Taking Ansible works having taken place FEB & MAR 2021 further:

• Regarding Clusterware:
  • Switched from ASMLib to ASM Filter Driver (ASMFD) when it comes to ASM instances
  • Automated the deployment of Real Application Clusters? HAS & CRS stacks (Slackware 14.2- & Windows 10-hosted VirtualBox VMs.), (Leveraging Bind for local authoritative DNS services.), (Local SCANs.)
• Deployment automation encompasses:
  • 21c release multitenant standalone database products
  • 21c CDBs and PDBs
  • Database client products
  • Fast-start failover Data Guard topologies
  • TDE-encrypted databases via united-mode wallet configuration
  • TLS self-signed certificates for mTLS DN matching-based authentication (all products)
• Management automation encompasses:
  • RMAN-driven active database duplications
  • RMAN- & DGMGRL-driven Data Guard topology deployments
  • PDB unplug/ relocation/ re-plug operations
  • Mass rebuild of global and local inventories
  • OPatch mass updates
  • Release Update & Release Update Revision apply

Notes:

• Read-Only Oracle Homes as per 21c requirement
• Vaulted passwords (Ansible)
• Full RSA key-based SSH equivalence
• Fully abstracted file system item locations through OMF (Oracle Managed Files)

As of August 2023:

• Developing series of Python-based Ansible collections/ modules to shrink payload footprint
• Will address full requirement and specification checks and (en)force clear rational implementation standards platform-wise

DB2 -to- Oracle 19c database migration of Temenos Transact (T24) archive tables

• Due to:
  • Temenos' end-of-support for IBM DB2
  • Temenos Transact r10 -to- r21 upgrade
• Advisory as to ways per which current progress can be improved:
  • Storage sub-system
  • Korn and bash scripting techniques
  • DB2 export and SQL*Loader loading techniques
  • Oracle database instance capacity/ resource allocation options/ rationale (big table caching, partitioning and sub-partitioning ...)
• Technical context:
  • ~700 million rows
  • DB2 export and SQL*Loader utilities in either LLS or ? terminated by ? LOBFILE mode
  • Range, list and hash partitioning and sub-partitioning at Oracle end
  • LOB and XMLtype data types at play
  • Parallelized korn and bash scripting

For addressing purported networking issues negatively impacting Data Guard replication and RMAN backups in an ExaC@C environment:

• Conducted a one-hour workshop/ presentation having introduced stakeholders to:
  • A protocol per which an overall network assessment could take place, and the required network bandwidth for duly supporting redo transfers between DG nodes could be calculated (respectively documented by MOS Notes #2064368.1 and #736755.1)
  • The types of network traffic the underlying networking infrastructure should support preferably in a segregated fashion, and the throughputs ExaC@C appliances are able to implement.
• Suggested that the customer submit a number of SQL statements so as to fetch AWR and RMAN metrics for analysis (respectively from CDB_HIST_% and RMAN catalog views)
• Analysis having revealed an abnormally-high amount of redo getting shipped from DG-replicated instances in TB-per-interval orders of magnitude
• Therefore advised to dedicate Data Guard to optimized OLTP workloads, only (as opposed to non-random/ well-controlled ETL-based OLAP systems)

Blogging revolving around the Database product extended to its advanced security features:

• Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)
• OKV (Oracle Key Vault)
• Unified Auditing
• Data Redaction
• ...

Reporting automation of security indicators generated by the DBSAT support tool (DataBase Security Assessment Tool). Reporting leveraging dependency-less vbs scripting, which:

• Parses the generated DBSAT Excel worksheet using the Ms Excel object model
• Optionally connects to assessed database via the automated install/ removal of the Oracle Instant Client and its embedded ODBC drivers so as to fetch additional configuration information
• Builds up a full-fledged indexed/ templated RAG Ms Word document using CSS/ HTML

Discovery work pertaining to Exadata Cloud@Customer Database Machines:

• Documentation federation
• Exadata-related books reading
• Analysis of field engineering materials such as internal config- and check-lists
• Production of network topology- and hardware-centered schematics (DB and cell server back panels, Cisco RoCE and management switches arrangement...)
• Admin-managed to policy-managed clustered database conversion testing
• Exawatcher archives fetched consolidation
• Scheduled jobs and systemd services inventory
• Exadata & Cell Servers-centered database dynamic view querying
• ...

Having had access to an ExaC@C lab environment, scripted the following in bash (assembled in one convenient support package):

• Automated database instance discovery in terms of names, owning Unix groups and logins, supplementary groups, Oracle product home locations ...
• Automated .profile file generation on a per database instance basis (i.e. automated discovery of the Unix process environments under which instances run)
• Automated O/S platform memory configuration discovery in terms of RAM allocation, usage, and huge pages
• Automated Linux kernel tunable configuration gathering for reconciliation against Oracle requirements. (The same applying to so-called shell limits).
• Built-up a set of SQL statements conveniently submittable through wrapped SQL*Plus calls generating readable tabbed Excel data (cell servers, cell disks, ASM disks and disk groups, ASM consumers, database instance initialization parameters ...)

Oracle Database & Clusterware (ASM) 19c on Oracle Linux 7.9 and IBM PowerHA SystemMirror w/ Hyperswap. System architecture, implementation prototyping, technical counselling/ documentation.

• Context
  • Migration of 59 business applications
  • Agile PM methodology
  • Technical (non-exhaustive)
    • Clusterware/ ASM-hosted standalone 19c Oracle database instances
    • Incrementally-updated backup copies leveraging Fast Recovery Areas
    • Non-HADR active/ passive HyperSwap-enabled PowerHA SystemMirror stretched clusters
    • ONTAP 9 and NetApp filers, exposing NTFS security-style file systems via SMB and NFSv3. Implicit user name mapping backed by LDAP-based (Ms AD) user principal provisioning (including Oracle Unix logins).
• PM Assistance
  • Counseled RBC application custodians, IBM project managers as well as delivery teams regarding the following technologies/ methods and their proper implementation:
    • Oracle Databases
    • Database data migrations
    • PowerHA SystemMirror
    • NetApp's ONTAP
  • In that regard, liaised/ worked with the following delivery teams/ competencies
    • Oracle DBAs
    • Unix engineers
    • SAN & NAS engineers
    • Directory & IAM engineers
  • Established the so-called « Oracle IWS » (Integration Work Sheet), for the purpose of facilitating the collection of requirements / specifications having to drive the provision of Oracle Databases.
• Technical Documentation:
  • Established convention, requirement, as well as specification documentation regarding the provision of Oracle Database services (similarly to what was done for the CJUE)
  • With regard to specifications, proposed a Bronze/ Silver/ Gold offering
• Prototyping & Automation:
  • Prototyped, validated and documented the platform-agnostic, standardized implementation of The Oracle Clusterware/ Database stack using Ansible 2.9 on Oracle Linux 7.9 running as VirtualBox VMs on 64-bit Slackware Current
  • Also seized this opportunity to extend platform-agnostic Ansible automation processes to Oracle Linux 7.9 settings (kernel parameters via sysctl, shell limits, huge pages)
  • This endeavor resulted in the conception of a standardized, near-procedural Ansible playbook framework. Able, for example, to automate the collection and time-stamped naming of compressed log files
  • Extended to the automation of the following operations:
    • Database refreshes through RMAN-driven over-the-network duplications
    • ?Database backups

Assistance to State Street with regards to the delivery of an 8-node, two-cluster HPE Simplivity infrastructure platform aimed at substituting for legacy VMware ESXi 5.5-based hypervisors

• Such HPE Simplivity infrastructure having had to eventually host a set of 100+ migrated virtual machines, supporting business applications used by the Luxembourg branch of State Street Bank International GmbH
• Whose operation fell under IBM GTS Luxembourg's responsibility
• Change order abstract:
  • Coordinate and manage the technical activities of IBM's personnel
  • Establish and maintain communications through the SSC Project Manager
  • Assist the SSC Project Manager prepare and maintain the project plan which lists the activities, tasks, assignments, milestones and estimates for performance
  • Measure, track and evaluate progress against the project plan
  • Resolve deviations from the project plan with the SSC Project Manager
  • Conduct regularly scheduled meetings, as necessary, with the SSC project team to review project status
  • Prepare standard Status Reports through project duration for presentation to SSC Project Focal
• Liaised with Ireland- and India-based State Street project management and technical lead, so as to ensure jointly-driven, consensus-based technical decision making as regards OmniStack releases, network and Simplivity topologies
• Maintained required communication channels with IBM GTS India, the support of whom got obtained as regards proper engagement of HPE's support from a pure contractual perspective.
• Liaised with IBM GTS Luxembourg VMware/ Windows delivery teams involved in the operation/ management/ maintenance of State Street Luxembourg's virtualized environments
• Automated the generation of PDF-formatted Project Management Products for metrics publishing, including forecasts and rolling figures aggregated on a per billing code, per competency center basis
• Having allowed State Street Project/Program Management to get regularly updated so as to meet contracted Project Management requirements in that regard

Managed the « Golden Records » project, and enabled Éditus S.A. to consolidate legal information pertaining to commercial entities registered under the LBR (Luxembourg Business Registers), and keeping that data up-to-date on a daily basis.

• (on request) maintains Luxembourg's preferred directories when it comes to white and yellow pages.
• Prior to seeing my employer awarded the underlying contract and kicking-off the project, tendered the offer in a successful bidding effort, which required acquiring knowledge about the Microsoft BI suite of technologies (mainly: Ms SQL Server and its Integration Services).
• Therefore:
  • First enquired about the following technologies by examining their corresponding documentation available under (URL on request)
    • SQL Server 2017 (SS)
    • SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS)
    • SS Management Studio (SSMS)
    • SSIS Designer
    • PowerBI Desktop
  • Then bade/managed the following
    • Creation of a named database instance (« GREC: » the Golden Records)
    • Implementation of the SSIS catalog (« SSISDB » database) in Side-By-Side mode
    • Deployment of SSIS integration packages as per the project deployment model
    • Scheduling of custom execute tasks when it came to crawling/scrapping the LBR website to CSV and XML files, which triggered ...
    • ... A Python-based development that leveraged the Selenium, Beautiful Soup, and LXML libraries, respectively dedicated to programmatically invoking and manipulating Google Chrome, scrapping static web contents, and parsing/writing XML-formatted data
• Loading the « Golden Records » consisted in:
  • Crawling appropriate portals of the LBR website (URL on request) so as to fetch legal entity information by either downloading files or scrapping publicly-accessible content
  • Formatting these contents as Microsoft SSIS-exploitable XML files
  • Reconciling that data with current database contents daily
  • Having these XML files loaded into a Microsoft SQL Server database through SQL Server's Integration Services (SSIS)

Managed the relocation of Inowai Group S.A.'s IT infrastructure to their new head offices, which required coordination with three third parties (Inowai's internet service provider, the relocation company, and the printer rental service provider). In numbers:

• 50 desktop environments exploiting Microsoft Azure services (O365 & Exchange Online)
• 6 intermediate Fortinet network systems (4 switches, 2 routers)

Provided level 2 & 3 support for customers of IBM Luxembourg Sàrl regarding operations of:

• Oracle 11gR2 and 12cR1 RDBMSes on AIX, Linux and Windows operating environments (level 2 & 3)
• Ms SQL Server 2008 R2, 2012 and 2016 databases (level 2).
• SAP SQL Anywhere 17 databases on Linux and Windows operating environments (level 2)

Operations conducted primarily in support for a large Kirchberg-based financial institution in coordination with India-based teams.

Activities took place using a variety of tools.

• Scheduling and storage management:
  • BMC CONTROL-M
  • IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
  • User-managed.
• Working environment:
  • IBM's Red Hat Linux 7-based KVM (Windows 7 VM)
  • Cross-firewall direct network connection to customer platforms via IBM's GSNI through OpenText SOCKS Client
  • IIS/ASP-, Korn, VBS-based scripting.

Level 2 & 3 support activities included:

• Database copies/refreshes via either file copy, restore/recovery, and schema dumps (i.e. export/import)
• Database software releases
• Compliancy (deviation assessment/ correction based on IBM Tivoli Security Compliance Manager reports)
• Performance troubleshooting (Oracle Databases)
• Session tracing
• AWR/ASH report generation
• Automated reporting of Oracle tablespace capacities, database account privilege and ownership

Oracle Database-related activities leveraged the development of a self-authored suite of IIS/ASP-Based tools that automate the generation of a variety of reports/routines, remotely (i.e. in such a manner that does away with the requirement of having to get a handle on the platform where the managed databases sit).

Examples:

• Word or .pdf documents embedding pure-text and/or graphical GnuPlot-based graphs
• Operation SQL / Bash scripts.

Please see earlier experience at the Court of Justice of the European Union for examples of, for further examples, AWR reports.

This suite, whose purpose consists in getting around the possible unavailability of management tools such as OEM, Toad for Oracle... is installed locally to the DBA's Windows workstation, and therefore requires no installation other than of a local Oracle Client, alongside local Microsoft II Services.

As a member of the ICTIM (Infrastructure Management) business function, held the position of Oracle DBA (development through production environments)

• Cleansed encountered Oracle implementation disorder following assessment of installed database platform/ stock base
  • Database product home installation standardization
  • Management and scheduling centralization
  • Database schema migrations/consolidations
• Abstracted database service presentation via implementation of load-balanced Oracle Connection Manager listeners
• Brought production, pre-production, and development databases to 24/7 service availability
• Centralized catalog-based RMAN backup management/scheduling
• Other activities included:
  • Database Product Home installation and patching
    • Appropriate SunOS Resource Control Facility and ZFS settings enforcement
    • Implementation of relevant Oracle Linux kernel parameterizations and resource limits
    • PSU/CPU patching via OPatch and Datapatch
  • Database instantiation
    • Load of base options only
    • Oracle Text, XML DB, Spatial installation on demand
    • Enforcement of adequate direct/non-direct asynchronous I/O settings for UFS, ZFS, and ext4 file systems
    • Unified auditing management for 12cR1 releases
  • Capacity reporting of AWR and non-AWR indicators (ad-hoc and automated dashboarding)
    • 400+ AWR and non-AWR tabbed report topics covered
    • 40+ AWR GnuPlot-based graphical reports can be generated on-the-fly with no prior data consolidation
    • AWR reports are based on statements leveraging analytics functions
    • Examples:
      • ASH ? Most active sessions (by CPU & wait counts)
      • ASH ? Most active sessions (top statements by elapsed time & cost)
      • Memory advisors ? Memory/SGA Target advice
      • System metrics ? Commit & Rollback average
      • System metrics ? O/S load, instance & O/S CPU usage maximums
      • System statistics ? File I/O wait & service time
      • System statistics ? User calls & transaction rate
      • RMAN ? Job throughputs
      • Online Redo ? Daily & hourly switches
      • Online Redo ? Database work.
      • ...
  • Database operations.
    • Database intra-landscape copies as well as duplications (RMAN-based as well as user-managed)
    • Inter- and intra-release database migrations/upgrades (8.1.5 ?> 9iR2, 10gR2 ?> 11gR2)
  • Advisory service to the AM (Application Management) business function for resolution of database-related, application-driven bottlenecks
    • SQL tuning sets-based statement profiling
    • Index creation advisory via SQL Access Advisor
  • Database instance bottleneck assessment via:
    • Confio's Ignite for Oracle (www.confio.com. Now known as Solarwinds
    • AWR-based ADDM, ASH and GnuPlot reports
  • System-administration related:
    • File system cleanup, consisting of archival, compression, and/or removal of Oracle-related items, such as old distributions, log and trace files
    • Oracle-related Unix login environments implementation rationalization
    • RSA-based ssh equivalence establishment/maintenance
    • 64-bit Oracle and Slackware Linux installation/optimization (O/S shrinkage in terms of packages as well as daemons).

As a member of the ICTIM (Infrastructure Management) business function, also intermittently held the position of:

• A technical leader (backend and middleware systems)
  • Decision making/guidance
  • Issue clarification
  • Technical policy establishment/implementation.
• The privileged technical contact for the AM (Application Management) business function
  • Within the context of projects
  • ?When major AM-initiated RFCs arise and require either examination and/or IM coordination upon implementation

Prototype implementation: ASM-driven and ext4 file system-based Oracle 11gR2/ 12cR1 databases on 64-bit Oracle Linux 6.5 and VMware ESXi 5.5

Data Guard 12c-enabled topologies in Maximum Performance Mode and Real-Type Apply

As part of a project that retained VMware's ESXi hypervisor as the replacement platform for aging SPARC-based Oracle SunOS 5.10 global and local zones:

• Examined candidate virtualization solutions:
  • Oracle VM 3.2.
  • VMware ESXi 5.5.
  • CPU and memory resources allocation/ reservation
  • Clustering mechanisms
  • Storage and networking
• Examined retained FAST (Fully Automated Storage Tiering) storage platform (EMC VNX 5500 series appliances)
  • FAST VPs
  • FAST Cache
  • Tiering policies
  • Pool LUNs
• Implemented ASM-driven as well as ext4 file system-based Oracle 11gR2/ 12cR1 databases on retained virtualized O/S platform (64-bit Oracle Linux)
  • 64-bit Oracle Linux 6.5 installation and scripted configuration/tuning
  • Package set shrinkage
  • Huge pages and transparent huge pages management
  • Kernel limits
  • UEK kernel (ASMlib drivers) selection for Clusterware
  • RedHat compatible kernel otherwise
• Oracle Clusterware and Database 11gR2/12cR1 products scripted installation/ configuration
  • Response files
  • File system layout
• Oracle ASM instance and disk group parameterization, management
• Oracle Database scripted configuration/instantiation
  • Light footprint (minimal set of database options)
  • Automatic SGA/PGA Memory Management enabled (huge pages requirement)
  • Automatic Memory Management disabled
• VMware template and virtual machine management
  • Reserved CPU and memory resources
  • Deployable 64-bit Oracle Linux 6.5 image shipping pre-installed Clusterware and Database products

As a member of the ICTIM (Infrastructure Management) business function, also assumed the position of Apache HTTPd & Tomcat administrator

• Established and implemented Tomcat installation best practices
  • JVM process isolation on a per-Unix basis
  • Oracle Instant Client coupling
  • Partition of ${CATALINA_HOME} & ${CATALINA_BASE} folder trees
  • Scripted deployment and bounce procedures
  • Ensured ${CATALINA_BASE} visibility to AM business function in a setgid-based restricted fashion in higher-level environments and via RBAC/pfexec on SunOS 5.10.
• Load balanced Tomcat containers
  • Port- and name-based virtual hosting management of forwarded AJP requests
  • Sessionless load balancing via mod_jk
  • ?Mod_rewrite usage