Aptum Database Administration Program September 2019 Overview

SERVICE GUIDE

APTUM
DATABASE
ADMINISTRATION
PROGRAM

SEPTEMBER 2019

OVERVIEW

Aptum’s Database Administration (DBA) Program was designed to help our customers reduce the cost of normal operation and the risk of application and database downtime.
DBA Plan hours can be leveraged for all database-related activities detailed within this document, up to the allocation purchased. If you require more hours than are purchased in a plan for a given month, any excess will be billed on an hourly basis at the standard Database Administration rate.
Customers can work with Aptum’s Solutions Engineers and Certified Database Administrators to obtain assistance with everything from database engine configuration, performance optimization, clustering administration, and replication administration.
Included Database Platforms:
Microsoft SQL Server
To help you achieve your performance goals, we offer our DBA plans in block-hour increments:
MySQL/MariaDB/Percona
4 hours* 8 hours* 12 hours* 20 hours*

* Hours are monthly and renew at the 1st of each calendar month and do not roll over. Overage rates are applicable only after block hours are consumed. All hours are applicable to the entire solution not per server.

THE NEED FOR DATABASE ADMINISTRATION

Most applications—especially those that support enterprise processes enable e-commerce, or facilitate collaboration—are database-intensive and demand optimal performance from the database.

Applications and database queries may utilize very lean and elegant code, but the structure and configuration of your databases can be a detriment to high performance. There are dozens, sometimes hundreds, of configuration settings that need to be optimally tuned to enhance database performance.

When the database is installed, most configuration defaults are applied automatically. Some customization, through various tools, allows users to optimally tune underlying functionality to drive high levels of performance, reliability, and efficiencies. This is where expertise is required, not only to understand the products themselves, but the underlying technologies like cache management, disk and memory allocation, server usage, storage and recovery techniques, and optimal structure and design.

For these technologies, companies either accept the defaults — and the downsides associated with them — or hire expensive in-house database administrators to examine, architect and structure the database so it’s optimized for the deployment environment including critical applications.

2www.aptum.com

SERVICE GUIDE: APTUM DATABASE ADMINISTRATION PROGRAM

THE SOLUTION

Aptum provides the expertise needed to optimize databases through our DBA Program at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house Microsoft SQL or MySQL certified DBA’s. The DBA Program assigns a highly experienced database administrator to work directly with you to identify performance improvement options with your database solution.

BENEFITS

Performance Boost

Reduce Risk

Enjoy robust performance from your database. We’ll optimize your database infrastructure, identify query improvements, and implement smart data storage strategies.
Regular infrastructure and database maintenance/tuning helps to prevent risk of performance degradation or failure to business-critical applications.

Lower Infrastructure Costs

Precisely Tuned Access

Reduce hardware and bandwidth costs by tightly tuning the integration of data, servers, storage and network.
Analyze and optimize the structure and syntax of your data queries to optimize their performance and reduce duplicated and unnecessary steps.

AVAILABLE SERVICES:

Database Engine Support

Database Administration

High Availability Solution

•••

Hardware design

•

Database implementation

•

•••
Database HA-DR implementation Database HA-DR troubleshooting Database HA-DR monitoring Database HA-DR upgrading

Database engine installation

Database management and

troubleshooting
Database engine management and

troubleshooting

•

Database security and vulnerability

review

•

Database engine patch installation

(on request)

•

••
Database schema changes
••
Database engine monitoring Connectivity support
Database export and import Database user account management

3www.aptum.com

DBA PROGRAM SERVICES

Health Check and Review — Aptum will perform an initial 90-day

evaluation of the database solution, providing recommendations to the client on performance improvements. Some examples of the types of metrics interrogated during the review are as follows:

Database Administration

Installation/Conﬁguration — Aptum will follow best practice

and standardization via setup questionnaires for both MS SQL Server on Windows Server and MySQL/MariaDB/Percona on Linux, where MS SQL is purchased from Aptum. The installation including HA-DR installation and configuration.
••
Physical disk I/O statistics Query execution time (not available on MySQL/ MariaDB/Percona databases)

Database Maintenance Plan — Aptum will create a maintenance

plan including automated backups/index optimize, dbcc and scheduling non-automated maintenance tasks. Aptum will also assist in creating maintenance plans for existing databases on request, but quality may be limited by the design of the existing database. Aptum recommends that Managed Tivoli backups be combined with local database dumps to ensure all data is recoverable.
••••
CPU use Memory use Table locking statistics Query cache hits
Subsequent quarterly reviews of database performance and maintenance are available, upon request, at no additional cost.

Database Patch Management — Database vendors occasionally

release patches to fix specific bugs. These patches are scheduled and installed upon request.

MS SQL Server Support

Security Hardening Review — Aptum takes database security

very seriously. In addition to standard MS SQL Server default security features, we can provide the following advanced functions:

Database User Account Management — Aptum will add users

and give best-practice advice on user permissions on request. In addition, Aptum will update passwords and manage the user accounts upon request.
••••
Support for Transparent Database Encryption (TDE) Support for Transport Layer Security (TLS) Support for Always On encryption

Database Recovery/Restore from Backup/Logs — Aptum can

recover a database environment providing a robust backup strategy has been implemented as per our guidance and the maintenance plans have not been altered. Aptum’s managed backup product is strongly suggested as this provides a greater degree of protection by storing the backups securely in dedicated backup infrastructure. We work with storage and backup engineers to configure and manage supported native backup technologies and our backup agents.
Carry out security review for best practice

Advanced Performance Management — Aptum can provide

advanced database performance tuning and optimization, including: •••
SQL tuning opportunity Improve query execution plans Advise on defensive TSQL code writing

4www.aptum.com

Recovering from a Disaster — In the event of data corruption

or human error modification, Aptum can provide advanced recovery services including:

MySQL Server Support

MySQL Replication Support/Clustering — Aptum will set up,

manage and monitor replication including the following:
•

••
Point in time database recovery

•

Geo-distributed databases with Galera multi-master replication

(Percona, MariaDB)
Repair system database corrupted/lost files Reduce data loss whenever possible
•

•
Scalability with replication (Master/Slave)

Specialized Maintenance Plans — Aptum can provide custom

tailored scripts for various tasks including:
High availability with pacemaker (Active/Passive failover)
In instances where replication fails or exceeds performance thresholds, customers will be contacted, and assistance will be provided in returning the replication solution to within performance thresholds.

•

Data movement including BCP for complex requirements such as

data migration

•

Develop, deploy, and support SSIS ETL package for data feed

Performance Tuning & Optimization — Aptum can provide
Failover Management and Recovery Rehearsal — Where SQL

Server Always On HA-DR solution is deployed, we help to develop a procedure to switchover between Prod and DR sites during failure and test events. advanced database performance tuning and optimization, including: •••••
Analysis of slow queries Optimizing queries and indexes MySQL Server configuration and tuning Database and table analysis MySQL Security
Reporting Service — Configure reporting services based on customer requirements.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Activities within this section may be covered under the DBA plans where the scope is small enough to fit within the allocation of hours on the account. For larger engagements, our team may recommend a Professional Services project be scoped.

Script Writing/Automation:

•••
Restore support database from production environment on daily basis Develop TSQL scripts for data movement including BCP and Linked Server Develop, deploy, and support SSIS ETL package for data feed

Migrations

••
Data migrations between databases managed by Aptum Data imports from external database to database managed by Aptum

5www.aptum.com

DBA PROGRAM

Supported Databases and Operating Systems

MySQL

Microsoft SQL

Versions:

•••
MySQL 5.1, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7 Percona 5.5, 5.6, 5.7

•

MS SQL 2008R2/2012/2014/2016

- Windows Server 2008/2012/2016

MariaDB 5.5, 10.0, 10.1, 10.2

Editions:

•

MS SQL Web/Express/Standard/Enterprise

Operating Systems:

••
RHEL 5, 6, 7 Centos 6, 7
Services/Features: ••
Always On/Mirroring/Replication/Log Shipping/Snapshot SSIS/SSRS/SSAS/TDE/TLS/In-Memory

LIMITATIONS

Unless otherwise agreed, DBA plans have a term of a minimum of 3 months. Requirement for replication with MySQL is MySQL 5.1 on RHEL 6. Database migrations are not included. Migrations will be handled as professional services/ad-hoc fees. DBA plans do not include custom coding or rewriting of database or application code. DBA plans do not include any database development. Aptum will aid with design elements only. Plan size section limits the services available before overage fees apply. DBA plans do not include 3rd party software, plug-in, or drivers that connect to a customer database. Database Administration services are available during business hours (Eastern & GMT time zones). Our support team provides 24/7/365 coverage to help investigate in the event of any service level problems.

6www.aptum.com

CUSTOMER RESPONSIBILITIES

Customers must purchase and have Aptum-installed database application.
Single function database servers are highly recommended. Aptum will not limit database instances per server; however, the customer must not exceed the available system resources. (Clusters are limited to approved number of instances.)
Select an appropriately sized plan. DBA hours are used to perform related maintenance activities and for incident/service request handling.
Notify Aptum via ticket of any changes to email address or contact

information.

Aptum support must have access to customer servers for routine

maintenance tasks.
Database replication customers should not write to slave as

replication will fail.

Except where otherwise stated, Aptum will help with database issues

on a per request basis.
Database replication does not include automatic failover, customer

participation is needed.

Customers must respond promptly to a ticket created for database-

related issues to ensure the health of the database environment.

Customers are responsible for selecting an appropriate backup solution. Aptum can provide guidance as a subscription to a managed backup service is highly encouraged.

APTUM RESPONSIBILITIES

Aptum will provide 24/7 monitoring of the Database instance for service availability and failover. If a Database service stops responding or the cluster fails over, the Aptum team will investigate the cause and follow up by creating a ticket. If the customer needs to take action to resolve, the support team will attempt to contact the customer to seek final resolution.

Aptum Database Administrators will be available upon request for database consultation services during business hours. The Database Administrators will be able to perform a review and provide a performance analysis for the solution, making recommendations to create a robust database solution.

HOW TO OPEN AN ONLINE TICKET

1. Go to https://support.aptum.com/ and enter your client ID and password into the login box. 2. Choose the support tab at the top of the page and a list of open and closed tickets should display. 3. Choose “request support” in the upper left-hand corner and fill out the requested information.

This information is current as of November 2017 and is subject to change at any time. All Aptum managed services are subject to Aptum terms of service located at

http://www.aptum.com/legal

7www.aptum.com

LEARN HOW APTUM CAN UNLOCK THE POTENTIAL OF YOUR DATA INFRASTRUCTURE.

Visit www.aptum.com or email [email protected]

ABOUT APTUM TECHNOLOGIES

Aptum Technologies enables customers to unlock the potential of their data infrastructure to drive tangible business outcomes and maximize the value of their technology investments. Aptum’s Data Center, Cloud, Hosting and Connectivity solutions, underpinned with expert Managed and Professional Services, offer genuine choice and adaptability combined with international reach spanning North America, Latin America and Europe. In Canada, through its Fiber business, Aptum is the first neutral host provider of turnkey small cell connectivity, augmenting an extensive metro network across Toronto and Montreal. Aptum is a portfolio company of Digital Colony, a global investment firm dedicated to strategic opportunities in digital infrastructure. For more information, visit www.aptum.com.

www.aptum.com