DBA: what to know
It came accross my mind today what a dba needs to know to do his job.
Many have written about this but so has half the globe about SP2 for SQL Server 2005.
Not only do you need to master general sql server dba stuff but also
- You need to have a very good understanding of hardware (RAID, SAN, ...)
- Windows Server administration
- IIS when you're dealing with Reporting Services for SQL Server 2000
- Master security (IIS, SQL Server, Reporting Services)
- Excel in clustering, load balancing
- DTS, SSIS (ETL in general)
- Very often SSRS. Maybe not that much when it comes to developing reports but certainly the setup, configuration and administration
- SQL
- Programming skills for T-SQL
- At least some basic database design skills
- Visual basic.NET since SQL Server 2005 came out (try to do some descent work in SSIS if you don't know how to program...)
- Scripting (VBScript)
- Troubleshooting performance issues (SQL Server, OS, hardware, applications,...)
- You need to know how to handle projects
- Be commmunicative with other departments
In my opinion, being a dba is one of the most dificult occupations you will find in a IT department. I still wonder where people find the time to master all this knowledge.
Steve