Re: DBA work without console access - possible ?

"Austin Durbin" <adurbin_at_home.com> wrote in message news:cUDv5.135416$3E6.1268966_at_news1.alsv1.occa.home.com...

I have to preface what I say here by stating that, like the rest of you, I think that the policy of the sysadmin in this case is wrong,period. However most of what is said here is just untrue

> Cutting off your access impacts more than defining tables, performing
> imports, exports, etc. It also takes away your ability to monitor the
> various Oracle log and trace files, your ability to periodically purge
> archived log files, invoke the lsncntl program, etc..

Monitoring logs only requires a read only share of the relevant trace directories on the server - it emphatically does not require console access. (In fact mine get mailed to me so I can pick them up at home if need be). Periodically purging archive log files requires either read/write access (for manual work) or the creation of scheduled jobs to be implemented by the sysadmin, these should in any case not be run by a DBA account as a matter of course. Again a simple share should suffice, or guidelines for the sysadmin, after all server space usage is his responsibility not the DBAs. Listeners can be started stopped etc from the net8 assistant or OEM (can't recall which offhand). The bottom is that with 8i & NT, it is just about possible to manage an oracle instance from a client pc, not the server console. It isn't the easiest or necessarily the best way of doing it, but is most certainly doable.
>
> This is an issue that I would escalate to the senior IS executive in the
> company - immediately. One foolish sysadmin on some kinda of powertrip
> should not be allowed to put the organization's database at risk.

Conversely a DBA on a powertrip shouldn't be allowed to compromise application server availability.

My suggestion of course would be to move the DB to Unix and therefore out of the NT sysadmins domain altogether (and maybe reduce the num,ber of systems he manages )<vbg>

--
Niall Litchfield
Oracle DBA
Audit Commission UK