RE: Are you angry DBA?

>>If they break, guess who is responsible? [TO FIX IT]

No different for me.

But this (for me) comes down to what Stephen said. Often the DBA has all the responsibility, with some or little authority. If you can stop or change anything, at anytime in your shop then you are one of the few.

If it is passwords/accesses, bad code/design, or a rush to judgment/production often it is not the DBA who decides the next course of action...or the action just taken.

Please don't misunderstand this as a DBA is helpless...not at all...often the DBA has one of the strongest hands in the IT dept and they listen. But, sometimes it falls on deaf ears...a push to get something done.

We have a responsibly to explain things I agree, but little authority to stop anything.

When anyone asserts authority they do not have, they are not a team player, a complainer, an Angry DBA, no?

Gotta pick your battles...and sometimes it is ok to let someone/something fail...especially when when they insist on it...we have all been there, don't say you havn't walked out of a meeting syaing "that is going to crash and burn" (maybe even as you told them it would) and you watched it happen.

Chris Marquez
Oracle DBA

-----Original Message-----
From: oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org on behalf of Jared Still Sent: Mon 8/29/2005 12:22 PM
To: Rich.Jesse_at_quadtechworld.com
Cc: oracle-l_at_freelists.org
Subject: Re: Are you angry DBA?  

I have to agree with Rich on this.

At my employer, I own the databases.
( Oracle *and* SQL Server)

If they break, guess who is responsible?

The exception is 3rd party software that I have little control over.

Even then, I can fix some of their coding mistakes through judicious use of database features.

( indexes on FK, constraints, MV/query rewrite to avoid FTS, etc.)

Jared

On 8/29/05, Jesse, Rich <Rich.Jesse_at_quadtechworld.com> wrote:
>
> So if your devs want the DBA role in your production DBs, you give it to
> them???
> If devs hurt the production DB bad enough, *I* have to fix it thru DB
> recovery. How then is it not the my job to force rules and restrictions?
> Granted, there is some leeway of grandfathered schemas/objects/code, but
> that comes from a lack of ROI (e.g. to remove a "potentially dangerous"
> priv from a schema like "DELETE ANY TABLE", there's no way I can ask the
> department to spend 6 months rewriting apps while our backlog grows for no
> discernable benefit to the company). But to blanketly say that it's not the
> DBA's job to enforce rules and restrictions is a lack of accountability at
> best.
> My $.02,
> Rich
>
> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org [mailto:
> oracle-l-bounce_at_freelists.org] *On Behalf Of *Marquez, Chris
> *Sent:* Monday, August 29, 2005 10:28 AM
> *To:* oracle-l_at_freelists.org
> *Subject:* RE: Are you angry DBA?
> [snip]
> It is my database to support, backup, and make available and avoid
> personal mistakes while doing so.
> It is NOT my database to force rules and restrictions.
> It is NOT my database to block all bad code from and stop all data loss
> from.
> People *will* "hurt" the database...I just need to be ready to fix what is
> within my control.
> Anybody feel differently?
> Chris Marquez
> Oracle DBA
>
>

-- 
Jared Still
Certifiable Oracle DBA and Part Time Perl Evangelist


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