Database Administrators in 2023 (rambling)

If you are a database administrator in 2023, chances are that you are no longer just limited to thinking about what’s within the database. Identifying queries without indices, queries involved in deadlocks, and long-running queries is just one part of a DBA’s role. DBAs also have to think about (and hopefully never enact) how they are going to handle disasters. Continuous backups, replication, and providing the ability to quickly recover from hacks, server failures, and oopsies. Then, there’s security - encrypt the data so the shady-looking guy wearing a red hat doesn’t copy data off the hard drive and make off with it (not all villains wear hats).

DBAs now are dealing with an increasing number of organizations moving to DBaaS models. DBAs are engaged in trying to reduce costs by moving old data into archives, because a database running on somebody else’s server is typically billed by the hour or by the gigabyte.

Then, there are the DevOps folk who are advocating running the database within Kubernetes containers. Nothing wrong with that, but suddenly all the knobs and levers that we were able to operate are now behind a Kubernetes operator and the way to get to it is through a YAML file (RedHat makes this easier with a web UI in their OpenShift offering, BTW)… and any failure is going to involve an investigation by an interdepartmental cross-team task force.