RE: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load)
We have a similar structure Infrastructure - DBA - Sys Admin - Network Admin -Original Message- Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 7:53 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Hello Peter We have an infrastructure division that divides into two departments: system programming and DBA. Organization chart for us will be: CEO - CIO - Infrastructure - DBA. Yechiel Adar Mehish - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2002 11:13 AM I've found the thread on DBA workload valuable and interesting. It endorses points made repeatedly over the past years, basically the highly variable nature of the job. This variability is giving us a small problem. Our dba work (shared between two of us) tends to function in the background, and of course because we do it so damn well (!!), our impact on the running of the organisation is pretty low. Kind of 'reverse exception' effect, if you will. There is now a desire to formalise the role of the dba function within the organisation, and nobody has the first idea of how to define, in an organisational / structural sense just how the dba role slots in. I'm talking about organsiational charts, herarchies etc, that sort of thing. Not just across the org, but particularly within the IT domain too. Specifically, dba impacts from the low-level hardware side, right up to application development, with everything in between. And that already spans several existing lines of management responsibility. Our problem has added spice as we are (trying) to operate a matrix management system, which repeatedly throws up intriguing political dimensions. Anybody ever been down this particular route? Any thoughts much appreciated, peter edinburgh * This e-mail message, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. If this message was not addressed to you, you have received it in error and any copying, distribution or other use of any part of it is strictly prohibited. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the British Geological Survey. The security of e-mail communication cannot be guaranteed and the BGS accepts no liability for claims arising as a result of the use of this medium to transmit messages from or to the BGS. The BGS cannot accept any responsibility for viruses, so please scan all attachments.http://www.bgs.ac.uk * -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Robson, Peter INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Yechiel Adar INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: IT - Database (Do Not Use) INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load)
Title: RE: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load) you can write down the known heiarchy, then encompass that within a circle. add a picture of the DBA holding the sphere in his hand or better yet if you really want to get creative, place it on his back and have him poised like Atlas. There should be a minimum of 1,000 words in that picture =). -Original Message- From: IT - Database (Do Not Use) [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, October 07, 2002 3:05 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load) We have a similar structure Infrastructure - DBA - Sys Admin - Network Admin -Original Message- Sent: Sunday, September 29, 2002 7:53 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Hello Peter We have an infrastructure division that divides into two departments: system programming and DBA. Organization chart for us will be: CEO - CIO - Infrastructure - DBA. Yechiel Adar Mehish - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2002 11:13 AM I've found the thread on DBA workload valuable and interesting. It endorses points made repeatedly over the past years, basically the highly variable nature of the job. This variability is giving us a small problem. Our dba work (shared between two of us) tends to function in the background, and of course because we do it so damn well (!!), our impact on the running of the organisation is pretty low. Kind of 'reverse exception' effect, if you will. There is now a desire to formalise the role of the dba function within the organisation, and nobody has the first idea of how to define, in an organisational / structural sense just how the dba role slots in. I'm talking about organsiational charts, herarchies etc, that sort of thing. Not just across the org, but particularly within the IT domain too. Specifically, dba impacts from the low-level hardware side, right up to application development, with everything in between. And that already spans several existing lines of management responsibility. Our problem has added spice as we are (trying) to operate a matrix management system, which repeatedly throws up intriguing political dimensions. Anybody ever been down this particular route? Any thoughts much appreciated, peter edinburgh * This e-mail message, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. If this message was not addressed to you, you have received it in error and any copying, distribution or other use of any part of it is strictly prohibited. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the British Geological Survey. The security of e-mail communication cannot be guaranteed and the BGS accepts no liability for claims arising as a result of the use of this medium to transmit messages from or to the BGS. The BGS cannot accept any responsibility for viruses, so please scan all attachments. http://www.bgs.ac.uk * -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Robson, Peter INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Yechiel Adar INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: IT - Database (Do Not Use) INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
Title: RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1 H. How come I always seem to be the DBA who can't say no - you don't seem to have that problem at all. -Original Message- From: Conboy, Jim [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 3:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1 The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. Troubled silence on the phone. Politeness is a very bad signal from me and they know it. He was rattled. Uh, hi, this is Joe, technical lead on that super-critical project for Benefits? Is this a good time? I have some stuff I need moved to production? The last was a statement, but it came out like a question. With a slight quaver in the voice, too. Excellent. Technical lead my arse. Could you be more specific so I can schedule you appropriately? He hesitated. Gosh, I sounded for real. I almost convinced myself. The victim approached warily. I've got a bunch of PL/SQL packages and some outlines to speed up the queries with special hints. The scripts are all ready for your review, they include the create statements, the grants, everything. I'm forwarding the email package to you with signoffs from IT, the user department, and your own from reviewing our design and test results. This last was delivered with almost pathetic eagerness. Good boy. Good, simple, foolish boy. If he could see me he'd be terrified by my grin. Joe, I need you to help me out. You've just given me 10 minutes of work, but I'm due for lunch in 5 minutes. What do you suggest I do? Joe knew better, he really did. But his team had been up all night finishing and the prize was so close... Look, I really hate to impose. But we've missed several major deadlines, and department head has made it clear if we screw up again he'll outsource the whole project and have us laid off. I need it now so we can make sure everything's perfect for the big production run at COB today. Consider it done, I promised cheerfully and hung up. I surprised him, and maybe myself, with my good spirits. Especially since I was more than 5 minutes late, closer to fifteen, and my buddies were already into their second beer when I joined them for lunch. But the extra 10 minutes had been well worth it considering what I managed to do to those hints with the outline editor. Just the same, though, I turned off my cell phone in case the twit called to find out why his 5-second queries took almost an hour. Can't have him taking me for granted, can I? Later that evening, after quaffing several (all right, numerous) more ales with the boys, I dialed in from home to check how things were going. Mr. Tech Lead was still logged in, no doubt desperately trying to determine why things were taking forever. Poor Mr. Tech Lead, another sleepless night. I logged off, turned out the light, and slept like a baby. Next morning, hangover. The phone rings. I snatch it up angrily... -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Conboy, Jim INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
Title: RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1 I wish I could chuck my catholicism just a little to do something just a little like that - man! -Original Message- From: Bob Metelsky [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 5:53 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1 I don't know how he can live with himself LMAO -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 2:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Bob Metelsky INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
Paula, It just takes practice. You can learn to say no. I did. You just have to work up to it :) You start with: If I do that for you now, I will fall behind x days on the critical project I am working on for you move on to: I'm sorry. I have too much to do then to: not gonna happen and finally, either of the following: what part of the word NO don't you understand? or (my personal favorite) failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine Try it, you'll like it --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: H. How come I always seem to be the DBA who can't say no - you don't seem to have that problem at all. -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 3:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. Troubled silence on the phone. Politeness is a very bad signal from me and they know it. He was rattled. Uh, hi, this is Joe, technical lead on that super-critical project for Benefits? Is this a good time? I have some stuff I need moved to production? The last was a statement, but it came out like a question. With a slight quaver in the voice, too. Excellent. Technical lead my arse. Could you be more specific so I can schedule you appropriately? He hesitated. Gosh, I sounded for real. I almost convinced myself. The victim approached warily. I've got a bunch of PL/SQL packages and some outlines to speed up the queries with special hints. The scripts are all ready for your review, they include the create statements, the grants, everything. I'm forwarding the email package to you with signoffs from IT, the user department, and your own from reviewing our design and test results. This last was delivered with almost pathetic eagerness. Good boy. Good, simple, foolish boy. If he could see me he'd be terrified by my grin. Joe, I need you to help me out. You've just given me 10 minutes of work, but I'm due for lunch in 5 minutes. What do you suggest I do? Joe knew better, he really did. But his team had been up all night finishing and the prize was so close... Look, I really hate to impose. But we've missed several major deadlines, and department head has made it clear if we screw up again he'll outsource the whole project and have us laid off. I need it now so we can make sure everything's perfect for the big production run at COB today. Consider it done, I promised cheerfully and hung up. I surprised him, and maybe myself, with my good spirits. Especially since I was more than 5 minutes late, closer to fifteen, and my buddies were already into their second beer when I joined them for lunch. But the extra 10 minutes had been well worth it considering what I managed to do to those hints with the outline editor. Just the same, though, I turned off my cell phone in case the twit called to find out why his 5-second queries took almost an hour. Can't have him taking me for granted, can I? Later that evening, after quaffing several (all right, numerous) more ales with the boys, I dialed in from home to check how things were going. Mr. Tech Lead was still logged in, no doubt desperately trying to determine why things were taking forever. Poor Mr. Tech Lead, another sleepless night. I logged off, turned out the light, and slept like a baby. Next morning, hangover. The phone rings. I snatch it up angrily... -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Conboy, Jim INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Rachel Carmichael INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
My favourite when they come to your desk... Ah, I see the f..k up fairy has come to visit (Apologies for profanity) :-) --- Rachel Carmichael [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Paula, It just takes practice. You can learn to say no. I did. You just have to work up to it :) You start with: If I do that for you now, I will fall behind x days on the critical project I am working on for you move on to: I'm sorry. I have too much to do then to: not gonna happen and finally, either of the following: what part of the word NO don't you understand? or (my personal favorite) failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine Try it, you'll like it --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: H. How come I always seem to be the DBA who can't say no - you don't seem to have that problem at all. -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 3:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. Troubled silence on the phone. Politeness is a very bad signal from me and they know it. He was rattled. Uh, hi, this is Joe, technical lead on that super-critical project for Benefits? Is this a good time? I have some stuff I need moved to production? The last was a statement, but it came out like a question. With a slight quaver in the voice, too. Excellent. Technical lead my arse. Could you be more specific so I can schedule you appropriately? He hesitated. Gosh, I sounded for real. I almost convinced myself. The victim approached warily. I've got a bunch of PL/SQL packages and some outlines to speed up the queries with special hints. The scripts are all ready for your review, they include the create statements, the grants, everything. I'm forwarding the email package to you with signoffs from IT, the user department, and your own from reviewing our design and test results. This last was delivered with almost pathetic eagerness. Good boy. Good, simple, foolish boy. If he could see me he'd be terrified by my grin. Joe, I need you to help me out. You've just given me 10 minutes of work, but I'm due for lunch in 5 minutes. What do you suggest I do? Joe knew better, he really did. But his team had been up all night finishing and the prize was so close... Look, I really hate to impose. But we've missed several major deadlines, and department head has made it clear if we screw up again he'll outsource the whole project and have us laid off. I need it now so we can make sure everything's perfect for the big production run at COB today. Consider it done, I promised cheerfully and hung up. I surprised him, and maybe myself, with my good spirits. Especially since I was more than 5 minutes late, closer to fifteen, and my buddies were already into their second beer when I joined them for lunch. But the extra 10 minutes had been well worth it considering what I managed to do to those hints with the outline editor. Just the same, though, I turned off my cell phone in case the twit called to find out why his 5-second queries took almost an hour. Can't have him taking me for granted, can I? Later that evening, after quaffing several (all right, numerous) more ales with the boys, I dialed in from home to check how things were going. Mr. Tech Lead was still logged in, no doubt desperately trying to determine why things were taking forever. Poor Mr. Tech Lead, another sleepless night. I logged off, turned out the light, and slept like a baby. Next morning, hangover. The phone rings. I snatch it up angrily... -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Conboy, Jim INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Rachel Carmichael INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
Title: RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1 An ENRON executive in training. -Original Message- From: Bob Metelsky [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 5:53 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1 I don't know how he can live with himself LMAO -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 2:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Bob Metelsky INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
Nah - I go for the subtle approach - 'YES?' - very, VERY loudly! And looking them dead straight in the eye... (You should see 'em jump!) peter edinbugh -Original Message- From: Connor McDonald [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 01 October 2002 15:38 To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1 My favourite when they come to your desk... Ah, I see the f..k up fairy has come to visit (Apologies for profanity) :-) --- Rachel Carmichael [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Paula, It just takes practice. You can learn to say no. I did. You just have to work up to it :) You start with: If I do that for you now, I will fall behind x days on the critical project I am working on for you move on to: I'm sorry. I have too much to do then to: not gonna happen and finally, either of the following: what part of the word NO don't you understand? or (my personal favorite) failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine Try it, you'll like it --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: H. How come I always seem to be the DBA who can't say no - you don't seem to have that problem at all. -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 3:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. Troubled silence on the phone. Politeness is a very bad signal from me and they know it. He was rattled. Uh, hi, this is Joe, technical lead on that super-critical project for Benefits? Is this a good time? I have some stuff I need moved to production? The last was a statement, but it came out like a question. With a slight quaver in the voice, too. Excellent. Technical lead my arse. Could you be more specific so I can schedule you appropriately? He hesitated. Gosh, I sounded for real. I almost convinced myself. The victim approached warily. I've got a bunch of PL/SQL packages and some outlines to speed up the queries with special hints. The scripts are all ready for your review, they include the create statements, the grants, everything. I'm forwarding the email package to you with signoffs from IT, the user department, and your own from reviewing our design and test results. This last was delivered with almost pathetic eagerness. Good boy. Good, simple, foolish boy. If he could see me he'd be terrified by my grin. Joe, I need you to help me out. You've just given me 10 minutes of work, but I'm due for lunch in 5 minutes. What do you suggest I do? Joe knew better, he really did. But his team had been up all night finishing and the prize was so close... Look, I really hate to impose. But we've missed several major deadlines, and department head has made it clear if we screw up again he'll outsource the whole project and have us laid off. I need it now so we can make sure everything's perfect for the big production run at COB today. Consider it done, I promised cheerfully and hung up. I surprised him, and maybe myself, with my good spirits. Especially since I was more than 5 minutes late, closer to fifteen, and my buddies were already into their second beer when I joined them for lunch. But the extra 10 minutes had been well worth it considering what I managed to do to those hints with the outline editor. Just the same, though, I turned off my cell phone in case the twit called to find out why his 5-second queries took almost an hour. Can't have him taking me for granted, can I? Later that evening, after quaffing several (all right, numerous) more ales with the boys, I dialed in from home to check how things were going. Mr. Tech Lead was still logged in, no doubt desperately trying to determine why things were taking forever. Poor Mr. Tech Lead, another sleepless night. I logged off, turned out the light, and slept like a baby. Next morning, hangover. The phone rings. I snatch it up angrily... -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Conboy, Jim INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name
RE: DBA work load
Actually I called the group that handles 24 hour monitoring and emailed anyone else who might potentially be interested (hence getting in early the next day). The next day I was called on the carpet because I didn't get the name of the person I spoke with the previous night and they had to wait for the night shift to come in to find out who I spoke with to put it in their report. My boss' boss reads Dilbert as a management guide... Jay Miller -Original Message- Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 9:03 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Must say I liked Inka's notion of calling all interested parties with details, though it could be income threatening =:-0 Maybe a compromise would be to agree some type of SOP for such situations and have the interested callers list put in there. I mean if they are so keen to know first thing next morning... OTOH, why not send a summary e-mail to interested parties and tell them you'll fill in any gaps when you have caught up on lost time. If the problem has been resolved, details of how are of a mainly historical nature anyhow - right? Tim: Can you give me the ISBN's to some of your novels. What!!! You haven't written any yet! - A waste of talent ;) Thanks for the homour in any case. PS: The BDBAFH has gone right over my head. My psyche is suggesting it's profane. What does it stand for? - Seán O' Neill Organon (Ireland) Ltd. [subscribed: digest mode] This message, including attached files, may contain confidential information and is intended only for the use by the individual and/or the entity to which it is addressed. Any unauthorized use, dissemination of, or copying of the information contained herein is not allowed and may lead to irreparable harm and damage for which you may be held liable. If you receive this message in error or if it is intended for someone else please notify the sender by returning this e-mail immediately and delete the message. -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: O'Neill, Sean INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Miller, Jay INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
Re: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
LOL. Any Cicely Mary Barker JPEG of the fairy to put on my desk ? Connor McDonald wrote: My favourite when they come to your desk... Ah, I see the f..k up fairy has come to visit (Apologies for profanity) :-) --- Rachel Carmichael [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Paula, It just takes practice. You can learn to say no. I did. You just have to work up to it :) You start with: If I do that for you now, I will fall behind x days on the critical project I am working on for you move on to: I'm sorry. I have too much to do then to: not gonna happen and finally, either of the following: what part of the word NO don't you understand? or (my personal favorite) failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine Try it, you'll like it --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: H. How come I always seem to be the DBA who can't say no - you don't seem to have that problem at all. -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 3:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. Troubled silence on the phone. Politeness is a very bad signal from me and they know it. He was rattled. Uh, hi, this is Joe, technical lead on that super-critical project for Benefits? Is this a good time? I have some stuff I need moved to production? The last was a statement, but it came out like a question. With a slight quaver in the voice, too. Excellent. Technical lead my arse. Could you be more specific so I can schedule you appropriately? He hesitated. Gosh, I sounded for real. I almost convinced myself. The victim approached warily. I've got a bunch of PL/SQL packages and some outlines to speed up the queries with special hints. The scripts are all ready for your review, they include the create statements, the grants, everything. I'm forwarding the email package to you with signoffs from IT, the user department, and your own from reviewing our design and test results. This last was delivered with almost pathetic eagerness. Good boy. Good, simple, foolish boy. If he could see me he'd be terrified by my grin. Joe, I need you to help me out. You've just given me 10 minutes of work, but I'm due for lunch in 5 minutes. What do you suggest I do? Joe knew better, he really did. But his team had been up all night finishing and the prize was so close... Look, I really hate to impose. But we've missed several major deadlines, and department head has made it clear if we screw up again he'll outsource the whole project and have us laid off. I need it now so we can make sure everything's perfect for the big production run at COB today. Consider it done, I promised cheerfully and hung up. I surprised him, and maybe myself, with my good spirits. Especially since I was more than 5 minutes late, closer to fifteen, and my buddies were already into their second beer when I joined them for lunch. But the extra 10 minutes had been well worth it considering what I managed to do to those hints with the outline editor. Just the same, though, I turned off my cell phone in case the twit called to find out why his 5-second queries took almost an hour. Can't have him taking me for granted, can I? Later that evening, after quaffing several (all right, numerous) more ales with the boys, I dialed in from home to check how things were going. Mr. Tech Lead was still logged in, no doubt desperately trying to determine why things were taking forever. Poor Mr. Tech Lead, another sleepless night. I logged off, turned out the light, and slept like a baby. Next morning, hangover. The phone rings. I snatch it up angrily... -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Conboy, Jim INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Stephane Faroult INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
Title: Message hehehe... yea or a euthaniser the Humane Society ;- An ENRON executive in training. -Original Message- From: Bob Metelsky [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 5:53 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1 I don't know how he can live with himself LMAO -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 2:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... "Database Administration, can I help you?" I answer professionally. -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Bob Metelsky INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. Troubled silence on the phone. Politeness is a very bad signal from me and they know it. He was rattled. Uh, hi, this is Joe, technical lead on that super-critical project for Benefits? Is this a good time? I have some stuff I need moved to production? The last was a statement, but it came out like a question. With a slight quaver in the voice, too. Excellent. Technical lead my arse. Could you be more specific so I can schedule you appropriately? He hesitated. Gosh, I sounded for real. I almost convinced myself. The victim approached warily. I've got a bunch of PL/SQL packages and some outlines to speed up the queries with special hints. The scripts are all ready for your review, they include the create statements, the grants, everything. I'm forwarding the email package to you with signoffs from IT, the user department, and your own from reviewing our design and test results. This last was delivered with almost pathetic eagerness. Good boy. Good, simple, foolish boy. If he could see me he'd be terrified by my grin. Joe, I need you to help me out. You've just given me 10 minutes of work, but I'm due for lunch in 5 minutes. What do you suggest I do? Joe knew better, he really did. But his team had been up all night finishing and the prize was so close... Look, I really hate to impose. But we've missed several major deadlines, and department head has made it clear if we screw up again he'll outsource the whole project and have us laid off. I need it now so we can make sure everything's perfect for the big production run at COB today. Consider it done, I promised cheerfully and hung up. I surprised him, and maybe myself, with my good spirits. Especially since I was more than 5 minutes late, closer to fifteen, and my buddies were already into their second beer when I joined them for lunch. But the extra 10 minutes had been well worth it considering what I managed to do to those hints with the outline editor. Just the same, though, I turned off my cell phone in case the twit called to find out why his 5-second queries took almost an hour. Can't have him taking me for granted, can I? Later that evening, after quaffing several (all right, numerous) more ales with the boys, I dialed in from home to check how things were going. Mr. Tech Lead was still logged in, no doubt desperately trying to determine why things were taking forever. Poor Mr. Tech Lead, another sleepless night. I logged off, turned out the light, and slept like a baby. Next morning, hangover. The phone rings. I snatch it up angrily... -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Conboy, Jim INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
LMAO -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 2:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. Troubled silence on the phone. Politeness is a very bad signal from me and they know it. He was rattled. Uh, hi, this is Joe, technical lead on that super-critical project for Benefits? Is this a good time? I have some stuff I need moved to production? The last was a statement, but it came out like a question. With a slight quaver in the voice, too. Excellent. Technical lead my arse. Could you be more specific so I can schedule you appropriately? He hesitated. Gosh, I sounded for real. I almost convinced myself. The victim approached warily. I've got a bunch of PL/SQL packages and some outlines to speed up the queries with special hints. The scripts are all ready for your review, they include the create statements, the grants, everything. I'm forwarding the email package to you with signoffs from IT, the user department, and your own from reviewing our design and test results. This last was delivered with almost pathetic eagerness. Good boy. Good, simple, foolish boy. If he could see me he'd be terrified by my grin. Joe, I need you to help me out. You've just given me 10 minutes of work, but I'm due for lunch in 5 minutes. What do you suggest I do? Joe knew better, he really did. But his team had been up all night finishing and the prize was so close... Look, I really hate to impose. But we've missed several major deadlines, and department head has made it clear if we screw up again he'll outsource the whole project and have us laid off. I need it now so we can make sure everything's perfect for the big production run at COB today. Consider it done, I promised cheerfully and hung up. I surprised him, and maybe myself, with my good spirits. Especially since I was more than 5 minutes late, closer to fifteen, and my buddies were already into their second beer when I joined them for lunch. But the extra 10 minutes had been well worth it considering what I managed to do to those hints with the outline editor. Just the same, though, I turned off my cell phone in case the twit called to find out why his 5-second queries took almost an hour. Can't have him taking me for granted, can I? Later that evening, after quaffing several (all right, numerous) more ales with the boys, I dialed in from home to check how things were going. Mr. Tech Lead was still logged in, no doubt desperately trying to determine why things were taking forever. Poor Mr. Tech Lead, another sleepless night. I logged off, turned out the light, and slept like a baby. Next morning, hangover. The phone rings. I snatch it up angrily... -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Conboy, Jim INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Farnsworth, Dave INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
I don't know how he can live with himself LMAO -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 30, 2002 2:58 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... Database Administration, can I help you? I answer professionally. -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Bob Metelsky INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
Re: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load)
Hello Peter We have an infrastructure division that divides into two departments: system programming and DBA. Organization chart for us will be: CEO - CIO - Infrastructure - DBA. Yechiel Adar Mehish - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2002 11:13 AM I've found the thread on DBA workload valuable and interesting. It endorses points made repeatedly over the past years, basically the highly variable nature of the job. This variability is giving us a small problem. Our dba work (shared between two of us) tends to function in the background, and of course because we do it so damn well (!!), our impact on the running of the organisation is pretty low. Kind of 'reverse exception' effect, if you will. There is now a desire to formalise the role of the dba function within the organisation, and nobody has the first idea of how to define, in an organisational / structural sense just how the dba role slots in. I'm talking about organsiational charts, herarchies etc, that sort of thing. Not just across the org, but particularly within the IT domain too. Specifically, dba impacts from the low-level hardware side, right up to application development, with everything in between. And that already spans several existing lines of management responsibility. Our problem has added spice as we are (trying) to operate a matrix management system, which repeatedly throws up intriguing political dimensions. Anybody ever been down this particular route? Any thoughts much appreciated, peter edinburgh * This e-mail message, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. If this message was not addressed to you, you have received it in error and any copying, distribution or other use of any part of it is strictly prohibited. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the British Geological Survey. The security of e-mail communication cannot be guaranteed and the BGS accepts no liability for claims arising as a result of the use of this medium to transmit messages from or to the BGS. The BGS cannot accept any responsibility for viruses, so please scan all attachments.http://www.bgs.ac.uk * -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Robson, Peter INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Yechiel Adar INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load)
Give me a break - I'm looking for solutions, not to compound the problem!! peter edinburgh -Original Message- From: Inka Bezdziecka [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: 26 September 2002 20:05 To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load) and DDBA, and ODBA, and DA, and DM, and DWA, and DWM ... any more? -Original Message- Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2002 2:37 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Have you gone through what's the difference between an application DBA and a database DBA? yet? Regards, Patrice Boivin Systems Analyst (Oracle Certified DBA) -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Boivin, Patrice J INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Inka Bezdziecka INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). * This e-mail message, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. If this message was not addressed to you, you have received it in error and any copying, distribution or other use of any part of it is strictly prohibited. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the British Geological Survey. The security of e-mail communication cannot be guaranteed and the BGS accepts no liability for claims arising as a result of the use of this medium to transmit messages from or to the BGS. The BGS cannot accept any responsibility for viruses, so please scan all attachments.http://www.bgs.ac.uk * -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Robson, Peter INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load)
Have you gone through what's the difference between an application DBA and a database DBA? yet? Oh yes, and a logical dba, and a physical dba ... you name it, we found it ... which rather confirms the point Jared was making - 'We fit everywhere, and nowhere.' peter edinburgh * This e-mail message, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. If this message was not addressed to you, you have received it in error and any copying, distribution or other use of any part of it is strictly prohibited. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the British Geological Survey. The security of e-mail communication cannot be guaranteed and the BGS accepts no liability for claims arising as a result of the use of this medium to transmit messages from or to the BGS. The BGS cannot accept any responsibility for viruses, so please scan all attachments.http://www.bgs.ac.uk * -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Robson, Peter INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load
Must say I liked Inka's notion of calling all interested parties with details, though it could be income threatening =:-0 Maybe a compromise would be to agree some type of SOP for such situations and have the interested callers list put in there. I mean if they are so keen to know first thing next morning... OTOH, why not send a summary e-mail to interested parties and tell them you'll fill in any gaps when you have caught up on lost time. If the problem has been resolved, details of how are of a mainly historical nature anyhow - right? Tim: Can you give me the ISBN's to some of your novels. What!!! You haven't written any yet! - A waste of talent ;) Thanks for the homour in any case. PS: The BDBAFH has gone right over my head. My psyche is suggesting it's profane. What does it stand for? - Seán O' Neill Organon (Ireland) Ltd. [subscribed: digest mode] This message, including attached files, may contain confidential information and is intended only for the use by the individual and/or the entity to which it is addressed. Any unauthorized use, dissemination of, or copying of the information contained herein is not allowed and may lead to irreparable harm and damage for which you may be held liable. If you receive this message in error or if it is intended for someone else please notify the sender by returning this e-mail immediately and delete the message. -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: O'Neill, Sean INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
Re: DBA work load
With regards to any creativity embedded in the BDBAFH thread that I might have contributed, those who have read the BOFH saga will recognize that I copied a segment (almost!) word-for-word from Simon Travaglia's original text. If you haven't read the BOFH sagas, they are a scream (flash to visual of Edvard Munch's masterpiece) and highly recommended. Especially the bit about electrocuting inexperienced hardware repair people using waffle irons. There are numerous BOFH compilations on the net -- just go to www.google.com and enter the keyword bofh. --- With regards to language and the assignment of gender to nouns (like bastard), I'd like to pass along the following, with thanks to Michael Moller (of the Oak Table network) for passing it along recently, but with ultimate thanks to persons unknown... ***===*** A language teacher was explaining to her class that in French, nouns unlike their English counterparts, are grammatically designated as masculine or feminine. House in French, is feminine-la maison. Pencil in French, is masculine-le crayon. One puzzled student asked, What gender is the word 'computer'? The teacher did not know, and the word was not in her French dictionary. So for fun she split the class into two groups appropriately enough, by gender, and asked them to decide whether computer should be a masculine of a feminine noun. Both groups were required to give four reasons for their recommendation. The men's group decided that computer should definitely be of the feminine gender (i.e. la computer), because: 1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic 2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else 3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long-term memory for possible later retrieval 4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it. The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine (i.e. 'le computer) because: 1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on 2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves 3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem 4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model. - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 10:04 AM I believe that BASTARD can be applied equally to male or female. From Webster (slightly edited): 1 : an illegitimate child 2 : something that is spurious, irregular, inferior, or of questionable origin 3 : an offensive or disagreeable person -- used as a generalized term of abuse -Original Message- Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 9:34 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L On a more serious note: - a voice mail should be sufficient - next morning: -- a one page post mortem document -- a note inviting interested parties to a post mortem meeting A formal post mortem process benefits: - if a problem re-occurs it is easier to deal with it - there may be a permanent solution to it - clients and managers feel more confident and with time will stop asking for details (which they do not understand anyway) - all problems are documented in a standardise manner, which allows for -- re-negotiation of service level agreements and prices when applicable -- meaningful end year performance reviews (probably more important) inka P.S. The acronym stands for Bastard DBA from Hell - I am outraged! What a male chauvinistic world. I have a master degree in being from hell, working on Ph.D. -Original Message- Sent: Friday, September 27, 2002 9:03 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Must say I liked Inka's notion of calling all interested parties with details, though it could be income threatening =:-0 Maybe a compromise would be to agree some type of SOP for such situations and have the interested callers list put in there. I mean if they are so keen to know first thing next morning... OTOH, why not send a summary e-mail to interested parties and tell them you'll fill in any gaps when you have caught up on lost time. If the problem has been resolved, details of how are of a mainly historical nature anyhow - right? Tim: Can you give me the ISBN's to some of your novels. What!!! You haven't written any yet! - A waste of talent ;) Thanks for the homour in any case. PS: The BDBAFH has gone right over my head. My psyche is suggesting it's profane. What does it stand for? -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Tim Gorman INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE
Re: DBA work load
and as long as we're coming clean, i too plagiarized. mine from the very first post in the BOFH saga i believe. but blame Mladen - he got us started. --- Original Message --- Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2002 08:49:06 -0800 With regards to any creativity embedded in the BDBAFH thread that I might have contributed, those who have read the BOFH saga will recognize that I copied a segment (almost!) word-for-word from Simon Travaglia's original text. If you haven't read the BOFH sagas, they are a scream (flash to visual of Edvard Munch's masterpiece) and highly recommended. Especially the bit about electrocuting inexperienced hardware repair people using waffle irons. There are numerous BOFH compilations on the net -- just go to www.google.com and enter the keyword bofh. -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: STEVE OLLIG INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load)
I've found the thread on DBA workload valuable and interesting. It endorses points made repeatedly over the past years, basically the highly variable nature of the job. This variability is giving us a small problem. Our dba work (shared between two of us) tends to function in the background, and of course because we do it so damn well (!!), our impact on the running of the organisation is pretty low. Kind of 'reverse exception' effect, if you will. There is now a desire to formalise the role of the dba function within the organisation, and nobody has the first idea of how to define, in an organisational / structural sense just how the dba role slots in. I'm talking about organsiational charts, herarchies etc, that sort of thing. Not just across the org, but particularly within the IT domain too. Specifically, dba impacts from the low-level hardware side, right up to application development, with everything in between. And that already spans several existing lines of management responsibility. Our problem has added spice as we are (trying) to operate a matrix management system, which repeatedly throws up intriguing political dimensions. Anybody ever been down this particular route? Any thoughts much appreciated, peter edinburgh * This e-mail message, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. If this message was not addressed to you, you have received it in error and any copying, distribution or other use of any part of it is strictly prohibited. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the British Geological Survey. The security of e-mail communication cannot be guaranteed and the BGS accepts no liability for claims arising as a result of the use of this medium to transmit messages from or to the BGS. The BGS cannot accept any responsibility for viruses, so please scan all attachments.http://www.bgs.ac.uk * -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Robson, Peter INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
Re: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
hm, now this might be good for a presentation when you come out in December... want to do this as the keynote? EG --- Tim Gorman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It's backup day today so I'm pissed off. Being the BDBAFH, however, does have it's advantages. I reassign null to be the tape device - it's so much more economical on my time as I don't have to keep getting up to change tapes every 5 minutes. And it speeds up RMAN too, so it can't be all bad can it? Of course not. A user rings ... The phone rings. It'll be him again, I know. That annoys me. I put on a gruff voice: Payroll! Oh, I'm sorry, I've got the wrong number Yeah? Well, what's your name, buddy? Do you know *WASTED* phone calls cost money? DO YOU? I've got a good mind to subtract your wasted time, my wasted time, and the cost of this call from your wages! IN FACT I WILL! By the time I've finished with you, you'll owe US money! WHAT'S YOUR NAME - AND DON'T LIE, I'VE GOT CALLER ID!! I hear the phone drop and the sound of running feet - he's obviously going to try and get an alibi by being at the IT Director's office. I look up his username and find his department. I ring the department's executive assistant. Hello? she answers. BDBAFH here. Listen, when that guy comes running into your office in about 15 seconds, can you give him a message? I think so... she quavers... Please tell him, `HE CAN RUN, BUT HE CAN'T HIDE!' Um. OK. Like, sure... And, don't forget now, please? I wouldn't want everyone to find out about that table in your account with all of your passwords for in-house apps and credit card numbers for ecommerce sites in it... A muffled cry and I hear her scrambling at her keyboard. Don't bother. It's been backed up a zillion times; piece of cake to restore it. Just pass the message on like a love? Over the phone, I can hear the distant sound of pounding feet growing louder in the background... She sobs her assent and I hang up. And the worst thing is, I was just guessing about the table. I look for it, find it, and bring it up in TOAD; maybe I can do some shopping online tonight... The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 4:34 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L That sounds about right! You can get back to your boss with a little sleep deprivation tactics. Beep him hourly with the progress report and he'll trust you much more the next time. You can even beep you bosses boss and tell him that your boss told you to beep him hourly with a progress report. That should read something like : applied archive sequences 789001 to 789567, 3456 more to go. That might result in some interesting career opportunities. One of these days I have to start my very own BDBAFH site. -Original Message- From: Inka Bezdziecka [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 4:14 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load It is your own fault. You should have called all interested parties with details as soon as that problem was resolved. And remember: if by any chance the problem resolution takes all night, call hourly with the progress report. -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 1:04 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Yes, of course. If, like last night, I needed to dial in from home for 2 hours then I get compensated by coming in early the next day to answer questions about what happened. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Miller, Jay INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Inka Bezdziecka INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services
Re: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load)
I've thought for some time now that DBA's are the pragmatist's of IT. We fit everywhere, and nowhere. My boss is still trying to figure out what I do. ;) Jared Robson, Peter [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 09/26/2002 02:13 AM Please respond to ORACLE-L To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] cc: Subject:DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load) I've found the thread on DBA workload valuable and interesting. It endorses points made repeatedly over the past years, basically the highly variable nature of the job. This variability is giving us a small problem. Our dba work (shared between two of us) tends to function in the background, and of course because we do it so damn well (!!), our impact on the running of the organisation is pretty low. Kind of 'reverse exception' effect, if you will. There is now a desire to formalise the role of the dba function within the organisation, and nobody has the first idea of how to define, in an organisational / structural sense just how the dba role slots in. I'm talking about organsiational charts, herarchies etc, that sort of thing. Not just across the org, but particularly within the IT domain too. Specifically, dba impacts from the low-level hardware side, right up to application development, with everything in between. And that already spans several existing lines of management responsibility. Our problem has added spice as we are (trying) to operate a matrix management system, which repeatedly throws up intriguing political dimensions. Anybody ever been down this particular route? Any thoughts much appreciated, peter edinburgh * This e-mail message, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. If this message was not addressed to you, you have received it in error and any copying, distribution or other use of any part of it is strictly prohibited. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the British Geological Survey. The security of e-mail communication cannot be guaranteed and the BGS accepts no liability for claims arising as a result of the use of this medium to transmit messages from or to the BGS. The BGS cannot accept any responsibility for viruses, so please scan all attachments.http://www.bgs.ac.uk * -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Robson, Peter INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load)
and DDBA, and ODBA, and DA, and DM, and DWA, and DWM ... any more? -Original Message- Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2002 2:37 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Have you gone through what's the difference between an application DBA and a database DBA? yet? Regards, Patrice Boivin Systems Analyst (Oracle Certified DBA) -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Boivin, Patrice J INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Inka Bezdziecka INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
Re: DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load)
Jared, My boss is still trying to figure out what I do. ;) It happens everywhere with DBA's specially when systems are running without any serious issuesbecause of your experience and pro-activeness. It may happens may be bad marketing by DBA's of their work Regards Rafiq Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 10:17:03 -0800 I've thought for some time now that DBA's are the pragmatist's of IT. We fit everywhere, and nowhere. My boss is still trying to figure out what I do. ;) Jared Robson, Peter [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 09/26/2002 02:13 AM Please respond to ORACLE-L To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] cc: Subject:DBA place in the business (was RE: DBA work load) I've found the thread on DBA workload valuable and interesting. It endorses points made repeatedly over the past years, basically the highly variable nature of the job. This variability is giving us a small problem. Our dba work (shared between two of us) tends to function in the background, and of course because we do it so damn well (!!), our impact on the running of the organisation is pretty low. Kind of 'reverse exception' effect, if you will. There is now a desire to formalise the role of the dba function within the organisation, and nobody has the first idea of how to define, in an organisational / structural sense just how the dba role slots in. I'm talking about organsiational charts, herarchies etc, that sort of thing. Not just across the org, but particularly within the IT domain too. Specifically, dba impacts from the low-level hardware side, right up to application development, with everything in between. And that already spans several existing lines of management responsibility. Our problem has added spice as we are (trying) to operate a matrix management system, which repeatedly throws up intriguing political dimensions. Anybody ever been down this particular route? Any thoughts much appreciated, peter edinburgh * This e-mail message, and any files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the addressee. If this message was not addressed to you, you have received it in error and any copying, distribution or other use of any part of it is strictly prohibited. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the sender and do not necessarily represent those of the British Geological Survey. The security of e-mail communication cannot be guaranteed and the BGS accepts no liability for claims arising as a result of the use of this medium to transmit messages from or to the BGS. The BGS cannot accept any responsibility for viruses, so please scan all attachments.http://www.bgs.ac.uk * -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Robson, Peter INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). _ Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Mohammad Rafiq INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
RE: DBA work load
Yes, of course. If, like last night, I needed to dial in from home for 2 hours then I get compensated by coming in early the next day to answer questions about what happened. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Miller, Jay INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load
-Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 1:04 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Yes, of course. If, like last night, I needed to dial in from home for 2 hours then I get compensated by coming in early the next day to answer questions about what happened. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Miller, Jay INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Inka Bezdziecka INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load
It is your own fault. You should have called all interested parties with details as soon as that problem was resolved. And remember: if by any chance the problem resolution takes all night, call hourly with the progress report. -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 1:04 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Yes, of course. If, like last night, I needed to dial in from home for 2 hours then I get compensated by coming in early the next day to answer questions about what happened. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Miller, Jay INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Inka Bezdziecka INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load
That sounds about right! You can get back to your boss with a little sleep deprivation tactics. Beep him hourly with the progress report and he'll trust you much more the next time. You can even beep you bosses boss and tell him that your boss told you to beep him hourly with a progress report. That should read something like : applied archive sequences 789001 to 789567, 3456 more to go. That might result in some interesting career opportunities. One of these days I have to start my very own BDBAFH site. -Original Message- From: Inka Bezdziecka [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 4:14 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load It is your own fault. You should have called all interested parties with details as soon as that problem was resolved. And remember: if by any chance the problem resolution takes all night, call hourly with the progress report. -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 1:04 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Yes, of course. If, like last night, I needed to dial in from home for 2 hours then I get compensated by coming in early the next day to answer questions about what happened. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Miller, Jay INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Inka Bezdziecka INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Gogala, Mladen INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
It's backup day today so I'm pissed off. Being the BDBAFH, however, does have it's advantages. I reassign null to be the tape device - it's so much more economical on my time as I don't have to keep getting up to change tapes every 5 minutes. And it speeds up RMAN too, so it can't be all bad can it? Of course not. A user rings ... -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 4:34 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L That sounds about right! You can get back to your boss with a little sleep deprivation tactics. Beep him hourly with the progress report and he'll trust you much more the next time. You can even beep you bosses boss and tell him that your boss told you to beep him hourly with a progress report. That should read something like : applied archive sequences 789001 to 789567, 3456 more to go. That might result in some interesting career opportunities. One of these days I have to start my very own BDBAFH site. -Original Message- From: Inka Bezdziecka [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 4:14 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load It is your own fault. You should have called all interested parties with details as soon as that problem was resolved. And remember: if by any chance the problem resolution takes all night, call hourly with the progress report. -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 1:04 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Yes, of course. If, like last night, I needed to dial in from home for 2 hours then I get compensated by coming in early the next day to answer questions about what happened. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Miller, Jay INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Inka Bezdziecka INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Gogala, Mladen INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: STEVE OLLIG INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
Steve, this is great! I must bow to the master! -Original Message- From: STEVE OLLIG [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 5:54 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1 It's backup day today so I'm pissed off. Being the BDBAFH, however, does have it's advantages. I reassign null to be the tape device - it's so much more economical on my time as I don't have to keep getting up to change tapes every 5 minutes. And it speeds up RMAN too, so it can't be all bad can it? Of course not. A user rings ... -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 4:34 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L That sounds about right! You can get back to your boss with a little sleep deprivation tactics. Beep him hourly with the progress report and he'll trust you much more the next time. You can even beep you bosses boss and tell him that your boss told you to beep him hourly with a progress report. That should read something like : applied archive sequences 789001 to 789567, 3456 more to go. That might result in some interesting career opportunities. One of these days I have to start my very own BDBAFH site. -Original Message- From: Inka Bezdziecka [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 4:14 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load It is your own fault. You should have called all interested parties with details as soon as that problem was resolved. And remember: if by any chance the problem resolution takes all night, call hourly with the progress report. -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 1:04 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Yes, of course. If, like last night, I needed to dial in from home for 2 hours then I get compensated by coming in early the next day to answer questions about what happened. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Miller, Jay INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Inka Bezdziecka INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Gogala, Mladen INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: STEVE OLLIG INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP
Re: DBA work load - BDBAFH #1
It's backup day today so I'm pissed off. Being the BDBAFH, however, does have it's advantages. I reassign null to be the tape device - it's so much more economical on my time as I don't have to keep getting up to change tapes every 5 minutes. And it speeds up RMAN too, so it can't be all bad can it? Of course not. A user rings ... The phone rings. It'll be him again, I know. That annoys me. I put on a gruff voice: Payroll! Oh, I'm sorry, I've got the wrong number Yeah? Well, what's your name, buddy? Do you know *WASTED* phone calls cost money? DO YOU? I've got a good mind to subtract your wasted time, my wasted time, and the cost of this call from your wages! IN FACT I WILL! By the time I've finished with you, you'll owe US money! WHAT'S YOUR NAME - AND DON'T LIE, I'VE GOT CALLER ID!! I hear the phone drop and the sound of running feet - he's obviously going to try and get an alibi by being at the IT Director's office. I look up his username and find his department. I ring the department's executive assistant. Hello? she answers. BDBAFH here. Listen, when that guy comes running into your office in about 15 seconds, can you give him a message? I think so... she quavers... Please tell him, `HE CAN RUN, BUT HE CAN'T HIDE!' Um. OK. Like, sure... And, don't forget now, please? I wouldn't want everyone to find out about that table in your account with all of your passwords for in-house apps and credit card numbers for ecommerce sites in it... A muffled cry and I hear her scrambling at her keyboard. Don't bother. It's been backed up a zillion times; piece of cake to restore it. Just pass the message on like a love? Over the phone, I can hear the distant sound of pounding feet growing louder in the background... She sobs her assent and I hang up. And the worst thing is, I was just guessing about the table. I look for it, find it, and bring it up in TOAD; maybe I can do some shopping online tonight... The phone rings. Another user. Still pissed off, I pick it up... -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 4:34 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L That sounds about right! You can get back to your boss with a little sleep deprivation tactics. Beep him hourly with the progress report and he'll trust you much more the next time. You can even beep you bosses boss and tell him that your boss told you to beep him hourly with a progress report. That should read something like : applied archive sequences 789001 to 789567, 3456 more to go. That might result in some interesting career opportunities. One of these days I have to start my very own BDBAFH site. -Original Message- From: Inka Bezdziecka [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 4:14 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load It is your own fault. You should have called all interested parties with details as soon as that problem was resolved. And remember: if by any chance the problem resolution takes all night, call hourly with the progress report. -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, September 25, 2002 1:04 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Yes, of course. If, like last night, I needed to dial in from home for 2 hours then I get compensated by coming in early the next day to answer questions about what happened. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Miller, Jay INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Inka Bezdziecka INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want
RE: DBA work load
I have been asking damagement for another DBA with no luck. I am the only DBA for 5 Oracle instances and 16 SQL Server instances. We are a 24X7 shop Nobody else here know's anything about Oracle so I am on my own there and there are 2 other prople that can do some simple tasks in SQL Server but I get called when they can't fix it. I would think that damagement would want to have another person that can maintain their critical databases. I guess that is why they are damagers. Dave -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 12:38 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I'm in a 24x7 shop where I am the only DBA ... and I have lasted over 2 years! I look after about 12 Oracle production databases - all of which have a 98% rebatable SLA attached to them. I also have 6 SQL Server databases with the same rebatable SLA. Thankfully, our environment is stable (knock on wood). Whenever we run into a huge problem and there is too much work going on I have the option of getting a loan DBA from another part of the company. This has happened about 3 times - two times I was on holiday. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, 24 September 2002 2:13 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L As metrics, Gb per DBA or databases per DBA are quite irrelevant. A single DBA, well-rested, experienced, and with proper planning and support, can manage hundreds of databases and dozens of Tb of data. On the other hand, some database production environments are so chaotic as to consume several DBAs and reduce them all to tears of exhaustion and frustration... The question needs to be viewed from a more mundane perspective. Take the number hours in a week. There are 168 of them, the world over. If the business has the expectation of 24x7 coverage, then at least four people are needed, each working approximately 40 hours per week. Period. Two FTE (full-time equivalent) can expect to cover normal weekday hours (i.e. 7am-7pm weekdays), one FTE to cover week-day off-hours, and one more FTE to cover weekend off-hours, vacation backfill, training backfill, and sick-time backfill. Let's not forget maternity and paternity leave backfill. I am not saying that this will be the division of labor, but if you figure that it will be likely that there will be meetings to attend as well as work to perform during normal working hours on the weekdays, then it will likely work out to something like this... Of course, I expect to hear from people who are single-handedly managing a 24x7 shop. Many people are forced through that wringer for a time... ...there is another prolific member of this list to whom I related this formula, six years ago. He was the sole Oracle DBA in a 24x7 shop, supporting a fast-growing company that is now the market leader in its industry. I related this rule of thumb: four systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable over time. Three systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable for a short period of time, but ultimately leads to burnout and turnover. Two systems/database administrators in a 24x7 environment is totally unsustainable, as one of them (if not both) will always be in an active job search at any one time. And rightly so... He asked, What if there is only one DBA in a 24x7 shop?. I grinned, saying that they would not last more than a month or two. He replied that he was now entering his third month in just such an environment... ...I think he lasted another 3 months or so, but ultimately with the inevitable result. A truly heroic performance, but somewhat reminiscent of Wile E Coyote trying to scramble back to the cliff's edge, having been lured into thin air by the Road Runner... --- Of course, if you don't have a 24x7 environment enforced by service-level agreements, then your mileage may vary. Obviously, there are environments that get by quite well on 1, 2, or 3 DBAs, but I am certain that they are not truly 24x7 nor is instability in those environments... But the point is that the job of database administrator is like any other critical support role. Only the medical profession is so criminally idiotic as to expect and demand 30- and 40-hour shifts from its most valuable personnel... - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 7:43 PM I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051
RE: DBA work load
What is a rebatable SLA? -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 1:38 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I'm in a 24x7 shop where I am the only DBA ... and I have lasted over 2 years! I look after about 12 Oracle production databases - all of which have a 98% rebatable SLA attached to them. I also have 6 SQL Server databases with the same rebatable SLA. Thankfully, our environment is stable (knock on wood). Whenever we run into a huge problem and there is too much work going on I have the option of getting a loan DBA from another part of the company. This has happened about 3 times - two times I was on holiday. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, 24 September 2002 2:13 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L As metrics, Gb per DBA or databases per DBA are quite irrelevant. A single DBA, well-rested, experienced, and with proper planning and support, can manage hundreds of databases and dozens of Tb of data. On the other hand, some database production environments are so chaotic as to consume several DBAs and reduce them all to tears of exhaustion and frustration... The question needs to be viewed from a more mundane perspective. Take the number hours in a week. There are 168 of them, the world over. If the business has the expectation of 24x7 coverage, then at least four people are needed, each working approximately 40 hours per week. Period. Two FTE (full-time equivalent) can expect to cover normal weekday hours (i.e. 7am-7pm weekdays), one FTE to cover week-day off-hours, and one more FTE to cover weekend off-hours, vacation backfill, training backfill, and sick-time backfill. Let's not forget maternity and paternity leave backfill. I am not saying that this will be the division of labor, but if you figure that it will be likely that there will be meetings to attend as well as work to perform during normal working hours on the weekdays, then it will likely work out to something like this... Of course, I expect to hear from people who are single-handedly managing a 24x7 shop. Many people are forced through that wringer for a time... .there is another prolific member of this list to whom I related this formula, six years ago. He was the sole Oracle DBA in a 24x7 shop, supporting a fast-growing company that is now the market leader in its industry. I related this rule of thumb: four systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable over time. Three systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable for a short period of time, but ultimately leads to burnout and turnover. Two systems/database administrators in a 24x7 environment is totally unsustainable, as one of them (if not both) will always be in an active job search at any one time. And rightly so... He asked, What if there is only one DBA in a 24x7 shop?. I grinned, saying that they would not last more than a month or two. He replied that he was now entering his third month in just such an environment... .I think he lasted another 3 months or so, but ultimately with the inevitable result. A truly heroic performance, but somewhat reminiscent of Wile E Coyote trying to scramble back to the cliff's edge, having been lured into thin air by the Road Runner... --- Of course, if you don't have a 24x7 environment enforced by service-level agreements, then your mileage may vary. Obviously, there are environments that get by quite well on 1, 2, or 3 DBAs, but I am certain that they are not truly 24x7 nor is instability in those environments... But the point is that the job of database administrator is like any other critical support role. Only the medical profession is so criminally idiotic as to expect and demand 30- and 40-hour shifts from its most valuable personnel... - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 7:43 PM I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like
RE: DBA work load
Tony - I agree with Tim. This reminds me of the practice years ago of measuring the productivity of COBOL programmers by measuring their LOC (lines of code) production. Number of instances, how large, the number of developers or end users all have an effect. But how this all works out depends on many factors that are hard to quantify. Take 24x7 for example. All my instances are 24x7. I support production plants that are running 3 shifts at times. But, knock on wood, Oracle is pretty reliable and I usually don't get called. Some of our Unix servers have been up over a year. But I wouldn't classify my 24x7 alongside some eCommerce sites where the company's revenue depends on that site being up every minute. There is a lot of difference between developers. An experienced developer you've worked with for many years won't need the detailed assistance that a new developer will. Dennis Williams DBA Lifetouch, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 8:43 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: DENNIS WILLIAMS INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load
I assume it is when penalty payments come into play when SLA targets are not met. Therefore payments for provision and support of an Oracle database are rebated John -Original Message- Sent: 24 September 2002 14:03 To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L What is a rebatable SLA? -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 1:38 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I'm in a 24x7 shop where I am the only DBA ... and I have lasted over 2 years! I look after about 12 Oracle production databases - all of which have a 98% rebatable SLA attached to them. I also have 6 SQL Server databases with the same rebatable SLA. Thankfully, our environment is stable (knock on wood). Whenever we run into a huge problem and there is too much work going on I have the option of getting a loan DBA from another part of the company. This has happened about 3 times - two times I was on holiday. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, 24 September 2002 2:13 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L As metrics, Gb per DBA or databases per DBA are quite irrelevant. A single DBA, well-rested, experienced, and with proper planning and support, can manage hundreds of databases and dozens of Tb of data. On the other hand, some database production environments are so chaotic as to consume several DBAs and reduce them all to tears of exhaustion and frustration... The question needs to be viewed from a more mundane perspective. Take the number hours in a week. There are 168 of them, the world over. If the business has the expectation of 24x7 coverage, then at least four people are needed, each working approximately 40 hours per week. Period. Two FTE (full-time equivalent) can expect to cover normal weekday hours (i.e. 7am-7pm weekdays), one FTE to cover week-day off-hours, and one more FTE to cover weekend off-hours, vacation backfill, training backfill, and sick-time backfill. Let's not forget maternity and paternity leave backfill. I am not saying that this will be the division of labor, but if you figure that it will be likely that there will be meetings to attend as well as work to perform during normal working hours on the weekdays, then it will likely work out to something like this... Of course, I expect to hear from people who are single-handedly managing a 24x7 shop. Many people are forced through that wringer for a time... .there is another prolific member of this list to whom I related this formula, six years ago. He was the sole Oracle DBA in a 24x7 shop, supporting a fast-growing company that is now the market leader in its industry. I related this rule of thumb: four systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable over time. Three systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable for a short period of time, but ultimately leads to burnout and turnover. Two systems/database administrators in a 24x7 environment is totally unsustainable, as one of them (if not both) will always be in an active job search at any one time. And rightly so... He asked, What if there is only one DBA in a 24x7 shop?. I grinned, saying that they would not last more than a month or two. He replied that he was now entering his third month in just such an environment... .I think he lasted another 3 months or so, but ultimately with the inevitable result. A truly heroic performance, but somewhat reminiscent of Wile E Coyote trying to scramble back to the cliff's edge, having been lured into thin air by the Road Runner... --- Of course, if you don't have a 24x7 environment enforced by service-level agreements, then your mileage may vary. Obviously, there are environments that get by quite well on 1, 2, or 3 DBAs, but I am certain that they are not truly 24x7 nor is instability in those environments... But the point is that the job of database administrator is like any other critical support role. Only the medical profession is so criminally idiotic as to expect and demand 30- and 40-hour shifts from its most valuable personnel... - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 7:43 PM I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail
RE: DBA work load
just to add into the mix. it also depends on how much development is going on and if you are involved in that as well. I have 3 new applications going live next month, all brand-new databases and one project lead who doesn't understand the concept of a design spec and who keeps handing me major changes in email. If you have that, in addition to production, in a 24x7 shop, then you need help There should be at leat 2 DBAs -- what if you get sick or (as one of my bosses used to say) what if you get hit by a truck? --- DENNIS WILLIAMS [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Tony - I agree with Tim. This reminds me of the practice years ago of measuring the productivity of COBOL programmers by measuring their LOC (lines of code) production. Number of instances, how large, the number of developers or end users all have an effect. But how this all works out depends on many factors that are hard to quantify. Take 24x7 for example. All my instances are 24x7. I support production plants that are running 3 shifts at times. But, knock on wood, Oracle is pretty reliable and I usually don't get called. Some of our Unix servers have been up over a year. But I wouldn't classify my 24x7 alongside some eCommerce sites where the company's revenue depends on that site being up every minute. There is a lot of difference between developers. An experienced developer you've worked with for many years won't need the detailed assistance that a new developer will. Dennis Williams DBA Lifetouch, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 8:43 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: DENNIS WILLIAMS INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Rachel Carmichael INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load
Oh yea, and You are the only one knowing all the passwords :-) Rachel Carmichael [EMAIL PROTECTED] There should be at leat 2 DBAs -- what if you get sick or (as one of my bosses used to say) what if you get hit by a truck? Gints Plivna IT Sistçmas, Meríeïa 13, LV1050 Rîga http://www.itsystems.lv/gints/ -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
Re: DBA work load
The intent of my reply was not to bring out stories about the exceptional and the fortunate, but to aid someone who is (presumably) trying to staff responsibly. There are 168 hours in a week -- most people prefer to work 40 of them (or less). Simple math. If you factor in holiday/vacations, training, sick-time, and leave, then they only work something like 32-35 hours per week or thereabouts. Factor in the frequency of meetings; the number of available hours decreases further... Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). Maybe none of them are. Maybe all of them are. Start with the premise of four people and add or subtract as local conditions warrant... I'm sure that someone will point out that it is not just the hours expended -- it is what is accomplished during those hours, how much is automated, measuring and improving processes, etc. Yes, quite true. Consider those to be factors that decrease the number of people actually needed from the baseline of four, just as the lack of those advantages may increase the number of people required. This way, you put value on those activities (and the people who perform such activities) in a way that is tangible to management... And just think: with Oracle9i, SQL Server, and Teradata, you don't need any DBAs at all... - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 11:38 PM I'm in a 24x7 shop where I am the only DBA ... and I have lasted over 2 years! I look after about 12 Oracle production databases - all of which have a 98% rebatable SLA attached to them. I also have 6 SQL Server databases with the same rebatable SLA. Thankfully, our environment is stable (knock on wood). Whenever we run into a huge problem and there is too much work going on I have the option of getting a loan DBA from another part of the company. This has happened about 3 times - two times I was on holiday. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, 24 September 2002 2:13 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L As metrics, Gb per DBA or databases per DBA are quite irrelevant. A single DBA, well-rested, experienced, and with proper planning and support, can manage hundreds of databases and dozens of Tb of data. On the other hand, some database production environments are so chaotic as to consume several DBAs and reduce them all to tears of exhaustion and frustration... The question needs to be viewed from a more mundane perspective. Take the number hours in a week. There are 168 of them, the world over. If the business has the expectation of 24x7 coverage, then at least four people are needed, each working approximately 40 hours per week. Period. Two FTE (full-time equivalent) can expect to cover normal weekday hours (i.e. 7am-7pm weekdays), one FTE to cover week-day off-hours, and one more FTE to cover weekend off-hours, vacation backfill, training backfill, and sick-time backfill. Let's not forget maternity and paternity leave backfill. I am not saying that this will be the division of labor, but if you figure that it will be likely that there will be meetings to attend as well as work to perform during normal working hours on the weekdays, then it will likely work out to something like this... Of course, I expect to hear from people who are single-handedly managing a 24x7 shop. Many people are forced through that wringer for a time... ..there is another prolific member of this list to whom I related this formula, six years ago. He was the sole Oracle DBA in a 24x7 shop, supporting a fast-growing company that is now the market leader in its industry. I related this rule of thumb: four systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable over time. Three systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable for a short period of time, but ultimately leads to burnout and turnover. Two systems/database administrators in a 24x7 environment is totally unsustainable, as one of them (if not both) will always be in an active job search at any one time. And rightly so... He asked, What if there is only one DBA in a 24x7 shop?. I grinned, saying that they would not last more than a month or two. He replied that he was now entering his third month in just such an environment... ..I think he lasted another 3 months or so, but ultimately with the inevitable result. A truly heroic performance, but somewhat reminiscent of Wile E Coyote trying to scramble back to the cliff's edge, having been lured into thin air by the Road Runner... --- Of course, if you don't have a 24x7 environment enforced by service-level agreements, then your mileage may vary. Obviously, there are environments that get by quite well on 1, 2, or 3 DBAs, but I am certain that they are not truly 24x7
RE: DBA work load
I totally agree! The more development support required the more DBAs needed and you should always have a backup in case you hit lotto :-). [EMAIL PROTECTED] 09/24/02 10:58AM just to add into the mix. it also depends on how much development is going on and if you are involved in that as well. I have 3 new applications going live next month, all brand-new databases and one project lead who doesn't understand the concept of a design spec and who keeps handing me major changes in email. If you have that, in addition to production, in a 24x7 shop, then you need help There should be at leat 2 DBAs -- what if you get sick or (as one of my bosses used to say) what if you get hit by a truck? --- DENNIS WILLIAMS [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Tony - I agree with Tim. This reminds me of the practice years ago of measuring the productivity of COBOL programmers by measuring their LOC (lines of code) production. Number of instances, how large, the number of developers or end users all have an effect. But how this all works out depends on many factors that are hard to quantify. Take 24x7 for example. All my instances are 24x7. I support production plants that are running 3 shifts at times. But, knock on wood, Oracle is pretty reliable and I usually don't get called. Some of our Unix servers have been up over a year. But I wouldn't classify my 24x7 alongside some eCommerce sites where the company's revenue depends on that site being up every minute. There is a lot of difference between developers. An experienced developer you've worked with for many years won't need the detailed assistance that a new developer will. Dennis Williams DBA Lifetouch, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 8:43 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: DENNIS WILLIAMS INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Rachel Carmichael INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Gene Sais INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also
RE: DBA work load
Title: RE: DBA work load yea I was going to add that as much as the hardware trend has demanded redundancy for failover so it would make sense that a production shop would apply that to its personnel as well. -Original Message- From: Rachel Carmichael [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 10:58 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L Subject: RE: DBA work load just to add into the mix. it also depends on how much development is going on and if you are involved in that as well. I have 3 new applications going live next month, all brand-new databases and one project lead who doesn't understand the concept of a design spec and who keeps handing me major changes in email. If you have that, in addition to production, in a 24x7 shop, then you need help There should be at leat 2 DBAs -- what if you get sick or (as one of my bosses used to say) what if you get hit by a truck? --- DENNIS WILLIAMS [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Tony - I agree with Tim. This reminds me of the practice years ago of measuring the productivity of COBOL programmers by measuring their LOC (lines of code) production. Number of instances, how large, the number of developers or end users all have an effect. But how this all works out depends on many factors that are hard to quantify. Take 24x7 for example. All my instances are 24x7. I support production plants that are running 3 shifts at times. But, knock on wood, Oracle is pretty reliable and I usually don't get called. Some of our Unix servers have been up over a year. But I wouldn't classify my 24x7 alongside some eCommerce sites where the company's revenue depends on that site being up every minute. There is a lot of difference between developers. An experienced developer you've worked with for many years won't need the detailed assistance that a new developer will. Dennis Williams DBA Lifetouch, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] -Original Message- Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 8:43 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: DENNIS WILLIAMS INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Rachel Carmichael INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
RE: DBA work load
Unfortunately, all staffing exercises are driven by budgets and headcounts. The way to get more money and increase the headcount is to show the loss of revenue due to database outages. Any other reasoning is usually fruitless. The really high cost of your overtime and being on-call, and your performance showing signs of burn-out may help. Try to propose alternatives - training for other people, a contract with a small company specializing in providing dba services, management tools. inka -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 11:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L The intent of my reply was not to bring out stories about the exceptional and the fortunate, but to aid someone who is (presumably) trying to staff responsibly. There are 168 hours in a week -- most people prefer to work 40 of them (or less). Simple math. If you factor in holiday/vacations, training, sick-time, and leave, then they only work something like 32-35 hours per week or thereabouts. Factor in the frequency of meetings; the number of available hours decreases further... Obviously, not all of those 168 hours are equally intense, requiring a conscious person to be available on-call (you *do* get compensated for being on-call during off-hours, don't you?). Maybe none of them are. Maybe all of them are. Start with the premise of four people and add or subtract as local conditions warrant... I'm sure that someone will point out that it is not just the hours expended -- it is what is accomplished during those hours, how much is automated, measuring and improving processes, etc. Yes, quite true. Consider those to be factors that decrease the number of people actually needed from the baseline of four, just as the lack of those advantages may increase the number of people required. This way, you put value on those activities (and the people who perform such activities) in a way that is tangible to management... And just think: with Oracle9i, SQL Server, and Teradata, you don't need any DBAs at all... - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 11:38 PM I'm in a 24x7 shop where I am the only DBA ... and I have lasted over 2 years! I look after about 12 Oracle production databases - all of which have a 98% rebatable SLA attached to them. I also have 6 SQL Server databases with the same rebatable SLA. Thankfully, our environment is stable (knock on wood). Whenever we run into a huge problem and there is too much work going on I have the option of getting a loan DBA from another part of the company. This has happened about 3 times - two times I was on holiday. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, 24 September 2002 2:13 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L As metrics, Gb per DBA or databases per DBA are quite irrelevant. A single DBA, well-rested, experienced, and with proper planning and support, can manage hundreds of databases and dozens of Tb of data. On the other hand, some database production environments are so chaotic as to consume several DBAs and reduce them all to tears of exhaustion and frustration... The question needs to be viewed from a more mundane perspective. Take the number hours in a week. There are 168 of them, the world over. If the business has the expectation of 24x7 coverage, then at least four people are needed, each working approximately 40 hours per week. Period. Two FTE (full-time equivalent) can expect to cover normal weekday hours (i.e. 7am-7pm weekdays), one FTE to cover week-day off-hours, and one more FTE to cover weekend off-hours, vacation backfill, training backfill, and sick-time backfill. Let's not forget maternity and paternity leave backfill. I am not saying that this will be the division of labor, but if you figure that it will be likely that there will be meetings to attend as well as work to perform during normal working hours on the weekdays, then it will likely work out to something like this... Of course, I expect to hear from people who are single-handedly managing a 24x7 shop. Many people are forced through that wringer for a time... ..there is another prolific member of this list to whom I related this formula, six years ago. He was the sole Oracle DBA in a 24x7 shop, supporting a fast-growing company that is now the market leader in its industry. I related this rule of thumb: four systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable over time. Three systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable for a short period of time, but ultimately leads to burnout and turnover. Two systems/database administrators in a 24x7 environment is totally unsustainable, as one of them (if not both) will always be in an active job search at any one time. And rightly so... He asked, What if there is only one DBA in a 24x7 shop?. I grinned, saying that they would not last more
RE: DBA work load
Correct. -Original Message- Sent: Wednesday, 25 September 2002 12:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I assume it is when penalty payments come into play when SLA targets are not met. Therefore payments for provision and support of an Oracle database are rebated John -Original Message- Sent: 24 September 2002 14:03 To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L What is a rebatable SLA? -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, September 24, 2002 1:38 AM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L I'm in a 24x7 shop where I am the only DBA ... and I have lasted over 2 years! I look after about 12 Oracle production databases - all of which have a 98% rebatable SLA attached to them. I also have 6 SQL Server databases with the same rebatable SLA. Thankfully, our environment is stable (knock on wood). Whenever we run into a huge problem and there is too much work going on I have the option of getting a loan DBA from another part of the company. This has happened about 3 times - two times I was on holiday. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, 24 September 2002 2:13 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L As metrics, Gb per DBA or databases per DBA are quite irrelevant. A single DBA, well-rested, experienced, and with proper planning and support, can manage hundreds of databases and dozens of Tb of data. On the other hand, some database production environments are so chaotic as to consume several DBAs and reduce them all to tears of exhaustion and frustration... The question needs to be viewed from a more mundane perspective. Take the number hours in a week. There are 168 of them, the world over. If the business has the expectation of 24x7 coverage, then at least four people are needed, each working approximately 40 hours per week. Period. Two FTE (full-time equivalent) can expect to cover normal weekday hours (i.e. 7am-7pm weekdays), one FTE to cover week-day off-hours, and one more FTE to cover weekend off-hours, vacation backfill, training backfill, and sick-time backfill. Let's not forget maternity and paternity leave backfill. I am not saying that this will be the division of labor, but if you figure that it will be likely that there will be meetings to attend as well as work to perform during normal working hours on the weekdays, then it will likely work out to something like this... Of course, I expect to hear from people who are single-handedly managing a 24x7 shop. Many people are forced through that wringer for a time... .there is another prolific member of this list to whom I related this formula, six years ago. He was the sole Oracle DBA in a 24x7 shop, supporting a fast-growing company that is now the market leader in its industry. I related this rule of thumb: four systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable over time. Three systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable for a short period of time, but ultimately leads to burnout and turnover. Two systems/database administrators in a 24x7 environment is totally unsustainable, as one of them (if not both) will always be in an active job search at any one time. And rightly so... He asked, What if there is only one DBA in a 24x7 shop?. I grinned, saying that they would not last more than a month or two. He replied that he was now entering his third month in just such an environment... .I think he lasted another 3 months or so, but ultimately with the inevitable result. A truly heroic performance, but somewhat reminiscent of Wile E Coyote trying to scramble back to the cliff's edge, having been lured into thin air by the Road Runner... --- Of course, if you don't have a 24x7 environment enforced by service-level agreements, then your mileage may vary. Obviously, there are environments that get by quite well on 1, 2, or 3 DBAs, but I am certain that they are not truly 24x7 nor is instability in those environments... But the point is that the job of database administrator is like any other critical support role. Only the medical profession is so criminally idiotic as to expect and demand 30- and 40-hour shifts from its most valuable personnel... - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 7:43 PM I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services
Re: DBA work load
As metrics, Gb per DBA or databases per DBA are quite irrelevant. A single DBA, well-rested, experienced, and with proper planning and support, can manage hundreds of databases and dozens of Tb of data. On the other hand, some database production environments are so chaotic as to consume several DBAs and reduce them all to tears of exhaustion and frustration... The question needs to be viewed from a more mundane perspective. Take the number hours in a week. There are 168 of them, the world over. If the business has the expectation of 24x7 coverage, then at least four people are needed, each working approximately 40 hours per week. Period. Two FTE (full-time equivalent) can expect to cover normal weekday hours (i.e. 7am-7pm weekdays), one FTE to cover week-day off-hours, and one more FTE to cover weekend off-hours, vacation backfill, training backfill, and sick-time backfill. Let's not forget maternity and paternity leave backfill. I am not saying that this will be the division of labor, but if you figure that it will be likely that there will be meetings to attend as well as work to perform during normal working hours on the weekdays, then it will likely work out to something like this... Of course, I expect to hear from people who are single-handedly managing a 24x7 shop. Many people are forced through that wringer for a time... ...there is another prolific member of this list to whom I related this formula, six years ago. He was the sole Oracle DBA in a 24x7 shop, supporting a fast-growing company that is now the market leader in its industry. I related this rule of thumb: four systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable over time. Three systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable for a short period of time, but ultimately leads to burnout and turnover. Two systems/database administrators in a 24x7 environment is totally unsustainable, as one of them (if not both) will always be in an active job search at any one time. And rightly so... He asked, What if there is only one DBA in a 24x7 shop?. I grinned, saying that they would not last more than a month or two. He replied that he was now entering his third month in just such an environment... ...I think he lasted another 3 months or so, but ultimately with the inevitable result. A truly heroic performance, but somewhat reminiscent of Wile E Coyote trying to scramble back to the cliff's edge, having been lured into thin air by the Road Runner... --- Of course, if you don't have a 24x7 environment enforced by service-level agreements, then your mileage may vary. Obviously, there are environments that get by quite well on 1, 2, or 3 DBAs, but I am certain that they are not truly 24x7 nor is instability in those environments... But the point is that the job of database administrator is like any other critical support role. Only the medical profession is so criminally idiotic as to expect and demand 30- and 40-hour shifts from its most valuable personnel... - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 7:43 PM I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Tim Gorman INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
Re: DBA work load
Sadly this is one of those How long is a piece of string questions, It relates to what are you doing with those databases what support is required on a daily basis for those databases I can have a single database that requires 2 full time DBA's and another DBA supporting 20 or 50 databases. It also comes down to the available management tools that you have to do set analysis tasks like mining the alert logs for errors. Apparently the book Implementing and Managing Oracle Databases has a chapter to assist in answering this question. I think one of the best ways to get a understanding on this is to show your manager what it is you do each day by doing a time and motion study on yourself, something like 8 am checked alert logs on databases 930 am Checked tablespace utilisation 10am increased xxx tablespace on database 1030 worked with Finance to tune new ad hoc query ( ie used for corporate BI tool) and so on Also you might like to see if having some management tools would simplify any processes to free up time and provide a list of tools, how they make you more efficient and the proposed cost of such tools. You can then say that the tools whilst useful still aren't going to be able to recover those 3 mission critical databases if they were to crash when you are 2 continents away skiing or surfing. Cheers -- = Peter McLarty E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Technical ConsultantWWW: http://www.mincom.com APAC Technical Services Phone: +61 (0)7 3303 3461 Brisbane, AustraliaMobile: +61 (0)402 094 238 Facsimile: +61 (0)7 3303 3048 = A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do. - Walter Bagehot (1826-1877 British Economist) = Mincom The People, The Experience, The Vision = This transmission is for the intended addressee only and is confidential information. If you have received this transmission in error, please delete it and notify the sender. The contents of this e-mail are the opinion of the writer only and are not endorsed by the Mincom Group of companies unless expressly stated otherwise. tony ynot [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 24-09-2002 11:43 AM Please respond to ORACLE-L To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] cc: Subject:DBA work load I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). STG09122 Description: Binary data
RE: DBA work load
I'm in a 24x7 shop where I am the only DBA ... and I have lasted over 2 years! I look after about 12 Oracle production databases - all of which have a 98% rebatable SLA attached to them. I also have 6 SQL Server databases with the same rebatable SLA. Thankfully, our environment is stable (knock on wood). Whenever we run into a huge problem and there is too much work going on I have the option of getting a loan DBA from another part of the company. This has happened about 3 times - two times I was on holiday. -Original Message- Sent: Tuesday, 24 September 2002 2:13 PM To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L As metrics, Gb per DBA or databases per DBA are quite irrelevant. A single DBA, well-rested, experienced, and with proper planning and support, can manage hundreds of databases and dozens of Tb of data. On the other hand, some database production environments are so chaotic as to consume several DBAs and reduce them all to tears of exhaustion and frustration... The question needs to be viewed from a more mundane perspective. Take the number hours in a week. There are 168 of them, the world over. If the business has the expectation of 24x7 coverage, then at least four people are needed, each working approximately 40 hours per week. Period. Two FTE (full-time equivalent) can expect to cover normal weekday hours (i.e. 7am-7pm weekdays), one FTE to cover week-day off-hours, and one more FTE to cover weekend off-hours, vacation backfill, training backfill, and sick-time backfill. Let's not forget maternity and paternity leave backfill. I am not saying that this will be the division of labor, but if you figure that it will be likely that there will be meetings to attend as well as work to perform during normal working hours on the weekdays, then it will likely work out to something like this... Of course, I expect to hear from people who are single-handedly managing a 24x7 shop. Many people are forced through that wringer for a time... ...there is another prolific member of this list to whom I related this formula, six years ago. He was the sole Oracle DBA in a 24x7 shop, supporting a fast-growing company that is now the market leader in its industry. I related this rule of thumb: four systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable over time. Three systems/database administrators in a 24x7 shop is sustainable for a short period of time, but ultimately leads to burnout and turnover. Two systems/database administrators in a 24x7 environment is totally unsustainable, as one of them (if not both) will always be in an active job search at any one time. And rightly so... He asked, What if there is only one DBA in a 24x7 shop?. I grinned, saying that they would not last more than a month or two. He replied that he was now entering his third month in just such an environment... ...I think he lasted another 3 months or so, but ultimately with the inevitable result. A truly heroic performance, but somewhat reminiscent of Wile E Coyote trying to scramble back to the cliff's edge, having been lured into thin air by the Road Runner... --- Of course, if you don't have a 24x7 environment enforced by service-level agreements, then your mileage may vary. Obviously, there are environments that get by quite well on 1, 2, or 3 DBAs, but I am certain that they are not truly 24x7 nor is instability in those environments... But the point is that the job of database administrator is like any other critical support role. Only the medical profession is so criminally idiotic as to expect and demand 30- and 40-hour shifts from its most valuable personnel... - Original Message - To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 7:43 PM I'm trying to justify hiring another DBA, and management wants more justification. I have put together the usual reasons, but they want Industry Standards, like how many Databases can one DBA manage. Or how many GB/DBA or endusers/DBA? Does anyone keep these kind of stats? thanks __ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: tony ynot INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City Network Services-- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California-- Mailing list and web hosting services - To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Tim Gorman INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fat City
