A hub for sharing relational database knowledge and experimentation
Posts on data for a Relational Database Management System
When I started working as a DBA in 2001, the relational database management system choices were more limited and the choice itself was often left up to a system architect. Rarely did developers have a say, and even DBAs only had a say in whether they could support it or would have to hire people to support it.… Read the rest
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One of the things that learning a new RDBMS is teaching me is that there are some concepts that are common to RDBMSes. It is helping me to identify some of those concepts, and I learn a lot from the similarities and differences.… Read the rest
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I recently discovered an interesting (and frustrating) issue while running PostgreSQL in Kubernetes. While the issue technically isn’t specific to Kubernetes, per se, it is certainly easy to encounter in Kubernetes for users of the official PostgreSQL Docker image (and many other images) mounting volumes somewhere other than the default location.… Read the rest
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Disclaimer: I am not an expert on Oracle RDBMS licensing. Please verify any and all licensing statements about IBM or Oracle before relying on them. I am likely biased towards IBM, having based my career on them, but am not an IBM employee.… Read the rest
Continue reading »The logical view of a database consists of the standard objects in any RDBMS – Tables, Indexes, etc. There are a number of layers of abstraction between this and the physical hardware level, both in the OS and within DB2.
The smallest unit of I/O that DB2 can handle is a page.… Read the rest
Continue reading »I was reviewing my many hundreds of slides that I use when training DBAs, and realized that some of my “Basics” slides might lead to good blog topics. My single most popular blog post ever is “How to Catalog a Database”, which is part of my “Basics” series of slides.… Read the rest
Continue reading »I read an article on a flaw in Oracle that was recently discovered. It had to do with the SCN number that is constantly increasing in any database:
http://www.infoworld.com/d/security/fundamental-oracle-flaw-revealed-184163-0
Thanks to my friend Fitz for bringing it to my attention – and you really should read all 6 pages of that article – it is fascinating for a database geek.… Read the rest
Continue reading »So I’m obviously biased in favor of DB2, but here are a few things that have surprised me to learn are different in Oracle. Terminology differences are rampant. This list is a bit scattered as it’s mostly a brain dump, but maybe something here can help someone.… Read the rest
Continue reading »So as I may have mentioned before, I’m learning Oracle. I’ve always been a DB2 DBA, having started out as strictly a Physical/Systems DBA. Thus SQL is a skill I’ve built very slowly, over time. I thought the hardest test for DB2 certification was the ‘Family Fundamentals’ one, because it focused so heavily on SQL and other things I didn’t do day-in and day-out at the time.… Read the rest
Continue reading »So I’m obviously biased on this. I’ve been a DB2 DBA for 10 years and believe in DB2 very strongly. Some of my biases against Oracle may be completely unfounded. I’m actually learning Oracle so I can support clients who insist upon using it.… Read the rest
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