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http://searchoracle.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid41_gci1238655,00.html
DBAs to storage managers: We
want more!
By
Elisa Gabbert, Assistant Editor
11 Jan 2007 | SearchOracle.com
If DBAs' wish
lists for the new year have one item in common, it's more storage.
A new Independent Oracle Users
Group (IOUG) survey reveals that more than 90% of respondents expect
their database storage requirements to increase in 2007.
The survey,
which pooled responses from 366 database and systems administrators as well as
IT managers, developers and analysts, also revealed that growing storage needs
are negatively impacting performance. More than half of those surveyed reported
that their database growth has taxed available storage resources. In addition,
43% claim problems with storage have delayed the rollout of an application in
the past two years.
The sheer
growth of data expected in the next year poses a challenge to DBAs and systems
administrators, who need adequate storage to do their jobs properly.
"It's not
just managing storage, it's managing how you back it up," IOUG president
The survey also
finds that the roles of DBA
and storage manager are converging and that DBAs often have more say in storage
decisions than dedicated storage administrators. Of those surveyed, over 60%
said systems administrators and DBAs handle everyday storage management. At
companies where this is the case, respondents were less likely to report issues
with application rollout caused by a lack of storage.
"The old
rule was that DBAs would ask for space and patiently wait for it," said
Brian Garrett, an analyst with Milford, Mass.-based Enterprise Strategy Group.
Now, the
analyst continued, DBAs are working more closely with administrators and
managers from the storage side to make sure they get what they need when they
need it. It's especially important that they communicate where available
storage should be allocated first in case of a database disaster.
"Planning
and prioritizing which applications need to be protected the most -- these guys
have to work together on this," Garrett said.
New storage
tools make the job easier
Luckily,
storage professionals now have more tools at their disposal to help protect
data in the event of a disaster. In addition to traditional tape backup,
enterprises are utilizing new kinds of storage such as snapshot and virtual
tape library (VTL) technology. These methods can help bring "30 hours of
backup time down to a few minutes," Kaplan said.
Another
practice that can help reduce backup time and improve performance is digital
archiving.
"DBAs are
being asked to keep more data around longer," Garrett said. "By
proactively 'pruning' the database and archiving data, we can improve
performance, backups, management and access to intellectual property."
Archiving also decreases the time it takes to search and locate content within
the database, he added.
A January 2006
research report conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group revealed that three out
of 10 companies have already implemented some kind of database archiving
application. Over half of large enterprises (with 20,000 employees or more)
have deployed archiving.
Early adopters
report benefits including speedier and less expensive backups, reduced time and
cost related to disaster recovery, better database performance and easier
storage management. Ultimately, Garrett said, the more control you have over
your data, the easier it is to "keep your boss's name out of the
headlines."
In 2005,
unstructured data -- office documents, Web pages and image files, for example
-- made up 82% of archived content, followed by email and database at 10% and
8%, respectively. The report concluded that structured content associated with
database applications and email will grow more rapidly in the next five years
than unstructured content, but unstructured content will continue to constitute
the bulk of archived capacity.
The report also
indicated that in the coming years, digital assets will be migrated from
traditional tape media to newer disk-based storage systems.
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