Latest posts from Stephen Andert

  • A Postgres Primer for Oracle DBAs

    Stephen Andert

    "Who is in charge of this database?"

    Everyone on the DBA team shook their head and someone asked, "Is it Oracle or SQL server?"

    "I think it is called My SQL," the development manager said.

    During my 20 years as a database administrator, that is often how I ended up learning new RDBMS systems. As a result, I know first-hand how challenging it can be to learn another system when you get thrown into the deep end.

    New databases are added to a production environment in different ways. A new software application is purchased and the installation requires (or builds) a new database. A developer builds a prototype application for a business unit. When they start using it, it quickly turns into an important system and the database gets handed to the production administrators to maintain and fix when it breaks. Sometimes a company determines that they need to move to a standard database system and away from another. This can require upskilling a whole team of administrators to learn the new system.

    You might have been told, "Congratulations! You are now in charge of this database. I know you are an Oracle DBA, but PostgreSQL is almost the same thing so you should be able to handle it."

    Yes, they are both relational database management systems

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