Database operations philosophy

The reasons for database operations

The value of database operations comes from the value of the systems the databases support. . In a typical operation, the value of the managed systems is much greater than the resources used on the operations side.
Running a successful It organization is a question of managing risks, resources, and manpower in order to maximize the value without taking an unacceptable risk.

We recognize that imitate dangers must be handled when they appear, since they represent immediate risk. There are also a set of maintenance routines that must be performed on a regular basis in order to avoid risk in a short to medium time frame.
When these risks are controlled it is possible to move the focus of the organization toward the more strategic parts of operations.

We have defined a system of maturity levels to describe the state of an IT organization’s processes to give advice on which areas to focus on in order to optimize its value.

Maturity levels

1. Control of immediate dangers.

The organization is working to achieve control over the immediate dangers to the operation.

Mastering this level involves establishing a process of continually looking for potential dangers and handling them.

Achieving control over immediate dangers frees up resources and provides a measure of stability by drastically reducing the chance of disruptive events. This will allow
the organization to focus on medium-term issues.

2. Automaton of maintenance

The organization is working to achieve control over the day-to-day maintenance of the databases.

The process of maintaining a database involves running a set of maintenance routines on a regular schedule and verifying the outcome
of these routines. Automation is essential since it allows for including all databases in the management regime.

Achieving control over the day-to-day maintenance will make sure that your databases are running smoothly over time. It will

3. Optimization of performance

The organization is working to achieve a stable optimized performance for the system as a whole.

The organization establishes processes for analyzing, prioritizing, and tuning the parts of the system with the biggest potential gain. Note that
the perfect optimized state will never be achieved.

Achieving control over the system’s performance will greatly stabilize the performance characteristics of the system as a whole. This is
essential to be able to manage resource utilization in a reasonable way.

4. Resource management

The organization is working to achieve optimal resource utilization.

Having control over the performance of the systems provides a good and stable foundation for managing the resource utilization of these systems.

Difference between maturity levels

The first level of database operations maturity is monitoring. This involves having complete control of all your databases and knowing if there is a problem in your systems. To achieve this you need all your database instances enrolled into monitoring, where you know that all the database instances have the correct monitoring enabled. When all is green in this level of maturity, you can focus on the second level of maturity.

The second level of database operations maturity is maintenance. This involves automating the daily routines, where you detect and fix any deviations to how the routines should work. When all is green in this level of maturity, you can focus on the third level of maturity.

The third level of database operations maturity is performance.

The fourth level of database operations maturity is capacity.

The fifth level of database operations maturity is consistency. This involves monitoring the other levels of maturity to make sure it is within a set standard.

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