Beginning Oracle Database 11g Administration: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in Oracle) [Paperback]

Iggy Fernandez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 18, 2009 | ISBN-10: 1590599683 | ISBN-13: 978-1590599686 | Edition: 1

This book, written by veteran Oracle database administrator Iggy Fernandez, a regular on the Oracle conference circuit and the editor of NoCOUG Journal, is a manageable introduction to key Oracle database administration topics including planning, installation, monitoring, troubleshooting, maintenance, and backups, to name just a few. As is clear from the table of contents, this book is not simply a recitation of Oracle Database features such as what you find in the reference guides available for free download on the Oracle web site. For example, the chapter on database monitoring explains how to monitor database availability, database changes, database security, database backups, database growth, database workload, database performance, and database capacity.

The chapters of this book are logically organized into four parts that closely track the way your database administration career will naturally evolve. Part 1 gives you necessary background in relational database theory and Oracle Database concepts, Part 2 teaches you how to implement an Oracle database correctly, Part 3 exposes you to the daily routine of a database administrator, and Part 4 introduces you to the fine art of performance tuning. Each chapter has exercises designed to help you apply the lessons of the chapter. Each chapter also includes a list of reference works that contain more information on the topic of the chapter.

In this book, you'll find information that you won't find in other books on Oracle Database. Here you'll discover not only technical information, but also guidance on work practices that are as vital to your success as technical skills. The author's favorite chapter is "The Big Picture and the Ten Deliverables." If you take the lessons in that chapter to heart, you can quickly become a much better Oracle database administrator than you ever thought possible.

What you’ll learn

• Theory of relational database management systems
• Oracle Database internals
• Licensing, architecture, and sizing
• Software installation and database creation
• Using indexes to improve performance
• User management and data loading
• How to monitor all aspects of your database
• How to solve and fix problems
• Database backups and database recovery
• Database maintenance
• Database tuning
• SQL tuning

Who this book is for

If you are an IT professional who has been thrust into an Oracle database administration role without the benefit of formal training, or you just want to understand how Oracle Database works, this book is for you. It's the book the author wishes he'd had when he first started using Oracle Database many years ago. It's the book that he would have liked to have given to the many IT colleagues and friends who, over the years, have asked him to teach them the basics of Oracle Database.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Iggy Fernandez has a rich history of working with Oracle Database in many capacities. He is the author of Beginning Oracle Database 11g Administration (Apress, 2009). He is the president of the Northern California Oracle Users Group (NoCOUG), now celebrating its 25th anniversary. He writes regularly for the NoCOUG Journal and was also its editor for many years. Iggy's favorite topics are database performance and SQL performance, and he regularly speaks on these topics at Oracle conferences. He has a lot of opinions but is willing to change them when confronted with fresh facts. His favorite quote is “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines ... Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (February 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590599683
• ISBN-13: 978-1590599686
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #7 in Books > Computers & Technology > Databases > Oracle
  • #55 in Books > Computers & Technology > Databases > Database Management Systems

More About the Author

My name is Ignatius. Everyone calls me Iggy. My name means "fiery one" (the Latin word for fire is ignis and the Sanskrit word for fire is agni). I grew up in the same town as British rock star Freddie Mercury; that's your clue. I now live in Northern California, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I have a rich history of working with Oracle Database in many capacities including Operations DBA, Development DBA, Performance Specialist, Lead DBA, Database Architect, and DBA Manager. I'm a RAC agnostic; I haven't drunk all the Kool-Aid yet. As regards Oracle Database 11g Release 2, all I have to say is that "whenever something reaches a state of perfection, i.e., where it becomes stable and very productive (in other words, saves time and money and effort), it will be replaced by something more chaotic" (Norgaard's First Law published in the Q2 2006 issue of the ODTUG Technical Journal).

I am the editor of the NoCOUG Journal and the author of Beginning Oracle Database 11g Administration (Apress, 2009). I have a lot of opinions but am willing to change them when confronted with fresh facts. As the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson said in his essay on self-reliance: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. Speak what you think now in hard words, and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said today."

I enjoy getting feedback. You can reach me at [e-mail].

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for a new Oracle DBA, May 17, 2009

By 

Sumit Sengupta (Avon, OH, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning Oracle Database 11g Administration: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in Oracle) (Paperback)

Having worked for a Fortune 50 company as an Oracle DBA for more than ten years, I have read many Oracle books. Apress usually publishes good quality books but where this one stands out is that it teaches a beginning Oracle DBA the tasks of Oracle database administration in a very orderly and precise manner. Go through the chapter list and you will realize that the book covers precisely what a beginning Oracle DBA does.

As a new Oracle DBA you have a choice: read the relevant portions of over 100 Oracle manuals or buy this book, get started on the job, and plan on further reading as you progress in your Oracle career.

The book is written in a platform-agnostic manner but provides instructions to install Oracle on your laptop and follow along. Every chapter ends with exercises and suggestions for further reading which are very helpful.

Part I Database Concepts

Chapter 1 Relational Database Management Systems

Chapter 2 SQL and PL/SQL

Chapter 3 Oracle Architecture

Part II Database Implementation

Chapter 4 Planning

Chapter 5 Software Installation

Chapter 6 Database Creation

Chapter 7 Physical Database Design

Chapter 8 User Management and Data Loading

Part III Database Support

Chapter 9 Taking Control

Chapter 10 Monitoring

Chapter 11 Fixing Problems

Chapter 12 Backups

Chapter 13 Recovery

Chapter 14 Database Maintenance

Chapter 15 The Big Picture and the Ten Deliverables

Part IV Database Tuning

Chapter 16 Instance Tuning

Chapter 17 SQL Tuning

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Well Writtern!, March 6, 2009

By 

C. W. Lawson "OracleMagician" (SF East Bay, California: United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning Oracle Database 11g Administration: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in Oracle) (Paperback)

Iggy Fernandez is a VERY good writer. I think you'll really appreciate the many insights on the process of being a good Oracle DBA.

This book is unique in that it covers many aspects of the PROCESS of Oracle database administration. It's not really a book of scripts. As Iggy says, this book is an introduction to key concepts, such as monitoring, backups, etc. Each chapter is well organized, with plenty of graphics to make it interesting.

Iggy has also provided many good references, so that the reader can continue researching.

A really fine book!

15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overall, a good entry level book, May 6, 2009

By 

Jose A. Campo "SQL DBA [MCTS on SQL2005 & 2008]" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning Oracle Database 11g Administration: From Novice to Professional (Expert's Voice in Oracle) (Paperback)

Let me start my review saying that this one is a book that deserves some attention; we have a lot of options in terms of Oracle 11g books out there, but problem (like MS-SQL) is the inability for some authors, to express their knowledge in a coherent way. Being an Oracle "master" DBA does not mean you'll be a good author or viceversa.

I've had the opportunity to check this one on my local bookstore (I think I'll buy it, maybe) and spent some time drinking a cup of coffee and reading it ... so, here are my impressions.

What I like:

1. Very well organized: I believe you should start reading from very beginning to end, but author divided concepts very well so you can easily find information without the need of going back and forth or read initial chapters. Like any RDMS (MS-SQL, Oracle, etc), if you have a basic SQL language fundamentals and Os experience (Linux, Windows), material will be much much easier to understand

2. Plain english: I love when you can read an IT or SQL book and you do not need a "PhD" in order to understand. This book is easy to read and straight to the point.

3. Good price: I think that based on the content and other options, price on this one is something to take seriously.

What could be improved

1. Not in-depth coverage: Ironically, point 2 in "What I like" section leads to point 1 here. Good or bad thing depends of what you're looking for. I think that if reader is looking for a more in depth and comprehensive material, this book will not be a good choice. Is so straight to the point that clarifications or further explanations in sections like setup, are short.

2. Use of Windows as Testing environment: read my blog comment below with author about this. Is a topic which creates polemic. But being a DBA for one of the largest Computer companies in the world, I can tell that you won't get full Oracle power if you run it from Windows. So, learning how to setup or how Oracle runs on Linux is a must in today's job market. Yes, you can learn basic T-SQL administration running Oracle on top of Windows ... Yes, internal SQL statements operations won't change, but again, if you want to be different and get the full Oracle's advantage, why not test it on a Linux/Unix box? we got VMware, VirtualBox and others that will let you install Oracle with some tweaks (Red Hat like Linux systems are the only one supported by Oracle)

3. More pictures, please! Not in agreement with other review. I think that we won't find enough here; one or another pictures among chapters, but not enough in my opinion indeed. Oracle architecture is so complex that concepts get lost easily if you don't visualize them.

Overall, this is a good book for the entry level or MS-SQL DBA which is trying to catch Oracle concepts in a fast but good way but I would suggest to overlap ideas with a good Linux book like: Linux Recipes for Oracle DBAs, by Darl Kuhn or get a nice Linux cert book, like the most recent Sybex edition: LPIC-1: Linux Professional Institute Certification Study Guide: (Exams 101 and 102). Like I said before, if you master the Os portion of Oracle or MS-SQL, your troubleshooting skills get empowered also.