Unix for Oracle DBAs

The Unix for Oracle DBAs Pocket Reference puts within easy reach the commands that Oracle database administrators need most when operating in a Unix environment. If you are an Oracle DBA moving to Unix from another environment such as Windows NT or IBM Mainframe, you know that these commands are far different from those covered in most beginning Unix books. To jump start your learning process, Don Burleson has gathered together in this succinct book the Unix commands he most often uses when managing Oracle databases. You'll be able to reach into your pocket for the answer when you need to know how to:

• Display all Unix components related to Oracle, identify the top CPU consumers on your server, and even kill processes when necessary
• Stack Unix commands into powerful scripts that can perform vital DBA functions
• Monitor Unix filesystems, and automatically manage your trace files, dump files, and archived redo log files
• Use essential server monitoring commands such as top, sar, and vmstat

And there's much more between these covers. If you need to get up to speed with Oracle on Unix, and quickly, this book is for you.

The Unix for Oracle DBAs Pocket Reference has a remarkably tight focus. It's about making Oracle database management systems run optimally under various Unix operating systems, including HP-UX, Sun Solaris, and IBM AIX (there's also some specialized coverage of IRIX and DEC Unix). Author Donald Burleson assumes readers know how to get around the Unix command shell, and that they're quite familiar with Oracle database administration. To put it simply, to get the most out of this book, you should already know what you want to do, and need only to be told concisely how to do it. This book is ideal for people moving from Oracle administration under Windows to the same job under Unix.

As a byproduct of its careful focus, the book is tiny. It almost fits in a shirt pocket, and is about as thick as a standard pencil. A typical entry documents a single command (there are separate entries for different operating systems when commands differ), and includes a bit of text followed by the relevant command and a listing of typical output. Utility scripts with Oracle relevance are listed with minimal comments. This isn't traditional man-page-style Unix documentation, but rather advice on how to accomplish various Oracle goals inside Unix. Most readers will likely turn first to the index to find the entries that they need. --David Wall

Topics covered: Making Oracle database management systems run well under HP-UX, Sun Solaris, IBM AIX, IRIX, and DEC Unix. Ways of examining and adjusting Oracle's use of processes, memory, processor cycles, files, disk resources, and other aspects of the Unix system. Information is presented in recipes, in type-this-to-do-that format.