Q2.11: Tasks a DBA should do...


I was asked by a poster to list what a DBA's tasks ought to be. Here's what I believe (this will evolve as time progresses):
DBA Tasks
Task Reason Period
dbcc checkdb, checkcatalog, checkalloc I consider these the minimal dbcc's to ensure the integrity of your database If your SQL Server permits, daily before your database dumps. If this is not possible due to the size of your databases, then try the different options so that the end of, say, a week, you've run them all.
Disaster recovery scripts - scripts to rebuild your SQL Server in case of hardware failure Always be prepared for the worst. Make sure to test them.
scripts to logically dump your master database, that is bcp the critical system tables: sysdatabases, sysdevices, syslogins, sysservers, sysusers, syssegments, sysremotelogins You can selectively rebuild your database in case of hardware failure Daily
%ls -la disk_devices A system upgrade is known to change the permissions. After any change as well as daily
dump the user databases CYA Daily
dump the transaction logs CYA Daily
dump the master database CYA After any change as well as daily
System 11 and beyond - save the $DSQUERY.cfg to tape This is the configuration that you've dialed in, why redo the work? After any change as well as daily
update statistics on frequently changed tables and sp_recompile To ensure the performance of your SQL Server Depending on how often your major tables change. Some tables are pretty much static (e.g. lookup tables) so they don't need an update statistics, other tables suffer severe trauma (e.g. massive updates/deletes/inserts) so an update stats needs to be run either nightly/weekly/monthly. This should be done using cronjobs.
create a dummy SQL Server and do bad things to it: delete devices, destroy permissions... See disaster recovery! When time permits
Talk to the application developers. It's better to work with them than against them. As time permits.
Learn new tools So you can sleep! As time permits.
Read c.d.s Passes the time. Priority One!