Archive for the ‘collaborate’ Category

Oracle DBAs Guide to MySQL Databases

Presentation Abstract
More and more MySQL databases are sneaking their way into the Oracle environment.  If you’re being asked to
managing these new databases, you may not know where to start.

We’ll give and overview of MySQL specifically for Oracle DBAs.  Since you already have the requisite conceptual
framework as an Oracle DBA, a quickstart will help you get up to speed with how things are done in the MySQL
world.

Outline

Introduction
1. Installation
2. User Management, Authentication + Privileges
3. Backup and Recovery
4. Replication Solutions Compared to DataGuard
5. Transactions, Query Optimization + Profiling
6. Views and Partitioning
7. Server Tuning and Optimization
Conclusions

Learning Objective 1
Bring Oracle DBAs up to speed with MySQL

Learning Objective 2
Feature comparison between Oracle + MySQL, what’s there, what’s not etc.

Learning Objective 3
Tuning and Profiling MySQL from an Oracle perspective.

Attendee Prerequisites
Intermediate Oracle DBA experience required.

Friday, November 7th, 2008

Can’t Find a Solution? Consider Changing the Problem

Presentation Abstract
Technology consulting is always one part science, one part thinking on your toes, and one part client relationship.
In a recent engagement at a large educational software services company we were faced with a very challenging
problem.  They were running up against a wall as their user base steadily grew.  They were growing at a steady
rate, but their database systems were becoming a bottleneck to the application performance and thus the service
they offered their customers.

We looked at the technology involved to scale up based on their growth rates, but found it was becoming cost
prohibitive.  They asked us how it could be done cheaper.

Stepping back from the problem, we devised a very unorthodox solution, which upon inspection may seem rather
obvious.  Yet the business had been doing things a certain way for so long, they had not considered this alternate
view.

Outline

Introduction
1. Initial meetings with client, discuss problems
2. Review of database systems
3. Cost estimate based on current growth patterns.
4. Discussions with client, and further review
5. Creative problem solving to do more with less hardware.
Conclusions

Learning Objective 1
Measuring growth of database applications

Learning Objective 2
Discussing business needs, and projecting requisite technology needs and requirements.

Learning Objective 3
Balancing technology costs with business requirements, and using creative problem solving to increase

Attendee Prerequisites
Beginning DBA skills.
Basic understanding of internet platform, client, webserver, and database.

Friday, November 7th, 2008

A Vegetarian Database? Diet Essentials For Oracle

This is the fifth in a series of abstracts I’ve submitted for the Collaborate 2008 conference in Denver CO.
There are healthy databases and their are unhealthy ones. We’ll take a look at what you feed your database, and how to keep it fit with just the right diet of hardware, configuration, and SQL query tuning.

1. Introduction - Diet of a Champion Database
2. Disk, Memory, CPU - Body by Intel
3. Applications - Lean & Fit
4. SQL Queries - High Fiber, Low Fat
5. Conclusions

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Pixie Dust For Oracle: 5 Elemental Lessons

This is the fourth in a series of abstracts I’ve submitted for Collaborate 2008 in Denver CO.
As an independent consultant for twelve years, I’ve encountered a lot of interesting and challenging projects. I’ll discuss five different cases, and what lessons I took away from each.

1. Intro
2. The Right Hardware
3. Importance of Good Testing
4. Patchwork or Good Design
5. Don’t Mix Opposites
6. Use The Technology
7. Conclusion

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Is Your Database an Open Book?

This is the third in a series of abstracts I’ve submitted for Collaborate 2008 in Denver CO.

Security is on everyone’s radar these days. You may be wondering yourself whether your database systems are really as secure as they should be. We’ll discuss some of the latest vulnerabilities, and what you can do to protect your systems.

1. Introduction
2. Authentication
3. Privilege Escalation
4. SQL Injection
5. OS Security
6. Network Security
7. Conclusions

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Oracle HA On A Budget: Manual Standby Database

This is the second in a series of abstracts I’ve submitted for the Collaborate 2008 conference in Denver CO.

A little known fact is that Oracle’s standby technology - the stuff DataGuard is built on top of - is available in Standard Edition of Oracle. With a little elbow grease, and some simple scripts, we can have a rudimentary and functioning HA solution in Oracle SE.

1. Intro
2. Anatomy of a Standby Database
3. What’s there in Oracle SE
4. Setup standby
5. Shipping logs
6. Applying logs
7. Verifying setup
8. Manual Failover
9. Conclusions

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007

Unbreakable or Hackable: How Does Oracle Measure Up?

This is the first in a series of abstracts I’ve submitted for Collaborate 2008 in Denver CO.

Marketing is one thing, bulletproof technology is quite another. Operating Systems have bugs, Database Software has bugs, and so does your application, probably. A better question is how hackable are you? We’ll look at some of the nefarious ways intruders can get in, so you’ll better know how secure your systems really are.

1. Unbreakable As a Pie In the Sky
2. OS level
3. Database level
4. Application level
5. Conclusions

Wednesday, October 17th, 2007