Which Platform/OS?

Accountability and Purpose

[OPINION] When servers are managed by multiple teams (with different teams looking after server hardware, storage, hypervisor, OS, application, database etc), who should be "Accountable" for the servers? In my opinion this comes down to the "purpose" of a server....

• The purpose of a web server is to handle HTTP requests.

• The purpose of an application server is to run an application. 

• The purpose of a database server is to store and serve data.

• The purpose of a UNIX server is to... Hmm, a server that just runs an OS has no real purpose, it's the things that you can run on that OS that give it purpose. An OS just provides a common translation/resource management layer between software and hardware.

So, the database team should be "Accountable" for the database servers.

Why is this important?

If you are "Accountable" then you have every right to demand that the other teams focus on your needs. The UNIX team wants to prevent you having root access? If you are accountable then this is your risk to manage, not theirs. This doesn't mean you can act irresponsibly. Remember that, as a DBA, your primary goal is.... well, what?

• Oracle say, "A database administrator, or DBA, is responsible for maintaining, securing, and operating databases and also ensures that data is correctly stored and retrieved." (1)

• BMC say, "A database administrator, or DBA for short, designs, implements, administers, and monitors data management systems and ensures consistency, quality, security, and compliance with rules and regulations."

So, demand root access so that you can patch security vulnerabilities in MySQL or troubleshoot IO issues in Oracle.  Demand that you are involved and fully informed in all decisions that involve installing anything on your database server. But also remember that other teams tend not to do things without reason. 

• If you veto anti-virus, then you better be sure there is no way a virus can find it's way onto your database server. Yes, you are really going to need to talk to your system administrators, your network administrators and your security/compliance teams.

• If you demand root access, be sure you trust in the honesty and ability of anyone in your team you give it to. Appease your security teams by making sure all activity is logged and traceable. Don't be afraid to review the logs to be sure the UNIX admins are also behaving. Discourage your team from automatically logging into root. If you can do it from a less privileged user then you should.

Bibliography & References