A database administrator (DBA) manages computer

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

s. The role may include

capacity planning Capacity planning is the process of determining the production capacity needed by an organization to meet changing demands for its products. In the context of capacity planning, design capacity is the maximum amount of work that an organization o ...

, installation,

configuration Configuration or configurations may refer to: Computing * Computer configuration or system configuration * Configuration file, a software file used to configure the initial settings for a computer program * Configurator, also known as choice board ...

database design Database design is the organization of data according to a database model. The designer determines what data must be stored and how the data elements interrelate. With this information, they can begin to fit the data to the database model.Teorey, T ...

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, performance monitoring,

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

troubleshooting Troubleshooting is a form of problem solving, often applied to repair failed products or processes on a machine or a system. It is a logical, systematic search for the source of a problem in order to solve it, and make the product or process ope ...

, as well as

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "wikt:back ...

and

data recovery In computing, data recovery is a process of retrieving deleted, inaccessible, lost, corrupted, damaged, overwritten or formatted data from computer data storage#Secondary storage, secondary storage, removable media or Computer file, files, when ...

Skills

Required skills for database administrators include knowledge of

SQL Structured Query Language (SQL) (pronounced ''S-Q-L''; or alternatively as "sequel") is a domain-specific language used to manage data, especially in a relational database management system (RDBMS). It is particularly useful in handling s ...

, database queries,

database theory Database theory encapsulates a broad range of topics related to the study and research of the theoretical realm of databases and database management systems. Theoretical aspects of data management include, among other areas, the foundations of q ...

, specific databases, such as

Oracle An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination. Descript ...

Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is a proprietary relational database management system developed by Microsoft using Structured Query Language (SQL, often pronounced "sequel"). As a database server, it is a software product with the primary function of ...

, or

MySQL MySQL () is an Open-source software, open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Its name is a combination of "My", the name of co-founder Michael Widenius's daughter My, and "SQL", the acronym for Structured Query Language. A rel ...

, storage technologies, distributed computing architectures,

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ...

s, routine maintenance, recovery, and replication/failover.

Certification

Training for DBAs with accompanying certifications is widely available, offered by database vendors and third parties. Offerings include: * 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 12c Administrator Certified Professional * Oracle MySQL 5.6 Database Administrator Certified Professional * MCSA SQL Server 2012 * MCSE Data Platform Solutions Expert

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Database Administrator Computer occupations Data management Database management systems

Skills

Certification

See also

References