Structured Approach to Database Administration - NoCOUG - Feb 2005

A Structured Approach to Database Administration using the principles of ITIL and ITSMBy Iggy Fernandez

A STRUCTURED APPROACH TO DATABASE ADMINISTRATION

Speaker Introduction10+ years of Oracle DBA experiencePreviously, Manager of Database Administration Services at CorioCurrently, Lead DBA at Intacct


Presentation StructurePart I- Problem StatementPart II- Other approachesPart III- ITIL and ITSM


Part I The Problem Statement


How many DBAs does it take to change a light bulb?A chief technology officer of a G2000 company recently told me that he had three database administrators (DBAs) managing 130 instances of software on a 24/7 basis. I shuddered at the thought. No matter how qualified and knowledgeable those individuals might be, three IT professionals were not sufficient for the task Dr Tim Chou President, Oracle Outsourcing


What are the deliverables of the DBA function?What is a DBA's responsibility? This million-dollar question is difficult for most IS organizations--let alone DBAs themselves--to answer Published Oracle authorIf you don't know Which to Do, Of all the things in front of you, Then what you'll have when you are through, Is just a mess without a clue Winnie the Pooh Bear


Wiretap RecordingFirst DBA: it seems very quiet this week... First DBA: i don't think i'll have 4 - 5 hours of real work Second DBA: why dont you enter the time for regular db maintenance on the serversFirst DBA: uhhhhhhhhhhh, what regular maint? First DBA: there hasn't been any this weekSecond DBA: but at least you can enter the time for proactive maintenanceFirst DBA: what proactive maint? First DBA: haven't touched a box this week. Second DBA: check the error log and other db related logs First DBA: hmmmmm


HA technology does not produce HAIntel DBA writes quickie scripteBay DBA types in wrong windowAmazon database cannot be restarted


Wiretap RecordingFirst DBA: too many firesSecond DBA: ?First DBA: oh the usualFirst DBA: prod is down, archive logs missingFirst DBA: etc etcFirst DBA: and everybody is running around like a headless chicken


Recap The Problem StatementInadequate staffing?No consensus on deliverablesNo rating methodologyBad things happen easilyHA Technology does not produce HA


Part II Other Approaches


Capability Maturity Model (Software Development)INITIAL Individual HeroicsREPEATABLE Basic Processes e.g. Project Management, Quality AssuranceDEFINED Documentation, Standardization, Integration, CommunicationMANAGED Monitoring, Measurement, ReportingOPTIMIZING Continuous Improvement


Other Quality Management SystemsISO 9000 familySix Sigma


Deficiencies of Quality Management SystemsNo specific guidance for I.T. (SW-CMM)No specific guidance for any field (ISO 9000)Only applicable to manufacturing (Six Sigma)Top-heavy bureaucracy


COBITControl Objectives for Information TechnologyControls and Control ObjectivesKey Success FactorsKey Goal IndicatorsKey Performance Indicators


What about SAS 70?Not a check list of best practices no such thing as SAS 70 complianceAuditing methodology published by the American Institute of Certified Public AccountantsType I and Type II auditsCan hide as much as they reveal


Part III ITIL and ITSM


I.T. Service ManagementCreated by the U.K. governmentDescribed in the ITIL publications (I.T. Infrastructure Library)Adopted by I.T. Service Providers like IBM Global Services and by Fortune 100 companies like eBay and Genentech10 interrelated management processes in two groups (over-simplification)


Service SupportIncident ManagementProblem ManagementConfiguration ManagementChange ManagementRelease Management


Incident ManagementRestore normal service operation as quickly as possible and minimize the adverse impact on business operations, thus ensuring that the best possible levels of service quality and availability are maintained Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesReactive, Break-fixDatabase down, Database slow, Job failure, Schema Changes, Add usersService Desk, Call Center, Ticketing System, P1, SEV-124x7, Remote Access, VPN


Problem ManagementMinimize the adverse impact of Incidents and Problems on the business that are caused by errors within the IT infrastructure, and to prevent recurrence of Incidents related to these errors Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesProactive, Root Cause Analysis, Post-Mortem, Trend AnalysisKeep separate from Incident Management


Configuration ManagementProvide accurate information on configurations and their documentation to support all the other Service Management processes Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesHow does Server A differ from Server B?Who has access to Server A?Which patches have been applied to this Peoplesoft environment?When does the Support Contract expire?Who is the Business Owner?


Change ManagementEnsure that standardized methods and procedures are used for efficient and prompt handling of all Changes, in order to minimize the impact of Change related incidents upon service quality, and consequently to improve the day-to-day operations of the organization Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesRisk Analysis, ROI AnalysisPre-Test PlanPre-Communication PlanPre-SignoffsBackup PlanExecution PlanBackout PlanPost-Test PlanPost-Communication PlanPost-SignoffsDocumentation UpdatesContingency Plan Updates


Release ManagementDesign and implement efficient procedures for the distribution and installation of Changes to I.T. Systems Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesInstallsUpgradesPatches


Service DeliveryService Level ManagementFinancial ManagementCapacity ManagementContinuity ManagementAvailability Management


Service Level ManagementMaintain and improve I.T. Service quality, through a constant cycle of agreeing, monitoring and reporting upon I.T. Service achievements and instigation of actions to eradicate poor service in line with business or cost justification Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesService Level AgreementsOperational Level AgreementsSatisfaction Surveys


Financial ManagementProvide cost-effective stewardship of the I.T. assets and resources used in providing I.T. Services Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesHardware, Software, Personnel, Facilities, Service ContractsTCO, ROI, Budgeting, Accounting, ChargingServer Consolidation, Standard Edition, Colocation, Linux, Open Source


Capacity ManagementEnsure that cost-justifiable I.T. capacity always exists and that it is matched to the current and future needs of the business Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesMonitoringTuning!Capacity PlanningDemand Management


Continuity ManagementSupport the overall Business Continuity Management process by ensuring that the required I.T. technical and service facilities (including computer systems, networks, applications, technical support and Service Desk) can be recovered within required, and agreed, business timescales Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesDisaster Recovery, Contingency PlanningFire, earthquake, flood, power failure


Availability ManagementUnderstand the Availability requirements of the business and plan, measure, monitor and continuously improve the Availability of the I.T. Infrastructure, services and supporting organization to ensure that these requirements are met consistently Best Practice for Service Delivery ITIL SeriesAvailability is Job #1!High Availability, Data GuardRedundancy, RACSAN, NAS, Active-Passive ConfigurationBackups! Backups! Backups! Test! Test! Test!


What are the deliverables of the DBA function?A stable, secure and resilient infrastructureA log or database or all operational events, alerts and alarmsA set of operational scriptsA resilience and fail-over testing scheduleA set of operational work schedules


What are the deliverables of the DBA function?A set of operational management toolsManagement reports and informationException reviews and reportsReview and audit reportsA secure Operational Document Library


Do we have the time?Quadrant I Activities that are Important and Urgent e.g. Incident ManagementQuadrant II Activities that are Important but not Urgent e.g. Configuration ManagementQuadrant III Activities that are not Important but UrgentQuadrant IV Activities that are not Important and not urgent


Recap (How many DBAs does it take to fix a light bulb?)Rate each ITSM focus areaRate the quality of each deliverableDecide what level you want to reachDetermine how much work is involvedDetermine how many DBAs you need


Further ReadingCMMsei.cmu.edu/cmm/Six Sigmage.com/sixsigma/ISO 9000iso.orgCOBITisaca.orgSAS 70 systemexperts.com/tutors/sas70.pdfITSMitsmf.com


ITIL SeriesBest Practice for Service DeliveryBest Practice for Service SupportBest Practice for ICT Infrastructure ManagementBest Practice for Application ManagementBest Practice for Security Management


Q & ASend e-mail to [email protected]


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Structured Approach to Database Administration - NoCOUG - Feb 2005