T HE DATABASE A DMINISTRATOR’ S JOB DESCRIPTION 15

Organization responded well to these packages of data handling utilities that
became database management systems. There were a number of different thoughts
on how to organize the data (hierarchical, relational, and others), and systems were
developed that implemented these different philosophies on different host computer
platforms. As these little jewels became more complex, it became a full-time (and
fairly well-paying) job to manage this treasure chest of information. The duty of the
database administrator was born. In most cases, the DBA was a full-time computer
professional who devoted most of his time to maintaining the database.
Then came departmental computing. Various business organizations decided that
the central data centers were not responsive enough and they implemented their
own computer complexes, usually on minicomputers such as the DEC VAX. Vendors
built many good database management systems for these platforms, and they
needed a DBA. However, in many of these installations, the DBA had other
responsibilities, such as being the system administrator or handling some other role
within the smaller, departmental computer organization.
Today, we have a mixed bag of database management systems, platforms, and
organizational structures (see Figure 2.1). The rise in the number of small (easily
fits on a desktop) UNIX computers that have substantial processing capacity
enables many small organizations to set up databases on multi-user computers that
were previously locked on one person’s PC running dBASE. This also usually means
that the person who is the dBASE developer is often asked to become a DBA on this
multi-user system. Of course, many DBAs still work in large central data centers
that are implementing Oracle on mainframes or larger UNIX servers. The departmental
folks are also swapping their minicomputers for smaller servers that do
more. However, it is often easier to change the hardware and software environment
than it is to alter the organizational structure. Try to keep an open mind while
reading the next couple of sections. Envision how you think it should be done in your
environment. Make notes and try to effect changes when the opportunities present
themselves.
TYPES OF DATABASE ADMINISTRA TOR
It would be nice if the simple categorization structure described previously covered
all possible DBA job descriptions. However, there are many nuances in the roles and
responsibilities that should be considered in light of your talents and the “culture”
found in your organization. If nothing else, studying other people’s work environments
is an interesting pastime. When you are a consultant, you need something to
get you through certain routine assignments.