University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 1

Database Users & Database Users & AdministrationAdministration

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 2

• Database Users• Data Administration • Database Administration• DBA Functions • DBA Role

Database Users & Database Users & AdministrationAdministration

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 3

1. The End User

• The one who will use the information

• Unaware of the background processes

• Perhaps has little or no computing knowledge

• Expertise is in the use of the data

Database UsersDatabase Users

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 4

1. The End User (cont.)

The information must be– correct– readily available– user friendly format– meet their requirements– allow them to be productive

Database UsersDatabase Users

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 5

2. Database specialist

– Database Administrator– Database Designer– Database Analyst– Database Programmer– Database Technician

Database UsersDatabase Users

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 6

• A high level management function(E.g. Director)

• Determination of overall information needs from a management perspective

• Developing & administering the policies, procedures, practices & plans for definition, organisation, protection & efficient utilisation of data

• Encompasses all corporate data whether computerised or not

Data AdministrationData Administration

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 7

• Normally responsible for computerised systems only

• Management & Co-ordination function• Technical function responsible for:

– physical database design

– security – backup – recovery– performance

Database Database AdministrationAdministration

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 8

What is it?

“To successfully set up and manage an environment in which the data resource is

effectively used”

Database Database AdministrationAdministration

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 9

THERE ARE THREE MAIN FUNCTIONS:

1. Administration & management of Data Content2. Administration & management of Data Structure3. Administration & management of the Physical

Database

DBA FunctionsDBA Functions

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 10

1. Administration & management of Data Content– which data is to be held on the database– which users have what kind of access to

the database– which kind of users have access to

individual items of data– which consistency checks must be

maintained– when should data be removed

DBA FunctionsDBA Functions

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 11

2.The administration and management of data structure.– how many logical databases do we need ?– what is the table column structure ?

• normalisation• functional analysis• de normalisation

– how is security to be implemented ?

DBA FunctionsDBA Functions

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 12

2.The administration and management of data structure (Cont.)– how are consistency checks made ?– how is access to be optimised ?

• transactions• clustering• indexing• query optimisation

– how and when to re-organise the database ?

DBA FunctionsDBA Functions

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 13

2.The administration and management of the physical database– how many copies should run ?

• machine sizing• operating system performance

– when and how should we perform backups?

• database files• recovery log files

DBA FunctionsDBA Functions

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 14

2.The administration and management of the physical database ( cont.)– start-up and shutdown procedures.

• DBMS parameters• control procedures

– what procedures are required to recover from system failures ?

• export / import procedures• roll forward / rollback

DBA FunctionsDBA Functions

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 15

– integrity and consistency– monitoring and tuning– reducing redundant storage– facilitating sharing of data– security– backups– recovery– keep down time to a minimum

DBA RoleDBA Role

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 16

Liaison with:

• Management– enterprise objectives– time constraints for development– budget constraints– Future plans– organisational changes

DBA RoleDBA Role

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 17

Liaison with:

• Users– data requirements– application priorities– ownership of data– archiving requirements– documentation– response times

DBA RoleDBA Role

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 18

Liaison with:

• Application Development Staff– security/privacy controls– education/training– data integrity rules– housekeeping programs– information about the database– Test plans etc.

DBA RoleDBA Role

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 19

Liaison with:

• Operations Staff– availability requirements– batch job priorities– security procedures– error recovery requirements– performance monitoring etc.

DBA RoleDBA Role

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 20

Liaison with:

• Software Vendors– Education/training needs– Hardware requirements– documentation– service support & maintenance– utilities etc.

DBA RoleDBA Role

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 21

Liaison with:

• Hardware Vendors– hardware capabilities– expansion capability– incompatibility with any existing hardware– servicing requirements– training– equipment failure

DBA RoleDBA Role

University of Sunderland COM 220 Lecture Seven Slide 22

Further ReadingFurther Reading

• Database Administration– Connolly & Begg, 3rd and 4th edition, chpt 9 – McFadden & Hoffer, chapter 13

• Next week– Database Security