Infrastructure Services > Database and Application Administration

Services Provided by Database and Application Administration

Software Installation, Upgrade, and Patching
The Database Administration group provides support for installation of new applications and systems software administration, such as PeopleSoft and Banner. The group also assists the Application Support and Programming groups with upgrades to existing applications and ensures that database and application patches are kept up to date. The group works with the Infrastructure group to ensure that applications are configured appropriately and are housed on appropriate servers.

When a new application, upgrade, or patch is received, the Database Administration group installs it into an area where the Programming group can either test the new application or run comparisons with existing copies of the system to determine the effect of the changes. Once the Programming group has determined the changes, the Database Administration group assists with moving the new code to an area where the Applications Support group can coordinate testing with the users, using prepared test scripts. Once all testing is completed and user sign-off is received, the Database Administration group moves the database and application changes to the production environment.

Application Space Management and Capacity Planning
The Database Administration group works with the Infrastructure group to ensure that space necessary to run enterprise applications is allocated and works proactively by planning for future space needs. The group uses monitoring tools to determine the amount of space used by enterprise applications in various support instances. The Database Administration group expands table space as database instances grow due to storage of historical data. When the rate of table growth approaches the size of the available disk space, the Database Administration group works proactively with the Infrastructure group to determine how much additional space will be needed for future growth.

Application Backups and Recoveries
The Database Administration group works with the Infrastructure group to ensure that ITSS managed databases are backed up as scheduled. They also provide refreshes of various test databases, and in the case of data loss; they restore data to the state before a loss. Production databases are backed up daily. Development and testing instances are refreshed on a scheduled basis for some instances and as requested for others, using a production copy of the database. This allows for all instances to be at the same level of system upgrades, patches, and modifications. An exception is made when an instance is used for specific testing of certain modifications or functions.

Performance Tuning and Monitoring
The Database Administration group monitors the state of managed databases and implements changes to database configurations that ensure peak performance. When a program is reported to be running slowly, the DBA staff performs tests, using database-testing tools, to determine the point of slowness. Many times the slowness can be corrected by the addition of an index to a table, or by re-arranging a SQL statement.

The Database Administration group is one of the third tier layers of support for application related issues. If a problem points to an issue with databases in a system, the information analysts work with the Database Administration group to identify the point of failure and determine a solution to be implemented that is coordinated with the users by the information analyst.

Development and Integration Support
The Database Administration group provides technical assistance to the Programming and Development and the Infrastructure groups for integration of new and existing systems into MCG’s technical architecture. When a new system or function is added to a system, the Database Administration group provides analysis and makes recommendations about the best database and application configuration for our environment. The group also assists the Infrastructure group in identifying programs that can run together and how they should be configured to make our server and systems environments more efficient with regard to resources and effort.

Oracle Database Management
The Database Administration group manages Oracle databases for the enterprise and for various research and departmental initiatives. This service allows departments and researchers to concentrate on their research or departmental data, without worrying about data security and backups. MCG has a site license for the Oracle products, so departments do not have to bear the software expense. Oracle database administration skills are very expensive and time consuming to acquire. By using the DBA services of the Database Administration group, departments can save money, allow resources to focus on their primary functions, and ensure that their work is protected in accordance with all regulations and from malicious or accidental destruction.

The group provides estimates for these technical services for use in grant proposals and assists with required grant reporting.