Directory Services Management

Database Administration

Database Administration must work closely with key Application Management teams or departments– and in some organizations the functions may be combined or linked under a single management structure. Organizational options include:

• Database administration being performed by each Application Management teams for all the applications under its control
• A dedicated department, which manages all databases, regardless of type or application
• Several departments, each managing one type of database, regardless of what application they are part of.

Database Administration works to ensure the optimal performance, security and functionality of databases that they manage. Database Administrators typically have the following responsibilities:

• Creation and maintenance of database standards and policies
• Initial database design, creation, testing
• Management of the database availability and performance; resilience, sizing, capacity volumetrics etc.
• Resilience may require database replication, which would be the responsibility of Database Administration
• Ongoing administration of database objects: indexes, tables, views, constraints, sequences snapshots and stored procedures; page locks – to achieve optimum utilization
• The definition of triggers that will generate events, which in turn will alert database administrators of potential performance or integrity issues with the database
• Performing database housekeeping – the routine tasks that ensure that the databases are functioning optimally and securely, e.g. tuning, indexing, etc.
• Monitoring of usage; transaction volumes, response times, concurrency levels, etc.
• Generating reports. These could be reports based on the data in the database, or reports related to the performance and integrity of the database
• Identification, reporting and management of database security issues; audit trails and forensics
• Assistance in designing database backup, archiving and storage strategy
• Assistance in designing database alerts and event management
• Provision of third-level support for all database-related incidents.

A Directory Service is a specialized software application that manages information about the resources available on a network and which users have access to. It is the basis for providing access to those resources and for ensuring that unauthorized access is detected and prevented (see section 4.5 for detailed information on Access Management).

Directory Services views each resource as an object of the Directory Server and assigns it a name. Each name is linked to the resource’s network address, so that users don’t have to memorize confusing and complex addresses.

Directory Services is based on the OSI’s X.500 standards and commonly uses protocols such as Directory Access Protocol (DAP) or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). LDAP is used to support user credentials for application login and often includes internal and external user/customer data which is especially good for extranet call logging. Since LDAP is a critical operational tool, and generally kept up to date, it is also a good source of data and verification for the CMS.

Directory Services Management refers to the process that is used to manage Directory Services. Its activities include:

• Working as part of Service Design and Service Transition to ensure that new services are accessible and controlled when they are deployed
• Locating resources on a network (if these have not already been defined during Service Design)
• Tracking the status of those resources and providing the ability to manage those resources remotely
• Managing the rights of specific users or groups of users to access resources on a network
• Defining and maintaining naming conventions to be used for resources on a network
• Ensuring consistency of naming and access control on different networks in the organization
• Linking different Directory Services throughout the organization to form a distributed Directory Service, i.e. users will only see one logical set of network resources. This is called Distribution of Directory Services
• Monitoring Events on the Directory Services, such as unsuccessful attempts to access a resource, and taking the appropriate action where required
• Maintaining and updating the tools used to manage Directory Services.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23