Meet three hardworking peers who dog-ear reference books and make doggy dedications.

Ben Prusinski

Peer Specs Company: Ben Prusinski and Associates, an Oracle consulting firm focused on end-to-end delivery of Oracle data warehouse and Oracle E-Business Suite solutions Job title/description: Managing partner and chief architect Location: San Diego, California Oracle credentials: Oracle Certified Professional (Oracle Database 10g), Oracle Certified Associate (Oracle Database 10g), and Oracle Certified Expert (Oracle Real Application Clusters 10g Administrator), with 13 years of experience using Oracle products Oracle ACE

You’ve taken Oracle University classes in the past. What led you to do this? After I was laid off by a past employer in 2002 due to a major restructuring, I used some of my severance money to take Oracle9i DBA training courses. It was a great investment that helped keep my knowledge up-to-date.

If you were going to the International Space Station for six months and could take only one Oracle reference book, what would it be? There’s a tie for the most dog-eared book on my DBA bookshelf between Oracle Database 10g Performance Tuning Tips & Techniques, by Rich Niemiec [Oracle Press, 2007], and Oracle Database 10g RMAN Backup & Recovery, by Matthew Hart and Robert G. Freeman [Oracle Press 2006]. I would take both.

Sabdar Syed

Peer Specs Company: Saudi Hollandi Bank, the oldest bank in Saudi Arabia Job title/description: Senior Oracle DBA Location: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Oracle credentials: Oracle Certified Professional (Oracle8i Database, Oracle9i Database, Oracle Database 10g, and Oracle E-Business Suite 11i Applications) and Oracle Certified Expert (Oracle Real Application Clusters 10g Administrator), with 8 years of experience using Oracle products Oracle ACE

What’s your favorite tool or technique on the job? My all-time favorite tool is SQL*Plus, because it’s so easy to use for defining and developing SQL and PL/SQL scripts and for controlling the database structure.

What advice do you have for getting into database development? Working knowledge of Linux is always a value add. I recommend that new DBAs download Oracle’s free trial version, Oracle Enterprise Linux, and start practicing.

Bert Scalzo

Peer Specs Company: Quest Software, a systems management firm Job title/description: Database expert and product architect Location: Flower Mound, Texas Length of time using Oracle products: 25 years Oracle ACE

What technology has most changed your life? Virtualization. It makes jobs like mine—where you need multiple server operating systems [OSs] and versions, multiple client OSs and versions, and multiple database versions across multiple OSs per version—doable. I can now have four servers that cover all my needs. Virtualization also helps me be green: rather than running one dedicated server per platform, I can instead run one server-class box and boot the OSs that I need—even concurrently. So I’ve cut my power and heat footprint by at least half.

Which new options and features in Oracle Database are you finding most valuable? I find both Oracle Real Application Clusters [Oracle RAC] and Oracle Automatic Storage Management technologies truly intriguing. I help many people do Oracle RAC proof-of-concept projects—and when people are well educated and prepared, Oracle RAC simply works wonders. Plus I’m curious about just how it will evolve and be used in the virtualized world.

What’s your favorite thing to do that doesn’t involve work? Hanging out with my miniature Schnauzer, Max. I’ve managed to involve Max and my other dogs in my work life, too: I’ve written seven books, and all but one are dedicated to my dogs.