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Introduction
The Oracle DBA Interactive Workbook presents an introduction to Oracle database administration in a unique and highly effective format. It is organized more like a teaching aid than a reference manual in that to learn basic administration techniques, you are challenged to work through a set of guided tasks rather than to read through descriptions. There is a list of additional reading material in Appendix B that you can reference if you wish to delve deeper into any of the topics covered in this book.
This book is intended for beginners in the world of Oracle database administration. It will take you through a set of tasks, starting with creating a database to using some of the Oracle database tuning, and backup and recovery utilities. Those experienced with Oracle databases will recognize that a workbook covering the topic of database administration will be an extremely useful introduction for the beginner, but it cannot be used as a deep study of the Oracle database environment. After working through this book, you will have been launched into the exciting and interesting (sometimes nerve-racking) world of database administration, but it will take years of experience to become a senior database administrator.
Who this book is for
This book is intended for anyone who needs a quick and detailed introduction to Oracle database administration tasks. It is not the intention of this book to provide an in-depth study of the Oracle database server. The foundation for this book was developed to supplement the Introduction to Oracle Database Administration class in the Database Track at Columbia University's Computer Technology and Applications (CTA) program in New York City. The book's sidebars and answers often reflect questions that students have asked in class.
The student body entering the CTA program range from those who have years of experience in the IT field but no experience with Oracle, to those with absolutely no experience in IT and even no experience with PCs. The Introduction to Oracle Database Administration class is offered as an elective in the fourth and final term of the CTA program's curriculum. So, while it is geared for beginners with little or no previous experience with Oracle database administration, it is expected that the reader will have some experience working with an Oracle database. The reader should be comfortable with relational database concepts as well as SQL. If you are unfamiliar with any of these subjects, refer to the Oracle SQL Interactive Workbook in the Prentice Hall Oracle Interactive Workbook series.
What you'll need
There are software as well as knowledge requirements necessary to complete the exercise sections of the workbook.
Software
- Oracle 7.3.4, 8.0, or 8i.
- Access to the WWW.
Note that prior to beginning the workbook labs, you should already have installed the Oracle Server software (it will make it easier to get through the labs if you do not install the default database, however) and the Net8 or SQL*Net components. Since the instructions vary greatly depending on the platform, you should consult your Oracle documentation (Installation Guide and Getting Started) for installation information.
Oracle 7.3.4, 8.0, or 8i
You can use either Oracle Standard Edition or Oracle Enterprise Edition. Since you will be performing actions that may affect other databases, you should not work through the tasks in this book in an environment where there are critical data, programs, etc.!
Since Oracle frequently improves and changes its products, new versions are released all the time. However, the concepts covered in this book are fundamental to the Oracle RDBMS (hereafter called the Oracle Server) and are unlikely to change significantly in the near future. Even if your version of the database is slightly different than the one listed here, you should still be able to make use of this book.
The tasks and descriptions represent core issues of Oracle Server architecture and are therefore universal to all three versions of the Oracle Server. There are occasional notes to point out a specific issue regarding a specific version.
Additionally, you should be familiar with SQL*Plus, the tool supplied with the database to interact with it in a command-line fashion.
Access to the WWW
You will need access to the Internet and the WWW so that you can access the companion Web site for this book through--
http://www.phptr.com/scherer Here you will find the files that are necessary for completing the exercises.
Knowledge
To complete the exercises, you should be familiar with relational database concepts and understand what an Entity Relationship Diagram is. You should also be comfortable using SQL to access and manipulate database objects such as tables, constraints, sequences, and so on.
If you are not familiar or comfortable with these subjects, then it is recommended that you refer to the Oracle SQL Interactive Workbook in the Prentice Hall Oracle Interactive Workbook series.
You should also feel comfortable working in your operating system's command-line environment.
How this Book Is Organized
The intent of this workbook is to teach you about Oracle database administration by presenting you with a series of tasks and challenges, followed by detailed solutions to those challenges. At times, an individual task acts as a complete unit of work, while other tasks are developed through a series of simple actions. Each chapter has a series of labs that introduce topics. The labs are composed of tasks, which are typical to the daily work of a database administrator. Beyond the labs, topics are further explored through questions and answers. What follows is the common layout of the chapters:
- Chapter Objectives
- A list of subjects the chapter will cover.
- Chapter Text
- An overview of chapter subjects.
- Lab Objectives
- A list of subjects the lab will cover.
- Lab Text
- An introduction to the lab subject, occasionally including steps that prepare the Oracle Server for the exercises.
- Exercises
- Questions that require hands-on interaction with the Oracle Server. The exercises will guide you through learning the subject introduced in the lab text.
- Exercise Answers
- Answers and discussion of the exercise subject.
- Self-Review Questions
- Multiple-choice questions to review lab material.
- Test Your Thinking
- Project questions to supplement the lab material.
Depending on the breadth of the subject, a given chapter may have more than one lab, and a given lab may have more than one set of exercises.
The exercises are not meant to be closed-book quizzes to test your knowledge. On the contrary, they are intended to act as your guide and walk you through a task. You are encouraged to flip back and forth from the question section to the answer section so that, if need be, you can read the discussions as you go along.
The chapters and their exercises must be completed in sequence as the material in later chapters builds on what is presented earlier.
Chapter 1, "The Database Administrator's Job," introduces you to the world of database administration.
Chapter 2, "Creating Your Database," walks you through the steps of manually creating your own database.
Chapter 3, "Oracle Networking: Configuring Basic Net8/SQL*Net Components," guides you through setting up the components necessary for remote users to connect to your database over a network.
Chapter 4, "Tablespaces," teaches you how to create and manipulate tablespaces, and introduces you to logical storage constructs.
Chapter 5, "Segments and Extents,"
