more... By W.J. Gilmore

Just SQL Part II - The Simple SELECT

At the core of most queries is an underlying table structure. Part II discusses how we can issue the most basic of SELECT statements to extract information from a database table. Read more... By James F. Koopmann

Just SQL Part I - Introduction

How many have you asked yourself what SQL is all about anyway? Join me as I begin a venture down the road of understanding SQL and how to take advantage of this language. Read more... By James F. Koopmann

Upgrade Oracle 9i RAC to Oracle 10g RAC

VThis article provides the procedures for converting Oracle 9i (9.2.0.4) RAC to Oracle 10g (10.2.0.1) RAC on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 (RHEL3). Read more... By Vincent Chan

The True Test of a Good DBA

There are a number of reasons why good DBA’s tend to be among the better paid folks in a software development shop and always considered among the least expendable in a any intensive production computing environment. Read more... By Bill Wunder

Evaluating DBA Job Applicants in an OCP World

Not long ago, weeding through DBA applicants with a tech interview was a straightforward process. You'd ask candidates 200 or so technical questions. If they got 100 correct answers, you knew they'd been around the block; 150 or more and you knew you were on Read more... By Robert Hamel

.NET/OOP Primer for SQL Server CLR Integration

One of the all new pieces of SQL Server 2005 is Common Language Runtime (CLR) integration. CLR integration extends the database to improve computational performance, text manipulation, and access to system resources outside Read more... By Bill Wunder

The Seven Deadly Habits of a DBA

Calling widespread bad habits in database administration "deadly" may seem extreme. However, when you consider the critical nature of most data, and just how damaging data loss or corruption can be to a corporation, "deadly" seems pretty dead-on. Read more... By Paul Vallee

Building a Hybrid Data Warehouse Model

As suggested by this reference implementation, in some cases blending the relational and dimensional models may be the right approach to data warehouse design. Read more... By James Madison

Keep a check on your IDENTITY columns in SQL Server

The IDENTITY columns, or 'auto number' columns as some people call them, are auto incrementing columns provided by SQL Server. There can only be one IDENTITY column per table. You just have to provide a base value, and an increment value, and SQL Server will take care of incrementing this column automatically. Read more... By vyaskn

MDX Essentials: Set Functions: The MeasureGroupMeasures() Function

This article is a member of the series, MDX Essentials. The series is designed to provide hands-on application of the fundamentals of the Multidimensional Expressions (MDX) language, with each tutorial progressively adding features designed to meet specific real-world needs. Read more... By William Pearson

MySQL Failover Strategy using State Management, introducing MPP - Part 1

Having a strategy for failover has become almost standard in the business world. Whether it is a total site failover from a NOC in one city to another, or just a simple redundant server Read more... By Russell E Glaue

Reporting with the Familiar

Having a strategy for failover has become almost standard in the business world. Whether it is a total site failover from a NOC in one city to another, or just a simple redundant server Read more... By Mark Rittman