Moving to a proactive environment is easier. There are a number of hurdles that must be jumped, but when reached the benefits are worth the effort.
To start, a complete change in the philosophy for how a database is managed is needed. The role of the DBA needs to be revised. By focusing on such a new role, the move to a proactive environment will be so much easier.
Note
The new role of the DBA can be stated as:
To ensure that the database performs optimally, it is fully secured and can be recovered in the time of need.
To achieve this, the DBA can no longer be consigned to the back room, out of sight, and out of mind. The DBA has to become more actively involved.
The first part (ensure that the database performs optimally) is the most difficult to implement and involves a number of steps.
For starters, one has to throw out of the window the concept that performance tuning is an action that is done after the application is built. In the database of today, application and database tuning go hand in hand and must be factored in from the very beginning.
There are three critical inputs, which must be analyzed when an application is built. They are the user interface, performance, and the database. Each interacts with the other and each has equal weighting (see the next diagram).
Only with the advent of GUI application programming, has the issue of the user interface become apparent. An efficient GUI design means that the application is efficiently used, resulting in a reduction in database and network calls.
The design of the database must take into account the performance, and the user interface will also affect the design.
The following diagram shows the three most critical inputs for application development from the DBA viewpoint:
All three inputs into the application design require co-ordination by the DBAs. They have the knowledge on how the application works in the environment and are in the best position to control how the application integrates with the database.