Week 1 Discussion – Database Administrator’s Role

• Identify and assess at least three professional skills that would be required to be a successful database administrator.
• Give your opinion on what the critical nature of a database administrator’s role is to IT industry organizations.
• Support your answer with specific examples of functions and responsibilities database administrators perform.
• Be sure to respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts.

Terence Howerton         

Sunday Apr 2 at 5:48pm          

Hello class,

My name is Terence Howerton. I am from Charlotte, NC. I enjoy  traveling, tennis, going to the gym, movies, and spending time with my  family.  I have my undergrad degree in communications. I wanted to  pursue a masters in information systems because I use it in my current  position at my job. I use SAP which is an IT platform. I am in a billing  position but I use my computer everyday. I also play a role in support  to my peers at work too. I think it is a very important field to get  into. My current employer which is an energy company offers so much  opportunity in this field which is why I wanted to pursue more  opportunities. Something unique about my background is I have visited  over 30 countries and plan to visit more soon.

Three professional skills required to be a successful database  administrator are as follows. First, Technical skills are very important  for a database administrator. A database administrator must have a good understanding of database management systems and  database languages. Structured query language (SQL) is the most popular  database language currently available and is used by several  organizations. Additionally, a DBA should be familiar with Powershell (used for Windows) and Bash (used  for Linux), which are also quite popular. A database administrator  works closely with managers, researchers, and other staff. The DBA  focuses on monitoring and maintaining a high level of system  performance. Database administrators are responsible for performing  regular system backups so no data is lost during a power outage or other  type of disaster. They also work to ensure that the data being captured  is reliable, error-free, and available at any time.

Social and Administration skills are important. Database  administrators need to collaborate with teams, which requires good  communication. They must also be capable of being both a leader and a  team player. The DBA needs to work without supervision, must be  detail-oriented, and communicate well with other staff. Soft skills that  are especially desirable include Good trouble-shooting skills and the  ability to assess a situation and provide a solution quickly. The  ability to communicate with other workers, developers, and managers is  necessary, as is being a team player. Attention to detail is a skill  sought after by the entire IT industry. When processing large volumes of  data, the smallest error can lead to significant problems. Good  analytical skills is important. DBAs must collect information from  various sources, analyze it, and come up with intelligent conclusions.

Capacity Planning is an important skill also. Capacity planning  is a core responsibility of database administrators. Capacity planning  is about estimating what resources will be needed – and available – in  the future. These resources include computer hardware, software,  storage, and connection infrastructure. Fortunately, planning for IaaS  is quite similar to planning for on-premise. The basic difference in  planning is the additional flexibility offered by the cloud. This  flexibility allows DBAs to plan for the business’s immediate needs  instead of planning for needs three to four years in advance. DBAs can  also make use of the cloud’s ability to quickly scale up or down to meet  the client’s demands. Good capacity planning involves responding to the  changes made in a cloud’s offerings with the goal of getting the best  deals. For example, a cloud service provider may offer a new form of  virtual machines or a new storage service that is a better fit for an  organization’s workloads. The DBA must be consciously aware of the  business’s changing demands and the tools being offered in the various  clouds.

For a database administrator, a DBA designs, implements, administers, and monitors data management systems and ensures design, consistency, quality, and security. Database administrators are responsible for accurately  and securely using, maintaining and developing computerised databases  within a wide range of public and private sector organizations.  Any organization that stores large amounts of information and data may  employ a database administrator. Database administrators or  managers create and maintain databases compatible with their companies’  needs. These are information technology (IT) professionals  that oversee  database updates, storage, security, and troubleshooting.