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Administrator) or developer requires more than just database knowledge. A database never operates in isolation. It is always connected to something - the Internet, a reporting tool or a data entry system among many options. Usually, it is connected to multiple other systems. All of this connectedness means that there are a lot of ways something can break. Knowing enough about these other components and how they work will make troubleshooting much easier.

Some of the other knowledge that is helpful includes: computer hardware, network protocols, operating systems, storage systems, identity management and data privacy laws. Each of these impacts how a database will perform and may even prevent an otherwise properly setup database from being accessible or usable.

Database Skills
There are a number of critical knowledge points that must be mastered for anybody working with databases. Having this knowledge will ease interactions with other database professionals.

* Referential Integrity (RI) and Data Quality. RI describes how everything in the database is related. Foreign keys and primary keys are the backbone of RI. RI and constraints are key components of Data Quality. Together, they help control what can be put into the database, which helps the keep the information in the database meaningful. For example, an on-line store cannot have a meaningful Order placed if the Customer does not exist or if they request a negative quantity of a non-returnable product. This is most important for data modelers and developers.

* Indexing. Indexing are be the most efficient way to access a table in a relational database. A good index makes it quick to find a desired record. A bad index takes up space and slows down inserts and updates to the table. When a useful index is not available, the database engine generally has to fall back to reading all the records in the table to find what is being sought. For large tables in frequently used queries, this can kill the database, rendering it unusable. This is critical for developers and administrators to understand.

* Partitioning, tablespaces and sizing. These terms are all about how the information in the database is stored on disk, how fast and how much it can grow. Critical for an administrator.
* Security. This boils down to who can view and change any part of the database - from data to configuration. This is important for all database professionals.

* Backups. While database vendors develop their products to provide high levels of

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