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Home -> Community -> Mailing Lists -> Oracle-L -> RE: RE: Top 10 DBA Do's and Don'ts anyone - Here is my list, comm
Whilst not disagreeing with the practical outworkings of what you, and others, have been saying for a while now I think that I disagree with the statement that tuning, or indeed database management more generally is 'science'. I think that the correct term is 'engineering'. In case this is just a definition of terms disagreement, I'd better define them. By Science I mean the process of observation,theory and test, that produces new and better explanations of how X works. By Engineering I mean the process of applying solid principles to build a known system to meet specified requirements. The two are clearly linked, and there certainly is a requirement that the science is done before the engineering - otherwise we are little better than high-tech witch doctors, but they are different. It is important that neither is 'art' especially not in the sense of a 'black art'.
Thus investigating how the number of freelists affects contention would fall in to the science category, setting the number appropriately to tune a response time issue for an OLTP system would fall into the engineering category.
Niall Litchfield
Oracle DBA
Audit Commission
0117 975 7805
-----Original Message-----
Sent: 26 February 2003 05:58
To: cary.millsap_at_hotsos.com; ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com
Facts can have different "truths" only when those facts are filtered through the lenses of contradictory value judgments. Politics is an *excellent* example: lots of people describe themselves as believing in "equality." However, one political sector believes that equality means "equality of opportunity." Another believes that equality means "equality of outcome." Which you believe defines how you perceive the "truth" about many political issues. People's basic value judgments are often a matter of *faith*, which makes them impervious to change through intellectual debate.
However, our small technical community has the luxury of far fewer differences in value judgment about what constitutes quality in our work. It's pretty easy to distinguish excellence from garbage when the two are laid out side-by-side. There might be optimizations that are superior for DSS environments and different optimizations that are superior for TP environments, but for the most part, we're all basing our professional careers in the same basic value judgment: that superiority means providing the fastest, most reliable data with the least possible economic sacrifice.
With the advent of quantum microbiology and the like, most informed people agree that 21st medicine is a science. However, medicine as practiced in the 17th century was definitely an art, not a science. The argument that "tuning" is an "art"--that it is subjective like a symphony or like cooking--is rapidly losing. The measuring tools that allow us to approach "tuning" as a completely scientific endeavor have been present in the Oracle kernel now for over a decade. And some of our community's members with so-called shallow-minded views are doing an excellent job of finally figuring out how to apply them.
Cary Millsap
Hotsos Enterprises, Ltd.
http://www.hotsos.com
Upcoming events:
- RMOUG Training Days 2003, Mar 5-6 Denver
- Hotsos Clinic 101, Mar 25-27 London
-----Original Message-----
Robert - IL
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 10:19 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
comm
Yes, but WHO's truth..... Truth is a three sided sword, your side, my side and .... The edge...... Truth is, unfortunately, subjective.... Point in case, politics. :-)
RF
Robert G. Freeman
Technical Management Consultant
TUSC - The Oracle Experts www.tusc.com
904.708.5076 Cell (It's everywhere that I am!)
Author of several books you can find on Amazon.com!
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 9:54 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
comm
The only thing wrong with President Wilson's advice is that exceptional oratory skill can, in the short term, overcome some pretty horrendous content deficiencies. I do have faith enough in free people to believe that in the long term, the truth wins.
Cary Millsap
Hotsos Enterprises, Ltd.
http://www.hotsos.com
Upcoming events:
- RMOUG Training Days 2003, Mar 5-6 Denver
- Hotsos Clinic 101, Mar 25-27 London
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2003 8:29 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
comm
Been a while since I have been able to scan the list, but who could resist this one??? :-)
Additional Do's:
Do understand the nothing is unbreakable or bullet proof, assume the impossible isn't and have a plan for disaster management. Do appreciate that oracle support probably does deal with enough clueless people to expect you to be one of the same until you demonstrate otherwise. Do remember that somewhere there is life outside of RDBMS challenges, and it should be kept relative. Do take the time to share your experiences, it makes life much simpler for all of us. Do clearly define the objective, before you start detailing the solution.
Additional Do Nots
Don't get so focused on a prescribed solution that you don't realize when it becomes self-defeating to the driving cause. Don't forget that as good as you are at being a dba, you will make mistakes and mis-manage, and so will those who make a living managing you. Don't forget to prescribe the solution that user needs, not the one they necessarily demand.
And to the credit of Woodrow Wilson - "The wisest thing to do with a fool is to encourage him to hire a hall and discourse to his fellow citizens. Nothing chills nonsense like exposure to air."
-----Original Message-----
- IL
Sent: Monday, February 24, 2003 10:40 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
Horrors.... the world is soon to come to an end!!
:-))
RF
Robert G. Freeman
Technical Management Consultant
TUSC - The Oracle Experts www.tusc.com
904.708.5076 Cell (It's everywhere that I am!)
Author of several books you can find on Amazon.com!
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Monday, February 24, 2003 7:09 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L
comments
MccDBA:
It is just Robert's Don't list ;) but you can always give your opinion abt that. Would you mind telling us 'Why you don't agree on them?'
KG
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-- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: K Gopalakrishnan INET: kaygopal_at_yahoo.com Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: Freeman Robert - IL INET: FREEMANR_at_tusc.com Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: Ron Yount INET: ronwy_at_swbell.net Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: Cary Millsap INET: cary.millsap_at_hotsos.com Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: Freeman Robert - IL INET: FREEMANR_at_tusc.com Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: Cary Millsap INET: cary.millsap_at_hotsos.com Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing). ********************************************************************** This email contains information intended for the addressee only. It may be confidential and may be the subject of legal and/or professional privilege. Any dissemination, distribution, copyright or use of this communication without prior permission of the sender is strictly prohibited. ********************************************************************** -- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.net -- Author: Niall Litchfield INET: n-litchfield_at_audit-commission.gov.uk Fat City Network Services -- 858-538-5051 http://www.fatcity.com San Diego, California -- Mailing list and web hosting services --------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).Received on Fri Feb 28 2003 - 03:53:47 CST
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