A Database Administrator is a person who uses specialized software to consolidate and store data. A Database Administrator (DBA) performs activities connected to sustaining an active database management system (DMS) environment in an organization. Responsibilities include installation, capacity planning, database design, and configuration, monitoring performance, troubleshooting, backup, and data recovery as well as security (Coronel & Morris, 2018). Database Administrator establishes procedures and policies that pertain to the management, maintenance, security, and use of the DMS by employees. It is expected of a Database Administrator to possess skills and experience with one or more of database management products and to stay abreast of new design approaches and emerging technologies to cope with the duties and responsibilities. They work in different types of industries.
Database Administrator is the one responsible to initially install and configure new database management software such as Structured Query Language (SQL) server, Oracle or any other database management products for use. Whenever the system requires updates or patches, it is the role of the database administrator to install them. This on-going maintenance task would also include adding of new servers when the need arises and transferring data from existing platform to the new one.
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According to Gupta, Database Administrator extracts data from various systems and transforms the data before loading it in to the database. The external data from various systems requires sorting out and cleaning up for relevancy and safety purposes as it put in a data warehouse environment. Transformation of the data is also done to enable it to fit the desired format and then imported into a central repository. Specialized data handling is also a crucial role of a database administrator as it may be unstructured. Unstructured data such as documents, sound, images as well as video files need to be well organized to fit in the Structured Query Language (SQL) system (Gupta, 2013).
Database Administrator is involved in database backup and recovery. It requires the creation of procedures and plans based on the best practices of the industry and ensures that the correct steps followed . As backups are costly, it’s the role of Database Administrator to persuade management to preserve data by taking the necessary precautions. The Administrator uses the existing backups to recover data in case any form of data loss or server failure. There are different kinds of crashes or data loss which require different recovery strategies, and therefore Database Administrator must be ready for any occurrences. Nowadays, backing up databases to the cloud such as Oracle Cloud and MS Azure for Oracle databases and SQL Server respectively is necessary as technology is advancing.
A Database Administrator ensures the safety of company’s database software and the overall system. No system is immune to attacks and to minimize the risks associated with the data and information, it is necessary implementing the best practices to enhance security. Database Administrator consults audit logs when an irregularity or a security breach arises. It enables the Database Administrator to know who is responsible for the action and see what has tempered with the system (Langer, 2008).
According to Langer, Database Administrator is responsible for authentication of the database. It entails controlling the access of the database and the type of access permitted. For example, the Administrator may limit and control users’ access to the database by allowing a user only to use specific information or deny user’s ability to change the system. Data used by particular people in a company, e.g., managers, accountants, clerks, etc. placed at their ‘disposal’ but limit them to get to information rendered irrelevant to their routine tasks.
Database Administrators are responsible for monitoring of database to ensure its performance. It is an on-going maintenance task to the system. Whenever slowdowns experienced during processing, the Database Administrator must add extra hardware capacity or configuration changes to the software. There are various monitoring tools for databases, and the administrator should be capable of understanding what is required to track and improve system functioning. Active performance monitoring confirms where to tweak the database for its efficient operation . Also, configuring the way queries handled , and physical configuration can lead to improved database performance.
Problems or failure of the system requires quick attention. In case of any issues , Database Administrators are always contacted for troubleshooting. It may require recovering lost data or react to matters to prevent damage, and thus Database Administrator needs to realize the problem and immediately rectify it quickly . It ensures company reliability to the system (Langer, 2008).
In an organizational setting, the Database Administrator must train employees on how to use the dataset. Educating employees on safe practices when handling t he database is essential as it would minimize damages to the system that arise from users.
In conclusion, as seen regarding the work of a database administrator in an organization, it is clear to be of great significance and a susceptible one. Therefore, a database administrator needs to be a competent person and one of high integrity. To have a person with appropriate skills and competence could be matched with the tasks for a more prosperous , reliable and secure database management system. It would eventually lead to successful database management system and the organization ought to utilize the talent of a strategic database administrator to acquire business value.
References
Coronel, C., & Morris, S. (2018). Database systems: Design, implementation, and management (11 ed). Cengage Learning.
Gupta, P. K. D. (2013). Database management system oracle SQL . Place of publication not identified: Prentice-Hall of India.
Langer, A. M. (2008). Analysis and Design of Information Systems (3 rd ed). Springer.
