Release 10.1A: OpenEdge Getting Started:
Database Essentials

Database administrator’s role

The specific tasks of the database administrator vary from company to company, but the role includes the following common responsibilities:

Providing predictable system availability — The administrator must understand the state of the system at any given moment, and where it is going in terms of resource utilization, to provide reliable system availability to users. This involves more than just knowing how the system works. It demands a deeper understanding of the trends in system utilization over time. It also requires an understanding of the business as a whole, which can only be provided by the management of the company. However, management will need your help in translating business plans into technology choices.
Providing a resilient system that can recover from disasters — The database administrator must look at potential problems and determine if and how these problems are corrected by the disaster recovery plan. It is important to document items that will not be addressed and those that will be addressed in the disaster recovery plan. The focus of the plan should be on recovery rather than the backup process; a backup is useless if you cannot recover it.
Providing reliable system performance — Users must know how long a task is going to take so they can plan around that expectation. The application plays a huge role in overall performance. However, it is the administrator’s job to ensure that tasks take the same time every day by taking advantage of system resources and eliminating bottlenecks.
Performing periodic maintenance — This task might only be performed once a year, but must also be taken into consideration in a complete administration plan. The small details of each task might change at the time of execution, but the overall process should be laid out in advance.