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COM220 Lecture Five

Database Users & AdministrationDatabase Users & Administration

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COM220 Lecture Five

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

Database Users & AdministrationDatabase Users & Administration

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COM220 Lecture Five

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

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COM220 Lecture Five

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

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COM220 Lecture Five

2. Database specialist

– Database Administrator

– Database Designer

– Database Analyst

– Database Programmer

– Database Technician

Database UsersDatabase Users

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COM220 Lecture Five

• 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

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COM220 Lecture Five

• Normally responsible for computerised systems only• Management & Co-ordination function• Technical function responsible for:

– physical database design

– security

– backup

– recovery

– performance

Database AdministrationDatabase Administration

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COM220 Lecture Five

What is it?

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

Database AdministrationDatabase Administration

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COM220 Lecture Five

THERE ARE THREE MAIN FUNCTIONS:

1. Administration & management of Data Content

2. Administration & management of Data Structure

3. Administration & management of the Physical Database

DBA FunctionsDBA Functions

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COM220 Lecture Five

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

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COM220 Lecture Five

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

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COM220 Lecture Five

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

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COM220 Lecture Five

3. 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

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COM220 Lecture Five

3.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

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COM220 Lecture Five

– 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

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COM220 Lecture Five

Liaison with:• Management

– enterprise objectives

– time constraints for development

– budget constraints

– future plans

– organisational changes

DBA RoleDBA Role

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COM220 Lecture Five

Liaison with:• Users

– data requirements

– application priorities

– ownership of data

– archiving requirements

– documentation

– response times

DBA RoleDBA Role

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COM220 Lecture Five

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

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COM220 Lecture Five

Liaison with:• Operations Staff

– availability requirements

– batch job priorities

– security procedures

– error recovery requirements

– performance monitoring etc.

DBA RoleDBA Role

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COM220 Lecture Five

Liaison with:• Software Vendors

– Education/training needs

– Hardware requirements

– documentation

– service support & maintenance

– utilities etc.

DBA RoleDBA Role

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COM220 Lecture Five

Liaison with:• Hardware Vendors

– hardware capabilities

– expansion capability

– incompatibility with any existing hardware

– servicing requirements

– training

– equipment failure

DBA RoleDBA Role

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COM220 Lecture Five

Further ReadingFurther Reading

• Database Administration– Connelly & Begg, chapter 9

– McFadden & Hoffer, chapter 13

• Next week– Building Interactive Forms Applications