Oracle Magazine - November/December 2009

HÜSNÜ ŞENSOY
DBA OF THE YEAR
DBA values new technology but tests it to the limit.

For Hüsnü Şensoy, Oracle Magazine’s DBA of the Year, one of the best parts of being a DBA is working with the constant evolution of database technology.

“Discovering new technologies, learning about them, and getting them deployed is always a wonderful challenge,” says Şensoy, DBA and system engineer at Turkcell. “I’m a big early adopter of new technology because it’s so interesting and exciting.”

Turkcell is the leading communication and technology company in Turkey, with more than 36. 4 million subscribers. Turkcell is also near the end of a multiyear transition to a next-generation 3G cellular infrastructure. “Deploying 3G technology will greatly change and increase the types of services that Turkcell can deliver,” Şensoy says.

Şensoy was the driving force at Turkcell for a database platform consisting of Oracle Database 11g, Oracle data warehouse products, Oracle Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC), Oracle Automatic Storage Management, and Oracle Clusterware. The data warehouse— which stores more than 100TB of data—includes everything from operational data to customer relationship information.

“The data and reports from our data warehouse are a critical source of information for our managers,” says Şensoy. “Most of our tactical and strategic decision-making processes are guided by the data warehouse.”

Şensoy also oversaw the consolidation of more than 17 databases into a 6-node Oracle RAC cluster. The goal of the consolidation effort was to increase overall server utilization and availability and decrease administrative costs.

Cost-cutting consolidation and the adoption of products that provide new business opportunities also require a steady hand.

“I think to be a successful Oracle DBA, you should always be looking to adopt new database technologies, but you also need to be very, very conservative in testing those technologies,” says Şensoy, who sits on Oracle’s Customer Advisory Board. “You need to make sure that they won’t cause any kind of problem in your architecture.”

In the end, it’s the love of solving problems that continues to drive Şensoy.

“The most enjoyable part of my job is using different tools, combining them, and coming up with a successful solution for our customers,” says Şensoy.