Some rambling thoughts…
Oracle Database Administrator or Data Administrator?
Oracle continues to add features/functionality that makes the dutiful Database Administrator look a lot more like a Data Administrator. Some would argue it started with ASM since volume management was placed into the hands of the DBA. I’d argue it started with RMAN since that feature was one of the most significant, early features that took functionality away from the OS (and 3rd Party software) and put control in the hands of the DBA. After all, Oracle backups before RMAN had very little to do with Oracle (version 7 and earlier). I’d argue further that features like SecureFiles also make the Database Administrator more of a Data Administrator-or at least it seems it should make a DBA start to think like a “Data Administrator.” I think that trend will continue. I think that increases the value proposition of the Oracle DBA in the datacenter. I think it is a good thing.
DBAs might even find themselves performing lower-level storage operations such as creating OS-level logical drives. One such example would be HP Smart Array logical drives and the associated CLI is the hpacucli command on Linux.
I’ve been Meaning to Blog This One…
Quite some time ago I was fiddling with hpacucli. Yes, it was late at night. Yes, I was tired and crabby. Why would what’s happened in the following screen output make me crabby?
# hpacucli Array Configuration Utility CLI 7.15.19.0 Detecting Controllers...Done. Type "help" for a list of supported commands. Type "exit" to close the console. > ctrl all show status Error: Expecting "controller" in target. Type "help" for more information. > ctrl all show status Smart Array P400 in Slot 1 Controller Status: OK Cache Status: Not Configured Battery Status: OK
… the CLI doesn’t parse out leading whitespaces.
Maybe somebody, someday will be battling the hpacucli CLI and google their way to this post.
P.S., For goodness sake, please don’t go running to your local HP rep to tell him I’m bashing HP. Yes, HP Smart Array is great technology. I just don’t think whitespaces are as significant as hpacucli does 
LOL! I use a lot of HP storage and yes, hpacucli is totally brain dead. I hate how you have to use really abstract commands like “ctrl all show” and “set target ctrl slot=0″, before I can even just type a simple “show config”.
How about just making it so we can type “show config” and see the configuration and status of all attached controllers? Is that so hard? Usually every controller in a server will have at least one RAID volume hanging off of it.
Hpacucli is nice, because I can configure storage right from the OS, but it sure isn’t user friendly.