Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Database administrator

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Names
  
Database administrator, database analyst

Activity sectors
  
Information technology, information systems

Competencies
  
Databases design and implementation, programming skills, database theory, networking basics, analytical skills, critical thinking

Education required
  
At least a certificate with experience.

Database administrators (DBAs) use specialized software to store and organize data.

Contents

The role may include capacity planning, installation, configuration, database design, migration, performance monitoring, security, troubleshooting, as well as backup and data recovery.

Skills

List of skills required to become database administrators are:

  • Communication skills
  • Knowledge of database theory
  • Knowledge of database design
  • Knowledge about the RDBMS itself, e.g. Microsoft SQL Server or MySQL
  • Knowledge of structured query language (SQL), e.g. SQL/PSM or Transact-SQL
  • General understanding of distributed computing architectures, e.g. Client–server model
  • General understanding of operating system, e.g. Windows or Linux
  • General understanding of storage technologies and networking
  • General understanding of routine maintenance, recovery, and handling failover of a database
  • Database administrators benefit from a bachelor's degree or master's degree in computer science. An associate degree or a certificate may be sufficient with work experience.

    Certification

    There are many certifications available for becoming a certified database administrator. Many of these certifications are offered by database vendors themselves. By passing a series of tests and sometimes other requirements, you can earn a database administrator certification. Schools offering Database Administration degrees can also be found.

    For example:

  • IBM Certified Advanced Database Administrator - DB2 10.1 for Linux, Unix and Windows
  • IBM Certified Database Administrator - DB2 10.1 for Linux, Unix, and Windows
  • Oracle Database 11g Administrator Certified Professional
  • Oracle MySQL 5.6 Database Administrator Certified Professional
  • MCSA SQL Server 2012
  • MCSE Data Platform Solutions Expert
  • Duties

    A database administrator's responsibilities can include the following tasks:

  • Installing and upgrading the database server and application tools
  • Allocating system storage and planning future storage requirements for the database system
  • Modifying the database structure, as necessary, from information given by application developers
  • Enrolling users and maintaining system security
  • Ensuring compliance with database vendor license agreement
  • Controlling and monitoring user access to the database
  • Monitoring and optimizing the performance of the database
  • Planning for backup and recovery of database information
  • Maintaining archived data
  • Backing up and restoring databases
  • Contacting database vendor for technical support
  • Generating various reports by querying from database as per need
  • References

    Database administrator Wikipedia