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<div>I was informed last week by my manager that the DBAs is to have full root access to all Dev and Test servers in our environment. Naturally, I objected, but to no avail. I was unprepared to discuss the matter and hence every objection given was met with criticism and the DBAs responded by saying that they were professionals and knew what they were doing.
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<div>I'm sure many of you will agree with me that most DBAs do not understand the OS, let alone really understand what they're doing. They may know their database and know how much shared memory is required for optimal database performance, but I do not believe they truly understand how the OS handles memory or cpu resources.
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<div>I was also told that the DBAs will have the right to change kernel parameters, install patches/fixes/filesets, change permissions, etc. at will. If possible, they will give the admins advance notice, but they have the right to make the changes first and inform the admins afterwards.
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<div>This will make it difficult for me to keep the Dev, Test and Prod environments uniform if the DBAs have the right to make whatever changes they feel is necessary. </div>
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<div>In addition, I am to log everything they do. I am thinking of using sudosh. Has anyone used this tool? If so, what can you tell me about it? Is there anything else I might be able to use that works across all unix platforms (AIX, Solaris, Linux)?
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<div>Does anyone have any experience in their environment where the DBAs have full root access to Dev and Test servers? If so, what guidelines/policy, if any, do you have?</div>
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<div>I am not going to let this go. I am planning to challenge the decision with management and am hoping to reach a compromise that's acceptable to both the admins and DBAs. </div>
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<div>I feel the DBAs must be held accountable for the changes they make and should only make changes with the consent of everyone (that means the unix admins, management and the DBAs).</div>
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<div>I would appreciate it if people would share their experiences with me. In particular, I'd like to know what I should look out for, what worked, etc.</div>
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<div>Any advice would be most appreciated. </div>
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<div>Thank you,</div>
<div>Sharon</div>
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