Handover Documentation

Due to the parts of my company being sold, I have to produce a database handover document, to allow the existing staff (not DBA's) to look after 1 environment.

This database is Oracle8 on an NT platform.

I have come up with a few ideas on what should be in this document, however I was wondering if anyone else has done something similar and has any examples I could look at.

My ideas are

Creation scripts
(covering the whole database - rollbacks, log files, tablespaces etc) with an explanation of what each section is.

Day-to-day
Backup schedules, log checking, common errors, common resolutions, start/stop scripts, session scripts (who's in doing what)

Space Management

Performance Management

The users are technical although not DBA's so I'm having problems deciding how to pitch the report

Any examples/help would be great

Kind Regards

Alison

Here are few more things that I would like to add. Though you know that they are technical, create your documentation under the assumption that they don't know anything. Your document should help any primitive users.

Code:

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1. Backup and recovery
  i) Backup and Recovery methodology
   
  ii)If you are using third-party software, remember to include
      of any special features that you implemented at the time
      of setup. Somthing like linking and etc
 
  iii) If you have used RMAN, remeber to mention the catelog
        username and the tablespaces and instances where the
        catelogs are being stored. How they are being backed up

  iv) A note on export and import options with example

2. Database Setup

  i) Mention a word about the oratab file and the location
      where it is stored.
 
  ii) Distinguish between the ORACLE_HOME and
      ORACLE_BASE. This would simplify lot of things

  iii) Mention a word about the listener.ora and tnsnames.ora
        and their purposes. How to stop and start them

  iv) Is the Database in an archivelog mode

  v) If there are any JOBS scheduled, mention what they do
      What frequency it gets called. Also mention how to start
      stop and check the status of it. Make note on that they
      should check for its start status whenever they startup
      the database instance.

 
3. Scripts

    i) Provide a brief description about the scripts and if it
      accepts any parameters, provide a description about
      them. Also provide an example on how to invoke them.

    ii) Pros and Cons of the script

    iii) If they are in the crontab, inform them about their
        execution schedules

    iv) If you have a source control, mention about its location
        and how to check it out and check it in

4. Performance

    i) What is an acceptable performance and what is not

    ii) What are some simple measures that they could take
        to solve them. List of views that they could use. Even
        some simple queries.

5. Day-to-day

    i) What they should do when they start the Day

    ii) Some obvious suggestions and solutions

 
6. Tools
   
    i) Some informations on the tools that they could use to
      do the day-to-day operations eg: OEM and etc

    ii) How to start them and stop

    iii) What are the do(s) and don't(s)

 
7. References
 
    i) If you have metalink support, provide the URL and also
      instruct them on how to create the TAR and etc

    ii) Some good books/documentation for them to refer

    iii) Some links for the references

    iv) Some helpfull free support forum sites and etc

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Hope these would help you to prepare your hand over documentation.

Sam

[Edited by sambavan on 12-20-2001 at 03:01 PM]

hi sambhavan

Good thoughts and Good advise in preparing a technical hand over documentation.

This is certainly going to help.

pravin

Many thanks

This will help a great deal.

Kind regards

Alison