In a previous editorial we were talking about the New DBA and how the role is changing, or can be changing. AZ Jim comments that there is a lot to be said of the out-of-the-box stability of products like SQL Server. His question is, "will you find a similar capability in other platform"s.
That is one of the reasons we find a number of individuals performing the role of the Accidental DBA. SQL Server works rather well right out of the box. If you simply use it for a relational data store, there isn’t a lot of tweaking needed to keep it operating within reasonable performance requirements. SQL Server is the king of the hill when it comes to self-optimizing.
Of course that self-optimization comes at a cost of performance. There is overhead keeping things tuned occurring continuously. A DBA can take a number of those optimization processes and move them to reduced load times. In addition, disaster recovery does not come out of the box either. Still, once configured, it is rather easy to maintain and test on a regular basis.
Many of the newer open systems tools also have similar capabilities. The difference is that they tend to be a little more complicated in configuration and operation. That is pretty much AZ Jim’s position; they don’t come out of the box with as much capabilities as SQL Server.
Perhaps it is because of the success of the SQL Server engine that, I believe, we are seeing less need for the DBA as a role. Most of what needs to be done may be outsourced. Only companies with many systems require a full time DBA.
It is for this reason I am wondering if a new role is emerging for the DBA to be able to support the installation and management of newer data stores to supplement their skills? Why not become a Mongo, CouchDB, etc. expert? The engines have the same needs as those we fulfilled with SQL Server. They need failover, disaster recovery, replication, co-location, optimization, etc. Why not become proficient in these technologies as well?
Get into the conversation by leaving your comments. They are always valued and helpful to provide a broader perspective.
Cheers,
Ben