Module Content
• The role of the DB administrator
• DBMS architecture and DB server instances
• DBMS installation and parameterization tasks
• DB administration commands
• DBMS metadata content and views
• Memory management, system logging, transaction log file
• Online backup and data recovery procedures
• Bulk data exporting and loading operations
• System recovery after a hard crash. The ARIES algorithm
• Backup policies. ROLLBACK and ROLL-FORWARD. DB content recovery to a specific point in (past) time
• Indexing and system performance tuning operations. Index re-organization
• Administration scripts, stored routines in the transactional context
• Distributed DBMS architectures
• Data partitioning and distribution in the distributed DBMS environment
Description
This course focuses on database system and services administration requirements and skills in an effort to fill the corresponding gap between academia and the needs of the job market. It draws on the experience accumulated from the Department’s active participation in the DBTechNet initiative (www.dbtechnet.org). The course content and educational model draw on the DBTechNet developed content and I.T. professional skills learning paradigm (http://myy.haaga-helia.fi/%7Edbms/dbtechnet//DBTechExtTutorials.htm).
For hands-on practicing, the DBTechNet (www.dbtechnet.org) DebianDB virtual machine is made available to the students for free downloading; the software incorporates pre-installed (free) versions of a number of RDBMS products (e.g. IBM DB2 Express-C, Oracle Express, MySQL, and PostgreSQL).
Structure
Class meetings (theory part): two (2) hours per week. Hands-on laboratory practice and tutorial sessions: one (1) hour per week.
Evaluation
Student evaluation is based on a final exam grade. Students are encouraged to participate actively in hands-on laboratory sessions with a bonus grade of 0.5/10. They are also given the option to be assigned a topic to present in class with an up to 35% bonus contribution to the course grade.
Possible course enrollment for Erasmus students: project work with presentation and/or oral examination (in English)
By enrolling in this course, the student:
• describes and explains the role of the DBMS administrator
• realizes the duty the database administrator has to: (a) administer the DBMS system software and services, (b) design and implement DBMS system policies for database application programmers
• applies in practice critical DBMS installation and parameter tuning procedures
• differentiates between and interprets DBMS system architectures and technologies used to implement the DBMS memory and process model, transaction logging, etc.
• comprehends the ARIES algorithm and the technology for DBMS system recovery from a hard crash
• differentiates between different system implementations and policies for DBMS content backup and recovery to a specific point in (past) time
• appreciates the importance of database content indexing strategies and their influence to DB system performance
• comprehends and differentiates between alternative approaches/technologies for implementing transaction isolation and concurrency control in the DBMS environment
• explains, compares and contrasts the degree to which various DBMS products (e.g. MySQL, IBM DB2, Oracle, and PostgreSQL) implement the aforementioned functionality
• appreciates the importance and the benefits of data processing in a partitioned and distributed DBMS architecture
• T. Connolly, C. Begg, Database Systems: A Practical Approach to design, Implementation, and Management, 5th Edition, Addison Wesley, 2010
• R. Elmasri και S.B. Navathe, Fundamentals of Database Systems, 5th Edition, Addison-Wesley 2006
• R. Ramakrishnan και J. Gehrke, Database Management Systems, 3rd Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2002
• J.D. Ullman, J. Widom, A First Course in Database Systems, Prentice-Hall, 2007
• M. Laiho, M. Kurki, DBTechNet Database Administration Labs, http://www.dbtechnet.org/labs/dba_lab/DBALabs.pdf
• M. Laiho, F. Laux, and K. Silpiö, DBTechEXT Backup and Recovery Labs, http://www.dbtechnet.org/labs/ccr_lab/RCLabs.pdf
• M. Laiho, F. Laux, and K. Silpiö, J. Rantanen, DBTech EXT Index Design and Performance Labs, http://www.dbtechnet.org/labs/idp_lab/IDPLabs.pdf
