A DBA Job Description

Ref: Oracle Datatabase Administration, David C. Kreines, Brian Laskeytte, O'REILY,1999

"An Oracle DBA must be able to ..."

Oracle architecture and options
- Demonstrate an understanding of the memory structures and processs that make up an Oracle
instance
- Demonstrate an understanding of the logical and physical structure associated with an Oracle database
- Demonstrate an understanding of PL/SQL constructs (triggers, functions, packages, procedures) and their processing
- Demonstrate and understanding of discributed architecture and client server
- Demonstrate and understanding of locking mechanism

Security
- Create, alter, and drop database users
- Monitor and audit database access
- Develop and implement a strategy for managing security (roles, privileges, authentication)
- Demonstrate an understanding of the implications of distributed processing on the security model

Data administration
- Manage integrity constraints
- Implement the physical database from the logical design
- Evaluate the implications of using stored procedures and contraints to implement bussiness rules

Backup and recovery
- Understand backup options
- Develop backup and recovery strategies
- Manage the implementation of backup procedures
- Recover a database

Software maintenance and operation
- Install and upgrade Oracle and supporting products
- Configure the Oracle instance using the initialization parameters
- Configure and manage SQL* Net
- Distinguish among startup and shutdown options
- Create a database
- Demonstrate an understanding of the capabilities of underlying operating systems as they relate to the Oracle database

Resource Management
- Create and manage indexes
- valuate the use of clusters and hash clusters
- Allocate and manage physical storage structures (e.g., datafiles, redo logs, control files)
- Allocate and manage logical storage structures (e.g., tablespaces, schemas, extents)
- Control system resource usage by defining proper profiles
- Perform capacity planning

Tuning and troubleshooting
- Diagnose and resolve locking conflicts
- Use data dictionary tables and views
- Monitor the instance
- Collect and analyze relevant database performance information
- Identify and implement appropriate solutions for database performance problems
- Use vendor support services when necessary
- solve SQL* Net problems