PeopleSoft for the Oracle DBA

PeopleSoft for the Oracle DBA (2nd Edition)

The second edition of PeopleSoft for the Oracle DBA was published by Apress in February 2012.  It is still relevant, and I publish new material on the PeopleSoft DBA Blog.

This book is a survival guide for the Oracle DBA, or any other technician, who is charged with responsibility for the configuration, administration, and performance of a PeopleSoft ERP system. The database is at the core of any ERP system, but a DBA must also understand how the PeopleSoft application is using the database, and how our parts of the PeopleSoft architecture interact with the database. The book:

  • Describes the PeopleSoft technical architecture and how it relates to the Oracle database.
  • Demonstrates how to effectively implement common Oracle database administration techniques and strategies (indexing, DDL, managing tablespaces, and so on) specifically for a PeopleSoft system, and using the PeopleSoft toolset
  • Shows how to analyze application activity, and obtain the critical data that will allow you to track down the causes of poor performance.
  • Provides essential details on the configuration and tuning of the Tuxedo application server that works with the database

This book is a reflection of what I've been doing most days for many years: helping PeopleSoft customers get sufficient performance out of their systems to support their businesses. It provides the answers to the questions that I am still repeatedly asked by DBAs, developers, and end-users about what is going on inside their PeopleSoft system, such as:

  • How do I measure what part of the application response time is spent in which tier of the system, and thus determine whether the database or another tier is the most significant performance issue?
  • Who is running this piece of SQL, where does it come from, and what can I do about it?
  • What changes can I safely make to the system, via the PeopleSoft development tools and without creating an administrative nightmare?

Ultimately, it’s about how an Oracle DBA should work with PeopleSoft instead of continually fighting against it.

Code Examples: Many of the scripts found in the book can be downloaded from the Apress github repository.

Errata: It is inevitable that any book will contain mistakes. I found the first one while the first edition was still at the printers!