A database can be described as a collection of data or information that is organized in a logical so that it can be easily managed , updated and accessed (Kleppmann, 2017) . The country planning department is in need of a database that will store and at the same time, track building permit applications for both commercial and residential projects. To get the database strategy right from the beginning, Vimak Consultants will team up with the country planning department users as well as the stakeholders in order to determine the computing requirements of the database application, identify the needs of the users and the stakeholders, and ensuring that the database application is flexible enough to handle the ever-changing needs of the country planning department (Kleppmann, 2017).
Requirement Analysis and Needs Identification
In the creation of databases, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach that can fully adapt to the changing business needs of the country planning department. The first step in analyzing the requirements of the database is by requesting the stakeholders to avail the country planning department’s business portfolio of both residential and commercial projects in order to gain an understanding of what they need from the database layer (Hamer, 2017) . The following factors needs will be considered before the database application is built :
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Is the database application mission critical?
Does database application require complex or specialized data?
Does the database application need large amounts of data or will it scale up?
Will the database application be used specifically by the country planning department or will it be on an enterprise-wide basis?
The above will help in understanding the business model of the country planning department in order to provide the needed services by the database to both internal and external stakeholders (Hamer, 2017) . Also , Vimak Consultants will also evaluate the already existing skillsets that are available to the country planning department as part of the database application planning process. This is vital because it will ensure that Vimak Consultants choose the right technologies that will fit the skill sets that the country planning department already has in-house in addition to the ones that are going to be added .
Suggestions for the Stakeholders
Plan for the scope and the purpose of the data collection exercise, clearly define the objectives, data protection plan and develop the necessary tools and guidelines (Harnandez, 2013) .
Ensure that the data is relevant, accurate and up-to-date.
Identify the categories of the data that us to be collected and include all the relevant information about the permits being issued out commercial and residential projects (Harnandez, 2013) .
Ensure that all the data that is collected by different stakeholders is comparable.
Task-specific tools for the database application
Building inspections
Inspection scheduling
Issuance of building permits
Tracking of all project applications
Workflow management
Permit fee calculation and collection (Harnandez, 2013).
Plan review
Inter- and intra-departmental communication
Customer communication through email and SMS.
Issuance of final occupancy certificates.
Hardware Requirements for the database servers
There is a minimum for the hardware requirements that are needed to host the country planning department’s database. The listed hardware specifications will, however, change under the influence of specific factors that should be taken into consideration. In order to provide the best estimation, the following questions should be answered :
Size of the traffic. Is it high or low?
The number of visitors in a day/month
The maximum number of simultaneous users and visitors querying the database
The number of search queries being administered simultaneously
The number of permits that can be ordered in a day or simultaneously
Supported Operating Systems
Windows Server 2008/2008 R2
Windows Server 2012/2012 R2
Windows Server 2016
Redhat Linux 7
CentOS 7
ClearOS
Supported Relational Database Management Systems
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2.
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP2.
32-bit and 64-bit of Oracle 12C Release 2.
32-bit and 64-bit of Oracle 11g Release 1 and Release 2.
Recommended Hardware for the Database Server
4 x 4 CPU at 3.0 GHz with 64 GB of RAM.
SCSI RAID Disk Array with a minimum of 2 TB free disk space (5TB or higher is recommended ).
The recommended database platform for the country planning department will use the Oracle Database. The reason for using Oracle in the creation of the new database system is because it was built for enterprise grid computing. One of the main reasons that set Oracle apart from other database systems is transaction control. Oracle treats each new database connection as a new transaction, and when queries are being executed , the changes are only made in memory, and nothing is committed to the database until the COMMIT statement is given (Eclmasri,2015) . When compared to the MS SQL server which commits each task or commands individually thus making it impossible to roll back changes if errors are identified. In Oracle, all the database objects are grouped by schemas which are then shared by all the users and schemas. Even though all the schemas are shared , each database user is limited to certain tables and schemas through roles and permissions which makes it superior to MS SQL Server. Oracle also offers reverse key indexes, bitmap indexes, partitioning star query optimization and function-based indexes which MS SQL Server does not offer (Eclmasri,2015) . When compared to MS SQL Server, Oracle is the best-suited database platform for the country planning department.
Vimak consultants recommends a hybrid model for the country planning department in regards to data storage and backup solution which means a combination of both in-house and cloud-based solutions. Many of the country departments services will be offered online, and therefore a hybrid server model is the recommended solution as the data can be backed up on site as well as a cloud solution while offering greater data security (Eclmasri,2015) . The country planning department will also reap the benefits of moving to the cloud such as a Microsoft Azure pay as you go subscription that comes with Microsoft Exchange Email that will allow users to connect from anywhere in the world with the highest degree of uptime. With roles and permissions, what users can access will be limited and controlled by the administrators.
The Oracle Database Administrator (DBA) for the country planning department should be highly skilled and have intricate knowledge of working with Oracle databases. The DBA will be responsible for all the mission-critical functions such as database administration, tuning, configuration, patching, maintenance, and problem diagnosis and solution.
Key Skills and Qualifications
3+ years’ experience in Oracle RAC.
4+ years’ experience in working with critical databases.
Experience in Unix OS, Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) and other RDBMS platforms such as Essbase , DB2 and MS SQL server.
M.S in Computers with a minimum of 10 years working experience in a large-scale mission-critical IT or Software as a Service (SaaS) operations.
Solid understanding of Oracle 11g and 12c.
Experience with SQL analysis and tuning in Oracle RDMS.
Experience with Oracle APEX, Java programming and support, and machine learning.
The database design will allow the country planning department to scale for up to 10 years and in case we hit another recession, all the operations will continue working optimally. With the permit issuance database management system , there will be increased transparency, improved speeds in permit issuance, better profiling of architects, engineers and physical planners, improved report generation, efficiencies, management oversight and fostering good building practices in the industry.
References
Eclmasri, J. (2015). Fundamentals of Database Systems . London: Pearson.
Hamer, M. (2017). Relational Database Practices: Bridging the Gap Between the Theory of Database Design and Real-World Practices . New Jersey: Malcolm Hamer Press.
Hernandez, M. (2013). Database Design for Mere Mortals: A Hands-On Guide to Relational Database Design . Boston, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Professional.
Kleppmann, M. (2017). Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems . Newton, Massachusetts: O'Reilly Media.
