Re: DBA activities

> From a managers perspective,
> >>if they sit around all day and the database never crashes, backups
> work, table spaces don't get full and data is always available then a
> DBA does nothing and maybe isn't needed.

This could also be the case where you have a very good DBA.

If the DBA is skilled and proactive, then occurrences of problems with backups, space management, etc. are greatly minimized. It's worth the time/money to buy or develop tools to help you keep an eye on things and deal with them quickly. A DBA who looks like they aren't doing anything could be working on some neat tool that will make your environment run more smoothly.

I'm sure there are plenty of DBA's lurking about this NG who have had things fall apart when they were on vacation. It certainly helps people understand your value...

And of course, crashes can happen no matter how skilled your DBA is :)

> >>However, if the database crashes frequently, data is often
> unavailable, the DBA has to work late most nights and in crisis mode,
> table spaces get full and the DBA is always explaining how he fixed the
> problem, then he is a critical team member who the business could not do
> without - in fact if he left the manager feels he would be right in the
> shit!

And this could also be the case where you have a not-so-good DBA.

Steve Received on Fri Jul 27 2001 - 13:27:55 CDT