Database software support for Oracle is available for any release currently supported by the database vendor or installed in the ITC environment. The Oracle Server DBMS is fully supported by the Infrstructure Services team.
Services provided with the standard database support package include:
- Initial database software installation, including configuration and verification as required
- Performance of daily or weekly backups to disk, as requested by customer
- Management and monitoring of disk space
- Database restoration, as needed
- Rebuilding of database indexes, as required
- A primary on-call Infrastructure Services staff to respond to alerts and customer issues as defined by the level of customer support
Other service options available, depending on database software, include but are not limited to:
- Standby databases to support business continuity
- Database cloning for development environments
- Data conversion/migration assistance
- Database query tuning
- Database upgrades/patching
- Database security maintenance
Hours of Availability
This service is available to customers 24/7, excluding planned outages, maintenance windows and unavoidable events. Maintenance windows are used only when needed for planned changes that have gone through the ITC Change Control Process. In addition to the standard ITC maintenance windows, site-specific and service-specific changes may be coordinated with customers at non-standard times.
Standard maintenance windows are defined as:
- Non-production environments are patched monthly on the 2nd Thursday after the 2nd Tuesday of each month
- Production environments are patched monthly on the 3rd Thursday after the 3rd Tuesday of each month
- Oracle Corporation releases PSUs (Patch Set Updates) every quarter. These generally consist of both security fixes and priority fixes. We often need to apply these every quarter, unless the vulnerability stated in the security fixes is either very limited or does not affect our products.
- Database Cloning Schedules
- IRON (pre-production) – is cloned monthly from COPPER on the Sunday before the second Monday of each month
- ZINC (development) – is cloned quarterly from COPPER on the Sunday before the Fourth Monday of the first month of each quarter (Jan., Apr., Jul., & Oct.)
- ALL OTHER DATABASES – are cloned only upon request.
- Standard business hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for Dartmouth College holidays
Information about planned maintenance schedules can be found here:
Oracle Maintenance Page
Customer Responsibilities
- Customers should notify the Infrastructure Services services group of any planned application and/or database changes that will affect the database structure before changes are made
- Customers should designate local staff to serve as the primary contact for the database services group
- Direct customer support issues to the ITC Service Desk