The following document outlines the requirements and support overview followed by the Database Systems group for all systems which the team supports.

Prerequisites:

The following list details the prerequisites that must be met for any environment that the Database Systems group supports. Any exceptions to the prerequisites must be approved by the Database Systems group manager.

1. The Database group will only manage systems whose OS management is maintained by IT Services Data Center Services.
2. The database must be initially installed and setup by the Database Systems group. The team will not take over support for systems built by other groups.
3. The Database must be running one of the teams supported software technologies (Oracle/SQL Server/MySQL).
4. Administrator rights within the database are limited to the Database Systems group.
5. Any request that indicates it will contain confidential data as identified in University Human Resource Policy 601 will be referred to the IT Services Security team.
6. The database software is properly licensed. (The licensing must meet current site license agreements.)
7. Application teams should follow all IT Services policies related to confidential data (where applicable).  http://its.uchicago.edu/guidelines-secure-management-it-infrastructure-systems-process-transmit-or-store-confidential/
8. Management of the database by the Database Systems group must follow current IT Services change control policies.
9. Database servers are single use systems and do not run components that are unrelated to the service which is supported by the database. Exceptions to this prerequisite will require sign off from the IT Security team when a system is to also store confidential data.
10. All non-production work must be scheduled during the standard business day.

MySQL specific prerequisites:

1. All MySQL databases supported by the group run on shared servers hosted by the Database team. The Database Systems group does not support MySQL on other servers.
2. Access is not allowed to the servers running the hosted MySQL databases.
3. All systems running MySQL 5.6 and above must follow the standard database software patching policy.
4. The Database Systems group has standardized on the Red Hat Operating system. All new systems must match this standard.
5. All systems must follow the current MySQL software policy. A copy of this document can be provided upon request.

Oracle specific prerequisites:

1. The Database Systems group has standardized on the Red Hat Operating system. All new systems must match this standard.
2. All systems must follow the current Oracle software policy. A copy of this document can be provided upon request.

SQL Server specific prerequisites:

1. All systems must follow the current SQL Server software policy. A copy of this document can be provided upon request.

Support outline and overview:

The following list outlines the responsibilities and general support policies of the Database Systems Group:

1. Installation of supported database software according to group software policies. Software will be installed based on application version requirements with sign off from Database Systems Group manager. If no application version requirements exist, the database team will install the latest supported version according to team standards. Any database software components not installed based on current standards will be installed based on request.
2. Database software upgrades will be performed at the request of the application team, or in an effort to keep database software current with the existing group policies.
3. Creation of databases according to current group standards.  A copy of the current standards document can be provided upon request.
4. Installation and configuration of Database monitoring software according to group standards.
5. Database availability and error monitoring according to existing database technology standards.  All availability alerts will be sent to team email lists and to on-call for production systems.
6. Database team will assist with changes to the data model via application installs or code deployments.
7. Database backups will be configured and monitored according to current backup standards. Please see the latest standards documentation for details.
8. Application of database software patches during schedule maintenance windows. The Database systems group will maintain policies related to patching database software according to vendor recommendations.
9. Database team will help troubleshoot database issues or work on service requests within the 8:30am to 5:00pm Business day window.  All requests should be made via email to the Database Systems email lists or through Service Now.  The DBA group staff should be expected to respond no later than 24hours after the email has been received. Staff availability should not be expected outside of Business day window for non-production work.
10. Database team will open support tickets with database software vendor for core software product.
11. Database staff will provide representation and support for project implementations.  This includes the database portion of requirements gathering, planning, attending project meetings, and supporting the database during project life cycle.
12. Issue tracking with internal ticketing system (ServiceNow) to track issues and requests from initialization to resolution.
13. Assist with tuning the database performance via the database setup and configuration parameters.
14. Provide continuous 24×7 database support for issues that affect database availability. Staff on call list will be made available so that staff can be contacted directly to support critical process and availability issues.
15. Maintenance work can be scheduled for production systems during the standard off-hours maintenance windows of 6:00am to 8:00am on Wednesdays, or 7:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. on Sundays.
16. Will process all production changes made by the Database team through ITSs Change Advisory Board.
17. Perform root cause analysis reviews for any issues that affect system availability and are determined to be from the core database product.
18. Assist with diagnosing performance issues with SQL statements and offer suggestions at improving the performance where possible.
19. Will work with Application teams and other support groups to try and determine performance bottlenecks and possible solutions to those issues.