Wednesday, September 29, 2010

MySQL and IOUG

It is great being involved in the IOUG because it is a perfect place to be able to learn about new things. You can find out through webcasts, face to face seminars, white papers and conference how other users are using the technology and solving business issues and problems.
I enjoy venturing out and learning about other technology. Recently I started to take a closer look at ApEx which has helped in several ways. It is also fun for a DBA to dabble in development too. MySQL is another area.
Yesterday in Chicago, IOUG had a seminar on MySQL. It provided great information about some typical problem areas and how to resolve some performance issues. There were a couple of suggestions around logs and parameter settings which I was actually dealing with last week, but now have better solutions for.
The other thing that was mentioned and discussed was what some of the platforms would be used for. Oracle has it's place as an Enterprise database solution, MySQL provides some good coverage in the web space and has different engines for different usages. Also with the new releases there are more features being built in to expand its usages.
So, I am going to be learning more. October I'm attending OpenSQL Camp, http://opensqlcamp.org/Main_Page, and look forward to learning from others how the open source databases are being used and what is being developed in these areas.
Also Collaborate 2011 - IOUG Forum is going to have content on MySQL. Besides the features or options, such as replication, clustering with MySQL, there will be sessions to discuss how MySQL and Oracle work together in an environment. Now that is something more I understand. Being able to take different database platforms and use them in ways to meet business needs instead of throwing the same hammer at each need. It is definitely nice to have several tools to be able to work with to provide better solutions.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

DBA Translations

I know I am not alone in having to deal with different database platforms. It seems to be more and more that way in companies. Reasons to have different databases for different projects, and we as DBAs don't really want to say no to different things to manage.
It would be nice to be able to focus in one database, but even with one database platform we probably have different purposes for those databases that we are dealing with. I believe that this is where some of the career growth is available for DBAs. One to understand different systems, two, to be able know why you would use one over another, and three, to be able to be a one stop place for database technologies.
So to add to the different database platforms I have started to learn MySQL this year, to go along with the list of Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase. Even when diving into the database platforms, I am looking for how to do a couple of things like backups, restores, performance tune and monitor for issues. These are the areas that need the translations of syntax and best practices.
Other SQL and how to get the data out of the database or load it, are also areas of translations. One statement or index might work great in one platform but switch over to something else, and you are having to rewrite or even plan another strategy.
I am getting ready to head to Oracle Open World where I can continue to learn about Oracle and now MySQL, but I am also giving a presentation on this topic.
With having to survive in these environments of multi-platforms, how does a DBA leverage their skill set and make those translations easier. I think that besides dealing with a lot of data that this is a challenge we face to learn and understand quickly and jump back and forth between environments.
Ok, so since I already put a shameless plug for my session at Oracle Open World in here, I might as well mention my book is out on the translations from SQL Server to Oracle database administration: "Oracle Database Administration for Microsoft SQL Server DBAs".
Besides supporting different environments there is moving, reading and updating data between the different environments. This could be part of regular processing or moving data to reporting systems for business intelligence, but gathering the data. no matter what the source, to be consumed by the people that need it is the goal.
Maybe this is topic for another time to discuss, linked servers, database links and ways to view and manage data. Besides understanding how to manage these environments it is another issue that DBAs face...so part two coming soon...